Smart City: Design the lakes

The first public planning meeting to restore the City Park and LSU lakes is set for Thursday, giving locals a chance to weigh in on how to improve the lakes and make them a frequent destination for visitors and locals alike.

The meeting is the first of four planned opportunities for local feedback on the lakes master plan. At Thursday’s event, SWA Group and Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects will present an overview of the project. Susan Turner will share some history of the lakes, and residents will be encouraged to offer feedback in a variety of ways.

The event is 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday at the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business Auditorium. You can RSVP at BatonRougeLakes.org.

In a press release from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which is leading the project, the organization explained how SWA Group will create a comprehensive design for the City Park and LSU lakes, as well as the four smaller lakes around them and 45 acres of greenspace and gateway areas at the I-10 exit and Dalrymple Drive.

“Planners are also charged with delivering a cohesive landscaping scheme, enabling way-finding and creating signs to support it, providing a habitat restoration strategy, and proposing methods for mitigating both noise and drainage from I-10. As well, the planners will recommend shoreline improvements with the dredged materials, such as a walking and biking paths. To achieve all these ends, they will also identify funding sources for implementation,” according to the release.

So, basically, all the things. The planners are responsible for all the things. You’ll want to start getting your comments in now.

The team has created a MindMixer site for residents to regularly share their thoughts on improving the lakes: thelakes.mindmixer.com.

You can also check out some maps that illustrate the shallow water issues currently depleting oxygen levels in the lakes here. According to BRAF, the average depth of the City Park and LSU lakes is 2.5 feet, which makes it likely the lakes will revert to swampland unless dredged. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommends dredging the lakes—which are about 275 acres total—to an average depth of five to seven feet to keep them healthy.

After the Thursday event, the next public meeting—billed as a Build Your Own Park workshop—will be Dec. 11, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the LSU Union Cotillion Ballroom. That event will include a model that will allow people to suggest where to locate boat launches, walking paths and more.

We’re still hoping there’s a trampoline bridge involved in this project somewhere.