BATON ROUGE — Residents in the Garden District met with city-parish leaders on Saturday, June 13, to discuss repeated flooding that has impacted homes and street.

The town hall brought neighbors and officials together to talk through drainage problems and potential solutions.

Khanh Ho, a Garden District resident, has been at the center of the push for change. She helped organize the meeting after her own home flooded three times this year.

"I flooded in March and twice in May. Several cars had to be towed away, and that poses a huge public safety issue," she said.

She said neighbors want the city to move forward on projects they believe could stop the flooding.

"We want to see movement. We want answers in terms of infrastructure, what the city plans to do and we understand there are clear financial issues that are stopping us from making progress," she said.

City-Parish Transportation and Drainage Director  Fred Raiford said aging infrastructure and changing weather patterns have left some drainage systems struggling to keep up.

"It's a capacity more of an issue than maintenance, but it's both. Our biggest goal and agenda is trying to secure the funding that's necessary," said Raiford.

One proposed solution by neighbors is to upsize major drainage infrastructure and reroute storm water directly to Dawson Creek, bypassing portions of the Government Street system, costing an estimated $10.3 million. Another is to replace the culverts at Hundred Oaks Avenue and Broussard Street with new bridge crossings to improve flow through Dawson Creek, costing an estimated $4.37 million.

No immediate solutions came out of the town hall, but Ho said she sees the meeting as progress.