A move to make Lake Charles more ‘walkable'

American Press

27-04-2025

The standard for urban design is shifting, and the expert wisdom of internationally recognized city planner and architectural designer Jeff Speck will be passed down to Lake Charles next week.
Speck is known for advocating for walkable cities. As the author of the books 'Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time' and 'Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places,' he is known for inspiring cities to take actionable steps to improve urban walkability.
At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, in the Lake Charles Event Center Contraband Room, he will give a lecture on walkability in Lake Charles at a community session presented by Just Imagine SWLA and the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana.
Community Foundation of SWLA Board Chair Jim Rock attended the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in Cincinnati last year, where he attended an hour-long Speck lecture. He was fascinated by Speck's philosophy on urban development and walkability.'
'And you might think an hour-long talk about walking is boring as all get out. But this guy, his presentation style, he was entertaining, he was educational, he was inspirational,' Rock said.
In a serendipitous chain of events, he was able to meet Speck at CNU. After a year of email communication, the two were able to organize Speck's two-day visit.
On Wednesday, he is going to spend three or four hours with Rock and others from the Community Foundation walking around downtown. He will make recommendations about walkability and connectivity, especially with the lakefront and Drew, Lock and Millennium parks, at the session on Wednesday.
Claire Pumpelly read one of Speck's books in her book club, and she's eager to hear him speak.
In her early adulthood, she took a 'short' trip to Paris that ended up lasting seven years. Moving back to Lake Charles to help run her father's business was an adjustment, she said. In Paris, she had access to the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. But what she misses the most is the ability to walk down the street and run mundane errands on foot.
While she lives in 'one of the most walkable areas' of the city, Margaret Place Historic District, she is only able to reach a few restaurants on foot and is otherwise car-dependent. She believes Lake Charles deserves more.
'I really miss that way of life. You could work all day and then after just walk out with your headphones on and stroll and not feel unsafe.
'We're never going to be able to scale in the way these other big cities, like New York, Chicago. I just think there are small changes and implementations that we could make here to just bump up our walkable score,' she added.
These changes could be as simple as repainting the streets, adjusting speed limits or adding shade along sidewalks.
Rock said Speck's walkable city designs are supported by four pillars – purpose, safety, comfort and interest – that will be discussed during the lecture. A focus on these pillars could be the 'icing on the cake' for Lake Charles, a city that has made 'positive strides' during nearly five years of disaster recovery, he said.
About 100 people have already RSVP'd for the community session. He called this a call to action for local community leaders, business owners and municipalities to improve walkability in SW La. The Community Foundation hopes to be able to replicate the plan Speck provides Lake Charles in other communities in the region, like Westlake and Sulphur, Rock said.
The lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m. and last about an hour and a half. Speck will be available to sign books at 7 p.m.