photo courtesy Bike Easy
Posted on June 24, 2013 at 6:31 AM Updated today at 6:41 AM
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NEW ORLEANS – Another round of street repairs officially came to an end on Monday. Work has been underway on Esplanade Avenue and City Park Avenue since March. The $5 million project focused on City Park Avenue from Canal Boulevard to Orleans Avenue and on Esplanade Avenue from Moss Street to Claiborne Avenue.
The two lane road has been repaved and transformed into one lane each direction for cars and one lane for bikes. Some parts of Esplanade have not yet been re-striped for the new lanes. The work also included installing handicap ramps, pavement patching and curb repairs.
Paths to Progress is bigger than this one project. It represents a more than $90 million investment to improve over 60 street segments in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
The group has also recently targeted Williams Boulevard and St. Bernard Avenue.
Big makeovers were already completed in the French Quarter and New Orleans East.
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June 24, 2013


Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Monday, June 24, 2013
10:30 a.m.
Cabrini High School
1400 Moss Street
New Orleans
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March 5, 2013
https://fsjna.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Esplanade+Bike+Path+Study1a.pdf
click on the announcement for a larger view
Tuesday | March 5th
3368 Moss Street in beautiful Faubourg St. John
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Barriere Construction Company will begin the Esplanade repaving project on March 6th. One lane of traffic will remain open on each side of Esplanade during the project.
Dean Burridge sent in this report on January 12, 2013:
The $5M project has been coordinated with the Sewer & Water Board along with area utilities, and completion by July 2013 is anticipated.
ADA curb ramps will be the items that will be the first construction to begin. A new 2″ surface of asphalt will be installed after removing of the previous material, along with curb repair. The stone curb will remain and be reset as deemed necessary.
Seven day notice will be given to area businesses and residents prior to the initiation of road work and the work will be generally continuous from 7am to 5:30pm. Some occasional evening & weekend repairs are possible. If you have any questions they may be reached at 1-800-574-7193.
One lane will remain open during construction work. Esplanade Avenue will become a one vehicle travel lane in each direction. The lane will be widened to 12′ and it is the city’s intention to have an accompanying bike lane with accompanying striping. The bike lane striping will be done later.
The Rail Road track and subsequent bump on City Park Avenue will remain. Several crosswalks at area schools, along with those in “downtown” Faubourg St. John will be done in a “bold” pattern style. None of the area parks will be utilized for construction material or devices.
https://fsjna.org/2013/01/esplanade-and-city-park-avenue-repaving/
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Paving announced July 23, 2012:
https://fsjna.org/2012/07/esplanade-to-get-upgrade-in-december/
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Request for comments November 3, 2011:
https://fsjna.org/2011/11/comments-due-on-esplanade-repaving/
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Paving announced October 12, 2011:
https://fsjna.org/2011/10/esplanade-avenue-to-be-repaved/
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The article below is by Kate Parker, former Faubourg St.John Neighborhood Association president:
The infrastructure improvements for Esplanade are not a surprise to this neighborhood. Indeed, they were discussed in 2006, 2007 and 2008 at several planning meetings. They are located within the bike master plan for the city. It is possible that not everyone here attended every meeting or was involved in every discussion. But, as a former neighborhood president, I was. And I
encouraged it, and I was not alone.
Road diets on streets with sub-standard travel lanes in a places with a high residential and business mix make sense for safety and economic development.
Crash rates between cars decrease (see FHWA report http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/humanfac/04082/index.cfm) as cars cross fewer lanes of traffic to turn minimizing the potential for conflicts.
Furthermore, the safety of pedestrians increases. Pedestrians do not have to cross as many lanes of traffic to reach their destination. We have many new families with young children in this neighborhood. We have elderly citizens who require extra time to cross streets. Let’s try to envision a neighborhood that keeps our kids and their grandparents safe.
Our neighborhood businesses cannot survive on the business of the small group of people who live in the Faubourg St. John alone. People visit Faubourg St.John from all over the city not only at Jazz Fest, but at other times of the year. There are at least three businesses that rent bikes to tourists downtown. The tourists (and our own residents) require a safe way to travel from the French Quarter to City Park. City Park is adding infrastructure for people to be active and enjoy the park. It is absurd that we would want them to drive to the park to be active.
People should be able to walk and bike there safely.
Finally, there will be an increase in cyclists and also in pedestrians. I have completed two studies in peer-reviewed journals of the impact of bike lanes in New Orleans on cycling. Both the St. Claude lane and the S. Carrollton lanes led to an increase in cyclists. (Parker et al, JPAH, 2011, & Parker et al, Annuals of Behavioral Medicine 2013). A third study I am finishing details that after the new improvements on S. Carrollton there was an increase in pedestrians too. Considering the needs of our businesses to attract customers, I think that new bike and pedestrian traffic helps them significantly. Moreover, the new comprehensive zoning ordinance has features that encourage business to include parking for bikes. Our city is moving to become more inclusive of all users of the roadways, as evidenced by the passage of the 2011 Complete Streets Ordinance.
New Orleans is a flat city in a temperate climate, well-suited to walking and biking.