NEW ORLEANS — Nearly 300 people participated in a public zoom meeting with New Orleans councilwoman Kristin Palmer to get their concerns addressed regarding a few new ideas to utilize public space in French Quarter as a way to help businesses struggling with the pandemic and allow more safe pedestrian access.
“It’s a neighborhood,” said long-time French Quarter resident Colleen Millard. “That’s my main concern. We want it to stay a neighborhood.”
On Monday, Palmer listened to a list of concerns just like that Millard’s.
“I will not be part of something that does not that does not have a thoughtful community input process,” said Palmer who represents district C.
One of the ideas called the "safe and social concept" would shut down certain streets to vehicle traffic after 5 pm. There would also be designated hours for pedestrian malls. Another idea calls an open area for pedestrians to enjoy that's closed off to traffic known as a civic spine. It would stretch on Orleans from Chartres to Rampart. Some neighbors don’t seem pleased by the idea.”
“We are often forgotten in the mix in the economic area of eating and drinking but it is a neighborhood and people do live here,” said Glade Bilby, the president of the French Quarter Citizens.
“We just need to have access to our places,” said Millard.
We are told neighbors will still have access to their homes and off-street parking and businesses will still be able to receive deliveries.
“It is not an environment where we shut down entire streets to vehicles -- that is not the case,” said Ramsey Green, the Deputy CAO of Infrastructure for the City of New Orleans. “What we are doing is strategic targeted thinking.”
City officials also list a number of benefits from social, health and environmental.
“When you have more outside activity, when you have more people eating outside studies have shown that crime goes down and quality of life goes up,” said Palmer.
Leaders are expecting to get much more public input before breaking ground. Neighbors just hope they are paying attention.
“They need to listen to the residents,” said Millard.
City leaders stress the fact that the designs are just concepts and nothing is set in stone. They hope to take input from the public and make adjustments as needed.
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