NEW ORLEANS -- In Lakeview, it's drive at your own risk.
At least, tha'ts what many residents say.
And it's easy to see how.
"You hear a lot of cars scraping and when people come to visit, it's kind of awkward because I feel bad if their cars scrape," Kat Nichols said.
In some spots, the roadways are split and uneven. There are plenty of huge potholes, too, forcing drivers to zig-zag down streets to avoid them.
But neighborhood leaders hope to turn things around by creating a street maintenance district.
Under the plan, residents would pay a fee each year for each parcel of land they own. How much is still up in the air but the costs would not exceed $150 per parcel.
"The hope is that we can create small successes and then build upon that,” said Brad Fortier, President of the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association. “This gives us the framework to sort of act as the overarching, you know, bucket of funds that could be used to put all of this together."
Fortier said the plan fits within the same framework of the neighborhood’s security district, where residents shell out cash for added patrols.
"It was very successful," he said. "A lot of the residents appreciate it. It continues to get voted back in overwhelmingly, and so we essentially just set out to create a street maintenance district modeled after that."
Lawmakers will now consider the idea, which is being filed as a bill for the upcoming legislative session. If it passes, the measure would then go to a vote of Lakeview residents.
Some would go along with the plan, while others don't want to see new fees, adding some people own multiple properties.
"It's gonna be per parcel and so now you're looking at some people, $300 to $450, in addition to what they're already paying in taxes," Kurt Werling said. "The roads should be taken care of by the city, the government, whoever, out of the property taxes."
Margaret Dubuisson agreed, but said she would still vote in favor of the plan.
"I'm willing to pay extra to have streets that are drivable," she said. "That being said, I do think the taxes that we already pay should fund street repair."
