Team ‘Safe Pass Underpass’ was funded $5,000 during the 24 Hour Citizen Project in 2016 to install lighting under an overpass that is part of an essential bike path (Mickey’s Loop). Project Leader, Mark DeClouet, will tell you that cyclist avoid the area because it’s no longer “invitable.” While lighting on the surface may seemingly lack significance, Mark will tell you that his project is about bringing the community together through accessibility to different areas of town.

In 2015, the Lafayette City Parish Council adopted a resolution to create an 8-mile continuous bike path running through the heart of the city of Lafayette known as Mickey’s Loop, connecting existing and planned paths that were completed in 2016. Mickey’s Loop was created to honor the memory of Mickey Shunick, an avid cyclist who lost her life tragically in 2012. Mickey’s Loop provides unprecedented neighborhood connectivity across Lafayette neighborhoods including the UL Lafayette, Saint Streets, Greenbriar/Brentwood, Lafayette Central Park, Girard Park, Oil Center and the Downtown area. One portion of this loop connects pedestrian and bike traffic between the Oil Center/Girard Park area and West Bayou/Lafayette Central Park neighborhoods at the intersection of South College and West Bayou Parkway. This connection is made via an underpass on South College, next to Coulee Mine, a major tributary to Bayou Vermilion. Currently, the Coulee Mine underpass is not well lit, does not project an element of safety and is generally not well known as a connection point in the community. Our project proposes to enhance this connectivity, increase community and individual safety along the loop, and increase awareness of the environment and natural resources related to our community and the Bayou Vermilion.

How will we do this? We are proposing to:

1. Implement environmentally friendly lighting that enhances the safety of this critical connection point on Mickey’s Loop for both pedestrians and bicyclists.
2. Improve the functionality of the underpass for bicyclists and pedestrians with redesigned handrail and bike channel features to make it easier for cyclists to bring their bikes up the stairs, while providing safety elements for pedestrians.
3. Add concave mirrors on both entrance points at the underpass to create visibility for cross traffic and for users to see what else may lie ahead.
4. Add a number of beautification elements to the underpass, including a Project Front Yard inspired art project/sculpture on the underside of the Coulee Mine underpass. This would be analogous to the Freemont troll, a public sculpture in the Freemont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington which turned an underpass into a tourist destination. Additional aesthetic elements would be added that make the area more welcoming to tourists, pedestrians and bicyclists.