Visionaries, Out-of-towners and Progressives Not Welcome

“That’s just not how things are done here in Ascension Parish.” Expect to hear some form of this statement from many well-meaning and established residents and business owners here in Ascension Parish when you mention planning or smart growth. Any course of action that would ensure the success of the parish and bring it up to speed with some of the most beautiful and livable cities and towns across America is immediately dismissed as “foreign” or “liberal”. “Visionaries, Out-of-towners and Progressives Not Welcome” is the message that is currently being spread throughout the parish. For instance, a majority of the citizen input received for the Comprehensive Plan effort uncovered that many people do not desire the amenities of recycling, bike paths, parks, dog parks and jogging trails. Citizens have seemed to embrace the lack of connectivity between retail locations and subdivisions and fear that inner-connectivity puts them in danger of crime and speeding traffic. Speaking progress to a parish resident whose grandparents, parents and families have always lived here, you best be prepared for a snide remark, defensive retort or to be stared at as if you are an alien or worse… a “foreigner.” Throughout the Comprehensive Plan process, the parish, parish planners and plan supporters have been called “socialists” by many long-time residents for suggesting that we take steps forward to improve the quality of life in Ascension Parish.

I am finding that most of the people who understand what we are trying to do are the “newcomers” – those residents who have moved here in the last 5 to 10 years. Motivating this growing sector of our population to speak up is proving to be difficult. Busy young executives, families trying to spend time together or parents helping their children with their homework don’t usually have time to go to public meetings. Unfortunately – the only people talking to our elected officials are the ones who are not on the same side of the issue that we are.

I enjoy living in Prairieville. I have wonderful neighbors, a large backyard and am in close proximity to the amenities of a rural lifestyle, horses and open pasture land. My family feels safe walking our dogs at night, and our children attend public schools where they receive a great education. However, in Ascension Parish, we live in an area of transition. On one side, there exists the nearly land-locked Baton Rouge with its sprawl and heavy traffic that bleeds into our northern parish border. On the other side, the “rural” side, there exist acres and acres of remaining open land. As Baton Rouge continues to overflow its border into our parish, Prairieville and Dutchtown continue to grow in popularity and density. With the reality of parish population numbers doubling over the next 20 years, we face the threat of growing into another Baton Rouge. It is sad enough that many of us both work and shop in Baton Rouge instead of our own parish, which, in turn, gives East Baton Rouge Parish schools our tax dollars. How will we be able to sustain our great school system if we give all our sales tax dollars to another parish? With the adoption of the comprehensive plan, we’d have the ability to attract investment and better retail stores to Northern Ascension Parish and begin to create a sense of our own identity and place here in Ascension.

Let’s think about all of this for a minute and decide….. Do we really want to make the same mistakes that Baton Rouge has? Do we want to close our eyes, stick our heads in the sand and hope that this potential for growth and CHANGE goes away? We cannot afford to continue living in a bubble due to our antiquated thinking. Is “That’s just not how things are done here in Ascension Parish” going to be our battle cry? The old and comfortable ways of going about business in Ascension Parish need to change. It’s time we accept that we are part of the success of the rest of Louisiana and begin to be the masters of our own destiny. When it comes to our future, and the changes that are coming to Ascension Parish, I’d rather be in the driver’s seat than the road kill on the side of the road – wouldn’t you? If so, please make sure you attend one of the upcoming Comprehensive Plan public meetings and learn what this plan means for the future of our Ascension Parish. Please share your opinions with the parish planners while also keeping open mind to what we can become. All ideas are welcome.