It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since the first 24 Hour Citizen Project! We picked Safe Pass Underpass as a way to continue to improve Mickey’s Loop as one of Lafayette’s first cohesive bicycle paths. Mickey’s Loop is an 8-mile long trail consisting of bike lanes, sharrows, and sidewalks that tracks through the core of the city.
One of the most difficult spots on the pathway is a short leg on South College Road. There is an underpass for bikes there that is in need of better maintenance, and so we pitched that we would clean it up to continue to improve the Loop.
Our project has been slow in starting because we applied for a Transportation Alternatives Grant to enhance our original plans. We found out in late April that we didn’t receive it, so we have been refining our work and scope since then. Since that time, local firm Land Architecture has agreed to design the site improvements and apply for the DOTD permit (because we are required to have a licensed landscape architect apply for the permit). And to keep up momentum, we have conducted regular cleanups at the site, including a major cleanup following the August 2016 flood where we removed debris from the site. Most recently, a group of us participated in an annual bike ride to commemorate the establishment of Mickey’s Loop, an event that drew out about 75 riders, including Mickey’s parents.
-Mark Declouet