Ride Together: Baton Rouge's Cycling Revolution

BREC is prioritizing accessibility for all residents, and a significant goal of ours and many city-parish organizations is to develop a safe and connected bike path throughout the region. BREC is among the partners in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for East Baton Rouge Parish. This path is designed for the public, and we encourage all bicyclists to participate and provide feedback during this process.

Public Meetings 

Meetings will be regularly scheduled and announced for public members to attend, learn more about and provide input. Please note that these meeting dates are subject to change.

Public surveys will also be available for anyone in the parish to provide input and feedback.

  • DDD Public Meeting – Feb 25, 2025
  • BREC HQ Public Meeting – April 3, 2025

It’s anticipated the following tentative schedule will apply to the adoption of this report:

  • BREC Commission Approval – April 24, 2025
  • Application for Planning Commission and Metro Council – May 1, 2025
  • Planning Commission Approval  – June 16, 2025
  • Metro Council Approval – July 16, 2025

Why a Bicycle-Pedestrian Path?

Streets in the United States are designed to prioritize the movement of cars over the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists. Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been ranked the #1 most dangerous city to drivers, #4 most dangerous city to bicyclists, and #5 most dangerous city to pedestrians (reference?)

The Plan

There are bicycle=pedestrian path plans for Baton Rouge using the Complete Streets model at state, regional and local levels.

  • The Federal Highway Administration Focused Approach program provides training and technical assistance to cities and states with the highest pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, like Baton Rouge.
  • The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) sponsored the Baton Rouge Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan (PBSAP) project to improve walking and bicycling conditions within the City limits of Baton Rouge. LaDOTD accepted this plan on July 14, 2020.
  • The Capitol Region Planning Commission (CRPC) adopted a regional bicycle plan in 2022. This Plan establishes a unified regional vision for active transportation across parishes and municipalities, with guiding values, principles, and goals. The Regional Plan does not replace local planning efforts that cities and parishes have already undertaken. Local jurisdictional plans were consulted in the production of the Regional Plan and informed the development of its recommendations
  • East Baton Rouge Parish developed its own Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan that was incorporated into the City-Parish’s comprehensive plan, FUTUREBR, and it was adopted by the Metropolitan Council in 2020.
  • Annual updates for implementing the plan are provided by the East Baton Rouge Parish Complete Streets Advisory Committee
  • BREC leads the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update committee, which includes representatives from state, regional and local agencies.
  • Local agencies responsible for developing new facilities include:
    • EBRP Department of Transportation and Drainage
    • Downtown Development District
    • BREC

Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update Draft 2024 Report

 

To Learn More:

City Parish Planning and Zoning

Downtown Development District

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development