Downtown Lafayette Changes – Jefferson Street Closed To Vehicles On Weekend Nights

Some changes are happening on Jefferson Street in Downtown Lafayette. New street closures on weekend nights plus adjustments to public parking options will affect the experience when grabbing a bite to eat or enjoying a night out Downtown.

According to Downtown Developments latest update, there are some pretty significant changes happening in Downtown Lafayette and anyone who frequents Jefferson Street should know about them.

Jefferson Street Traffic In Downtown Lafayette

The biggest change happening is that the Lafayette Police Department will begin shutting-down vehicular-traffic on Jefferson Street from 10:00 p.m. - 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The goal is to allow only pedestrian and cyclist traffic during these hours to avoid congestion in the center of Downtown Lafayette's nightlife scene.

Traffic diversion from Jefferson Street will happen at Vermillion Street and Cypress Street. This change will begin on Friday, September 3, 2021.

We spoke with Downtown Lafayette CEO Anita Begnaud who said that these changes have been discussed with nightlife stakeholders for years now. While they aren't sure if the changes will be effective until they give it a try, Begnaud says that other cities have seen success making similar adjustments within their respective nightlife and restaurant districts.

Parking In Downtown Lafayette

Another change happening is with the public parking lot located on the corner of Garfield Street and Jefferson Street.

Those who frequent Downtown Lafayette know this parking lot to be next door to Marley's Sports Bar and across the street from Dwyer's Cafe, La Caretta, and adjacent to The Office Bar Lafayette.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government will be removing parking meters and instead utilizing a kiosk pay station to collect parking fees. The price of parking and timeframe for when drivers will be charged is not changing; only the payment method.

Drivers license plates will be required to pay at the kiosk. Drivers can also utilize the ParkMobile app to pay for parking in the Garfield lot on their smartphone.

Begnaud also spoke to the parking changes and wants to remind everyone who frequents Downtown Lafayette of the many options for parking. The Vermillion Parking Garage located Downtown is typically underutilized at night, according to Begnaud. There are also a number of Lafayette Consolidated Government owned surface parking lots Downtown available for public use.

To stay up to date with everything happening in Downtown Lafayette, check them out on Facebook HERE.