BATON ROUGE - There has been much discussion lately surrounding BREC's City-Brooks Community Park and what to do with the space in relation to the Lakes.

BREC and Sasaki, a consulting firm, held a small round table discussion on Thursday morning with members of the media to go over the City-Brooks Park and Lakes Vision plan. Sasaki received another 2,067 survey responses in addition to the first public survey window, which received 1,084 responses.

The majority of responses say that, in terms of active programs, they'd like to see an adventure playground, a nine-hole golf course and a walking/jogging/running loop.

Sasaki recommends keeping golf as a key on-site program while adjusting the footprint at the edges. Its concept includes slightly shrinking the golf course by about 400 yards to accommodate additional programs to attract more people to the park.

City-Brooks Community Park encompasses 97 acres in the heart of Baton Rouge. The space is minutes from downtown and LSU. The vision plan would preserve the park's historic assets, including the golf course, but would provide new activities. 

Above all, Sasaki recommends more connectivity and says it's "critical" to connect the park and the lakes. Ideas include:
- Strengthening connections to the I-10 Greenway
- Creating an active recreational area on the west side of the park
- Connecting Apple Street to Dalrymple Drive
- Adding sidewalks to the roads along with parallel parking
- Making the golf clubhouse area a larger center
- Expanding the width of the railroad bridge to increase space for pedestrians
- Reroute part of East Lakeshore Drive to create lakeland parking
- Expand stormwater management in a functional way
- And add a nature playground at Knock Knock Children's Museum. 

What about the golf?
Sasaki recommends improving the course by renovating and relocating holes to include four par-4 holes and a total yardage of approximately 1,950 yards. The renovations would include more water features, vegetation, and bunkers, and could free up space for a pitch and putt area, plus additional parking.

Another concept in this area could include a mini-golf spot. Sasaki is presenting a plan to include a more centralized golf shop, which could include a restaurant and beer garden, creating more activity for non-golfers.

A track and field or other passive field space is one concept for the Brooks Park side, which is currently underutilized. 

How much will it cost and how long will it take?
That's a tough pill to swallow. Cost estimates range from $50-$100 million. The plans would be rolled out in phases and could take up to 20 years to complete. Sasaki recommends that another vision plan like this one be considered in the next 15 years. 

Who would be in charge?
Sasaki has come up with a preliminary recommendation for a governance structure over the entire park and lakes system. The consultant recommends a unified conservancy to manage the full lakes system and City-Brooks Park.

BREC, LSU, and the City would maintain ownership.

Sasaki recommends a new Economic Development District that would capture property tax and sales tax to fund a percentage of the operations. Once complete, the organization would take over daily operation and maintenance.

The oversight would come from two boards, the Economic Development District and the conservancy, which would have authority over direction and funding.

What's next?
BREC is holding a series of community meetings. The first one is on June 11 at McKinley Alumni Center from 5:30-7 p.m. There, the public will have an opportunity to view design concepts and provide feedback. 

To see the full vision plan, click here.