ST. MARTIN PARISH — In St. Martinville, Louisiana, construction is underway on a series of sidewalk and accessibility projects city leaders say are aimed at improving walkability and connecting key destinations across the community.
The South Main Street project is one of three coordinated efforts tied to a broader accessibility plan that has been in development since 2024. Funded through capital outlay dollars, the project focuses on widening sidewalks and upgrading infrastructure along a major downtown corridor.
“We had two feet side walks, we’re now enlarging them to five-feet sidewalks plus we will be placing in streetlights, decorative streetlights, about maybe 50 feet apart all along both sides of Main Street,” said Danielle Fontenet, cultural recreation and tourism director for St. Martinville.
Fontenet said the upgrades are part of a long-term push to improve safety and usability for pedestrians moving through the city’s core. She said the work reflects years of planning and funding preparation before construction could begin.
Fontenet says the South Main Street project is only one piece of a larger network being built in phases across the city. The Safe Routes project will connect St. Martinville Senior High School to Magnolia City Park and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. While the New Market Street project is currently in the engineering phase after the city selected an engineer through its Thriving Communities grant.
“So we’re going to tie all of these, accessible, and walkable routes together, for the entire city,” Fontenet said.
Officials say the long-term goal is to create a connected system of pedestrian routes linking schools, parks, neighborhoods, and essential services. That effort, they say, is especially important in a community where many residents rely on walking to get around.
“60% of our residents don't have a vehicle, to provide them access to get from one point to another point, even if it’s to the doctors office, to the grocery store, to be able to get there from walking is probably the most important project we’re working on,” Fontenet said.
Fontenet says work along South Main Street is expected to be completed by October, with additional phases of the broader accessibility plan continuing to move forward in the months ahead.
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