BR Police shifting to Third Street
An entire district on downtown's celebration street should quell late-night fears.
Mayor-President Sid Edwards wants to move a police district downtown. Now he has a location: the historic Masonic building at 200 Third Street.
Why it matters: Late-night fights spilling onto Third Street and panhandling have chipped away at the feeling that downtown is safe. A police district with 60 rotating cops should quell some fears.
The details: A lease between developer Mike Wampold's Precinct Funding and parish government will be introduced at the Metro Council meeting today.
- Lease terms: Parish would lease for 10 years at $500,000 total upfront, with an option to renew for 10 more years.
- Cops would be on the bottom two floors, the St. James Lodge No. 47 masons on the third.
- A police district on Highland Road would move to the building on Convention and Third streets.
The bottom line: Relocating the district is intended to make downtown safer. The next challenge for Edwards and the Downtown Development District is the other half of the equation: making the area cleaner and more beautiful.
Read on:
Mukul Verma
