Day Tripping

article and photos by Charlie London

Those over 50 likely remember the Beatles' song Day Tripper.
If you don't, click on the video below.

My day trip started with my wife giving me a ride to City Hall so I could participate in the public commentary on the location of the Skate Park that drink manufacturer Red Bull is donating to New Orleans.

Mr. Vincent Smith, Capital Projects Administrator for the City of New Orleans basically repeated the information you can find in my previous blog post in the link below:
http://fsjna.org/2011/12/skate-park-meeting-at-city-hall-wednesday/

There were large poster boards explaining the selection criteria which you can see in the link below:
http://fsjna.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Skate-Park-Site-Selection-Criteria.pdf

I asked if the Skate Park would have a fence built around it. Mr. Smith replied that it would not and added that the preference for the Skate Park is for an area that already is "secure". Meaning that parks that already have gates and regular opening and closing times would have preference.

That would almost certainly disqualify the Lafitte Corridor as it is open 24 hours each day. So, if you are interested in a Skate Park in Mid-City you should likely get busy asking for it.

I asked about better public input. I work at night so I have the luxury of attended a few daytime meetings. Most people don't. With meetings that begin at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. that leaves most folks out of the planning process for the Skate Park. Mr. Smith indicated that people should be able to comment by phone and on the internet soon.

There were about 10 people who attended the meeting. Michael Homan, his son Gil and myself were there on behalf of the Lafitte Corridor. Councilmember Jon Johnson and several others were there to promote the Skate Park going in at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East and a couple of people were there to try to get the Skate Park in Martin Behrman Memorial Park in Algiers.

Regardless of whether you are for or against a Skate Park make your opinion known to Councilmember Guidry at sgguidry@nola.gov *** Follow Gil Homan's lead and make your voice heard.

My day trip continued with a walk from City Hall down Loyola where I encountered this new and innovative bus stop at Tulane and Loyola. It's been there about one week.

I continued my day trip to Canal Street where I waited for the streetcar to take me all the way to Esplanade Avenue by the museum. The newly restored Joy Theatre was across from the streetcar stop and the first performance will be by Irma Thomas tonight.

If you have the time, I highly recommend riding the streetcar downtown from or to the museum. And, don't forget you can get on the Esplanade Bus at Fortier Park which will take you right to the French Quarter. Both the busses and streetcars are very clean.

It's only $1.25 each way and sure beats paying much more to park your car, that is... if you have the time. The streetcar and bus schedules are getting better but aren't quite up to running exactly on time.








(courtesy youtube user kouran92)

Skate Park Meetings

The City and the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) announced that three public meetings will be held to review proposed locations for a skate park. In October 2011, a skateboard ramp was donated to the City and NORDC.

The proposed locations for installation are Joe Brown Park, Behrman Memorial Park, or the Lafitte Greenway.

The three public meetings will be held in the New Orleans City Council chamber, 1300 Perdido Street, 1st floor, on the following dates:


Wednesday, December 21, 2011; 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011; 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Wednesday, January 4, 2012; 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Citizens are encouraged to attend and provide their input. Please write to Councilmember Guidry at sgguidry@nola.gov

Skate Park Site Selection Criteria

Map of NORD Parks Recreation Facilities December, 2011

Lafitte Greenway News

The next round of meetings about the Lafitte Corridor will take place near the end of February, 2012.

The Lafitte Greenway & Corridor Revitalization Plans will be available for public viewing by visiting http://www.lafittecorridorconnection.com/
or two physical locations:
SoJourner Truth Community Center, located at 2200 Lafitte Street and the New Orleans Public Library (main branch), 3rd floor in the Louisiana section.

Lafitte Corridor One of Seven to Receive National Attention

Photos by Charlie London
[gallery link="file"]

Katie Moore / Eyewitness News

NEW ORLEANS -- U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made a special stop in New Orleans during his visit on Wednesday.

He announced that the Lafitte Corridor has been chosen as a priority project for scarce federal funds.

Trains once carried cargo from the river to the lake on it, but it could soon carry people.

“Right now, this is an abandoned rail corridor. It's basically just wasted space,” said Bart Everson, president of the group Friends of the Lafitte Corridor.

The Lafitte Corridor runs 3.1 miles through the city and is now slated for the development of a hiking and biking trail.

“We fully expect to break ground on phase one in 2013. So, in short order we can actually expect to see a trail being built. Now, it'll be a very basic trail to begin with,” Everson said.

The project already has $7.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds from Katrina.

“Because this project has been selected as one of the seven priority projects in the United States of America, and that's a pretty big place, you will have priority in the funding even during these tough times,” Salazar said.

It puts the Lafitte Corridor on the short list for federal dollars as part of the "America's Great Outdoors" initiative.

“We don't know what the dollars will be at this point, but it will add to the assistance and the funding that we're getting,” said Councilwoman Susan Guidry.

Even the hope of additional funding is welcome for those who have fought for years now to make New Orleans a great place to live, bike and even hike.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/lafittecorridornationaldesignation-135617473.html

article below by Alex Woodward of GAMBIT WEEKLY

Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, met with Friends of the Lafitte Corridor today on the banks of Bayou St. John, flanked by a post office and Parkway Bakery & Tavern. Salazar announced the Obama Administration's prioritized commitment to the to the Lafitte Corridor project via the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, led by the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, and coordinated by the White House Domestic Policy Council. It also partners with local communities, specifically for outdoor and parks projects like the Lafitte Corridor. (To clarify a previous post: Salazar's mention of $7 million is from an already-in-place Community Development Block Grant from the Louisiana Recovery Association, allocated to the Lafitte Corridor.)

"This is part of the revitalization of New Orleans," Salazar told Gambit. The project will break ground in 2013.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar walks along the future Lafitte Corridor with Bart Everson, president of the Friends of the Lafitte Corridor.

Bart Everson, president of the Friends of the Lafitte Corridor (FOLC) group advocating for the project, said despite the project being "down in the weeds," the "greenway" will "reclaim the space left behind," rejuvenating a corridor formerly used as a shipping canal, a railway, and now for drainage, and open the space to its communities and visitors. It has the potential, Everson said, "to reconnect the city to its natural landscape." Community meetings on the project's design plans wrapped up this year.

More than 400 million people visit the United States' 397 parks each year, Salazar said. "We are the envy of the world." The administration's three goals through the initiative are "preserving the crown jewels of America," like the Everglades; protecting and preserving the country's rivers systems; and, where the Lafitte applies, preserving the "great urban parks," one of President Barack Obama's highest priorities, Salazar said.

The Lafitte project is one of only seven parks projects nationally the administration is taking on. "Literally thousands could've been taken on," Salazar said, adding the administration will work closely with Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office and New Orleans City Council. (District A councilmember Susan Guidry said she wants the greenway to connect communities to the rebirth of Lake Pontchartrain.) The National Parks Service also will promote the greenway nationally.

"We don't quit," Salazar said to the crowd. "The best days of New Orleans are still ahead of us. ... Ten years from now (the greenway) will be one of the iconic places (in New Orleans) and will look very different from what it does today."

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2011/12/14/sec-of-interior-gives-greenlight-to-lafitte-corridor-greenway

Dec 14: Important Fed Visits Lafitte Corridor

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, will visit the Lafitte Corridor on Wednesday, December 14th at NOON.

Friends,
It appears the Department of the Interior is taking an interest in the Lafitte Corridor greenway project. The Secretary of the Interior (Ken Salazar) will be here Wednesday (Dec. 14) and would like to meet the Friends of Lafitte Corridor. Please come join us at noon at the very end of Bayou St. John, where the corridor intersects Jeff Davis Parkway. There will be time for some Q&A as well as a brief stroll on the site of the future greenway. The whole thing will be over by 1 PM. I'm sure you have many more questions. So do I! Unfortunately at this time I don't know more than what I've spelled out here. It's all come together rather quickly, and I hope to learn more Wednesday. Please join us.

Bart Everson
President
Friends of Lafitte Corridor