BATON ROUGE — Residents along Perkins Road should now have a safer way to walk thanks to the completion of a MOVE BR sidewalk project. City leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate the new sidewalks, which stretch from Perkins Road to Acadian Thruway.

Michael Brown, who has lived in the neighborhood since the 1980s, said the addition has already made a noticeable difference.

“So I’ve been walking around here for many, many years,” Brown said. “I’ve already seen an increase in the number of people walking by my house because I’ve never had a sidewalk.”

Brown said the sidewalks not only improve safety but also create a stronger sense of community.

“It gets you out of the traffic, and this is a high-traveled area during certain times of the day,” he said. “In the morning and the afternoon, a lot of vehicle traffic. So being able to get on the sidewalk instead of walking the street is a great thing.”

“I’ve already seen a lot of my neighbors that I never met before, you know, because they’re walking on the sidewalk in front of my house,” he added.

The project cost approximately $450,000 and is part of MOVE BR’s ongoing efforts to improve safety and connectivity across Baton Rouge.