Discussion for the rezoning of the Congress Street Corridor continued Thursday night at a public meeting.

The goal is to urbanize and beautify the area and attract business.

Nathan Norris, CEO of Lafayette Downtown Development Authority tell KLFY’s Lydia Magallanes that the corridor has been neglected over the last three decades.

The DDA is proposing an extension of current zoning for property along the area from mostly commercial to an urban friendly, downtown category. Re-striping the street is also part of the plan, which would require a lower speed limit.

“A street where they want to be and they’re willing to dine next to it because the cars are going slow enough and they feel safe enough…to better connect downtown to the surrounding area,” says Norris, “Right now it’s like a moat between the two and it’s not good for downtown and it’s not good for those neighborhoods so we want to repair that split as well as attract more investment.”

The speed limit was highly contested in the meeting.

The DDA is proposing a decrease to 25 to 30 mph.

Some residents are concerned about traffic. The DDA says traveling at 25 mph could add at least 30 seconds to a person’s commute but Congress is capable of handling more cars. That’s something Jonathan Joubert, who owns property on Congress Street, is willing to live with.

“I think a lot of it is just the perception of it bothers us more than the reality of it…but the long term goal for downtown is to keep people there to see what it has to offer so I understand it from that perspective and that’s really what it comes down to whether or not the headache justifies the end which I think it does ultimately.”

Once preliminary discussion is completed, proposed zone changes will take a minimum of 2 months.

The next meeting is Thursday February 4th at 5:30-pm at the Rosa Parks transportation center.  The public is encouraged to attend.