UL Lafayette: CDW: Simcoe Street: Introduction

				Simcoe Street: Introduction


				NEXT PAGE TOPICS introduction the corridor jefferson blvd. grant street dist. repairs in vicinty traditional zones housing implementation	The Simcoe Street Corridor Project was an urban design study that included a series of African-American (Creole), and Acadian (Cajun) neighborhoods located in the northern section of Lafayette, Louisiana. The study area was approximately three miles long and six to eight blocks wide with Simcoe Street being the geographical center spine. The project was a collaborative effort between the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Community Design Workshop from the School of Architecture, the neighborhood groups of LaPlace des Creole, Northside Alliance, McComb Veseay, and the Citizen's Action Group. Other pertinent partners include the city's Community Development Department, Planning and Zoning, Downtown Development, Traffic, and the City Parish Council of Lafayette's Consolidated Government. Each neighborhood group and City-Parish department took an active role in planning meetings, workshops, discussions, and visits to the Workshop's office. This office was located in the study area itself, in the Jesse Livingston Taylor Neighborhood Center. The study's program was to include two dimensional, three dimensional, and cultural/social information, and establish a criteria in which possible designs could be framed. Critical base information gave the Workshop and overview in figure ground and plan. The analysis informed the Workshop of the architectural character and detail of the neighborhoods. Workshops and meetings provided information regarding neighborhood conditions at cultural and social levels. The analysis and neighborhood meetings allowed three plans of action to emerge. Each plan relates to specific urban design tactics represented at the corridor, district, and neighborhood scales. The action plans are comprehensive in scale and range from urban design (level of the city) to details of the city. 1) Corridor: Simcoe Street could become an east-west linking device to pull the various neighborhoods together. It could also become a much needed civic space. 2) District: in the north south direction, opportunities to strengthen districts could be designed a the Grant Street area connection downtown and the multi-modal facility with the north-end neighborhoods. The Multi-Modal Facility would house various forms of public transportation. The Jefferson Boulevard extension and the design of a social services district become an opportunity to strengthen downtown with Simcoe Street, Sterling Heights, and the Mudd Avenue neighborhoods. 3) Neighborhood: The last plan of action would be to repair the existing neighborhoods with the infusion of new housing, parks, bus stops, and more disciplined land use restrictions. Context The Simcoe Street Corridor's character was generated by its physical and cultural context. These northern neighborhoods were affected by piecemeal planning additions which made each section autonomous to itself. Highway expansions have contributed to this area's confusion by isolation and separating its neighborhoods. The neighborhoods, although fragmented from 20th century life, have housing stock which adds architectural character to the Simcoe Street Corridor area. Traditional neighborhoods have been eroded by over speculation commercial property. The area's assets include its people and its neighborhood organizations with both being committed to the area's development and preservation. Plan Determinants The plan determinants for the Simcoe Street Corridor are illustrated in Lafayette's 1912 Plan. The plan clearly indicated that various neighborhoods become separate and single additions as the city expanded. Several of these neighborhoods notable in the plan: 1) The Mills addition is an extension of the original gridiron of Vermilionville. 2) The McComb addition is a direct result of the railroad's arrival into the city. The railroad becomes a barrier between the city's east and west sides, thus dividing the city in half. In the 1912 Plan, Simcoe Street started at the railroad and extended adding various tracts of land as the city expanded. Today, these tracts of land are the neighborhood areas of Mudd, Sterling, and others. The additive and piece-meal process established these northern neighborhoods as being separate rather than integrated. Other plan determinants included the implementation of large- scale road projects which further separated and disjoined the neighborhoods. Congress Street became a barrier between the Mills addition and downtown. Other neighborhoods are separated by intervention of Evangeline Thwy. The Throughway became a stranger east-west separation than the railroad. Other streets such as Pinhood Road and Louisiana Avenue helped destroy the continuity that the neighborhoods once demonstrated. Although these road projects contributed to automobile traffic efficiency, their effect was detrimental to the overall cohesion of the city. Land Use Land use in the Simcoe Street Corridor Project is a diverse as the plan itself. Residential, commercial, and industrial properties all occupy this area. Addition to Lafayette's original grid were residential while the introduction of the railroad allowed for natural industrial development. The intervention of the Evangeline Thwy. brought commercial development to the street's edges. Within the corridor project itself , two areas existed as traditional commercial streets. These areas included Lafayette Street between Congress and Simcoe, and on Simcoe Street, between Jefferson Boulevard and Louisiana Avenue. In recent years, these two local shopping districts have deteriorated as commercial properties have expanded into the traditional residential areas. This haphazard expansion further fragmented the neighborhoods. A piecemeal process allowed for over-speculation of residential properties to be transferred to higher-valued commercial properties. Commercial projects generally have a larger footprint and operate at a different level of detailing than single family housing. This change in scale causes a disruption in the fabric of the neighborhood. Architectural Character One of the great strengths of the study area is its rich variety of housing types. The study identified strong housing types that include the Shotgun, Acadian Cottage, and the Craftsman Bungalow. Each housing type has porches, compound roof forms, and human scale elements including windows, doors, and materials which add to the quality of this place. Other important elements that need to be preserved and are recognized as an added strength is the mature vegetation prevalent throughout the neighborhoods. Even though fragmentation exists within the neighborhoods and vacant properties, the architectural elements and the landscape assets provide a base for building cohesive neighborhoods. Cultural Context Another study area strength is its cultural and social heritage. The neighborhoods have a rich history of development in the African-American (Creole), and Acadian (Cajun) traditions. The terminology used has over-simplified the rich mix of people and customs found in the neighborhoods. The neighborhoods themselves are supported by strong neighborhood groups which impact the area in a positive way. Their presence is felt with clean-up drives, house painting and repairs, and neighborhood watch groups. The groups were instrumental to the Workshop by informing the design team of positive and negative aspects of the neighborhoods themselves. The corridor is a rich environment for hosting festivals such as Mardi Gras. It also hosts many church, school, summer camps, and special events.

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Document last revised Thursday, April 22, 2004 11:48 AM