Real bricks are not as durable. They tend to break apart after repeated poundings by vehicles. If you use real bricks be prepared for a high maintenance/replacement cost.
The bricks on Front Street Natchitoches look great and lend a very appealing look to the downtown. But, every 10 years or so, Front Street is shut down for several weeks as much needed repairs/replacements are made. In between, the city does spot-work replacing some bricks that have completely shattered.
The weight of the bricks causes the whole sand bed to sink, forcing the 10-year work cycle. The bricks are removed, sand added, packed down, and the bricks placed back...using that time to also replace broken bricks. Taxpayers in Natchitoches have accepted this cost as the price to pay to keep the historic look in downtown.
Didn't realize. I just think that the intersection needs some work being a little more pedestrian friendly. Folks fly down Alabama and Tech drive. A student got hit early this year on Tech Dr.
With the future build of a new parking lot in the site of the softball/soccer field, we will see increased foot traffic from student and game day parking.
You can make the road safer by reducing capacity.
Add a grassy median, make it one way in each direction, plus a dedicates bike lane. Boom -- safe road for pedestrians. And you can even plant some noble trees. Of course that would reduce its ability to carry cars, so probably a non-starter in auto-centric town.
But there's almost always going be an inverse relationship between automobile capacity and pedestrian safety. (My friend and colleague CaseyDawg can corroborate.)
Many years ago I spent a year and a half in Germany. They used cobblestones which are much more durable than bricks. I believe bricks were adopted here because they were cheaper -- baked clay. However, even the cobblestones required periodic maintenance. I watched a man replacing some one time. Each stone was about 6-8 inches square (maybe a little larger) but also about one foot (maybe more) deep. I guess the work was done when they got loose. I couldn't imagine one wearing out.
Faux brick paint gets worn down and cheap looking.
Looks like we need to redo the masterplan for the athletic village post-tornado.
Ashe Broussard Weinzettle (2010) - this has been scrapped.
For sure! Ever been to a game at LSU, Miss St, Ole Miss, Auburn, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Texas Tech, or TAMU? Those people would kill for our parking problems. And it has nothing to do with capacity. Many of their stadiums are in the middle of campus and there is literally no parking around it.
Sure would be nice to have some construction activity during football season. I realize FEMA is slow, but 5 months seems to be a little too long. Oh well, they'll probably give us the green light in late December which will put us at only 12 months to have the new facility ready.