Lafayette

Lafayette
City
Clockwise from top: Lafayette skyline; Old Lafayette; National History Museum; Palais National; National Assembly Building
Capital Act	1817
Government
• Mayor	Marie-Louise Mercier
Population  (2020)
• City	2,124,932
• Metro	5,638,292
Demonym	Lafayettois
Time zone	UTC +6
Area code	(+64)

Lafayette, formerly Bourgmont from 1817-1835, is the capital and largest city in the Federal Republic of Louisiana with 2.1 million people within the city limits and 5.6 million in the Greater Lafayette metropolitan area. The city is part of the Central Louisiana Megalopolis, which is home to around 17 million people.

Founded at the confluence of the Missouri and Cansez Rivers, Lafayette has served as the national capital since the National Assembly held its first session in the Old Parliament Building in 1827. Upon the death of Marquis de Lafayette in 1834, the city was renamed in his honor. The city has since grown from the small capital in the 1820s and 30s to becoming the largest city in Louisiana by 2005. The site chosen was on the south bank of the Missouri on the river bluffs near what Louis and Clark had termed "Kaw Point". A plan for the city was drawn up in 1815, known as the "Le Favreau Plan". Construction began a year later in 1816.

Lafayette is known as the center of government in Louisiana, and is also known for its culture, local cuisine, and history. The city is home to a large number of international companies in addition to most of the branches and ministries of the Federal Government, who remains the largest employer in the city. The city serves as a major inland port and transportation hub, being near the center of the country. Many major Autoroutes pass through the city, and the city is the major hub for the LGV as well as Saribal, the flag carrier of Louisiana.

The city contains several well known neighborhoods, such as the Government Ward, Old Lafayette District, Red Hill Neighborhood, and River Market District. In addition, the city is home to the University of Lafayette, one of the highest ranked universities in Louisiana. The city is also home to a number of sports teams including FC Lafayette (soccer), Lafayette Frontier (Basketball), and the Lafayette Capitals (Hockey). Lafayette has also hosted the World's Fair twice- once in 1898 and again in 2008, and hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Infrastructure

An Alstom Z-TER, which have been used as the primary rolling stock of the RFR since 2005.

See Also: Lafayette Regional Transportation Authority The city has a number of modes of transportation outside of personal vehicles. The Lafayette Metro opened its first line in 1970, and has since expanded to cover much of the core urban area. The city also boasts a robust commuter rail network that even reaches as far as Fort-Cartier, Cansez. The Autoroute network in the city is also extensive, but the city, like many major cities, suffers from congestion. Roads in and around the Financial Quarter and Government Quarter can become especially crowded. However, since the construction of the metro and expansion of the Regional Rail Network.

Lafayette Regional Transportation Authority

An M5 at the Ruisseau station.

Regional rail in Lafayette up until the 1970s was small. But when the ARTL was formed in 1973, it was expanded. The first major expansion took place from 1974-1978 when the line was expanded north to Ville-de-Cansez 20km north of the city center and south to Bonhomme-de-Osage. It has since been expanded exponentially, with the last major expansion occurring when the Napoleon Line opened in 2019. Approximately 34 million people used the Regional Rail Netowrk in 2013. The bus network in the city is also extensive, with buses having been run since the 1950s.

The Lafayette Metro is the most used aspect of the public transit network in Lafayette. The first line was constructed from 1964-1970. Since then 7 more lines have opened, with the Orange Line being completed in 2009. Plans for a metro in the city had been proposed since the 1920s, however none had come to fruition as the city was not large enough to support such as system, despite its strong population growth. With the population ever increasing, and urban sprawl and traffic congestion becoming a growing concern by the early 1960s with the construction of the Federal Autoroute System, the government allocated the necessary funds for the construction of the Metro. Today, it serves and average of 1.9 million people per year and had an annual ridership of around 500 million in 2018.

Air

Marquis de Lafayette International Airport (KLLX, LLX) is the main airport serving the city, located in the Acadie suburb. The airport is the busiest in Louisiana as a whole, and one of the busiest in the world. In 2018, 55 million people passed through the airport, and increase from 2017. The city is the main hub for Louisiana's flag carrier, Saribal, as well as Air Louisiane. To the southeast, Lafayette-Noulins Airport (KLNN, LNN), used to serve many budget carriers until they were eventually moved into the expanded Marquis de Lafayette International. Lafayette-Noulins today serves charter operations, general aviation, and MEDIVAC.

Rail

Lafayette has long been the primary rail hub in Louisiana, due to its central position. It not only serves as a hub for regional and inter-Louisianan rail, but also rail traversing from coast to coast and from Mexico to Canada. Federal Railways is based in Lafayette, and is the publicly owned passenger railway corporation that also operates the nation's highspeed rail, the LGV, which is also based out of Lafayette. The primary station, and also the biggest, is Central Louisiana Station (Gare Centrale de Louisiane).

Twin Towns and Sister Cities

• Ottawa-1976
• Washington, D.C.-1979
• Monterry, California-1979
• Paris-1985
• London-1994
• Beijing-2003