Parkway Permeable Paving

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by Charlie London

There is no quick fix to flooding but there are some things you can do right now.
Old timers in Faubourg St. John know that the lot that used to be paved with cement at the corner of Hagan and Lafitte Streets used to be a veritable pond any time it rained. Parkway Bakery bought the lot several years ago for parking and paved it with a permeable surface. The area is a pond no more!

Remove cement around your home and install the system featured in the link or something similar and you will keep thousands of gallons of water off of your property.

A simple way to get thousands of gallons of water away from your property is to plant a tree. Details in the link:
http://www.northlandnemo.org/images/800TreeCityUSABulletin_55.pdf

And, believe or don’t, trees reduce crime. Details in the link:
https://fsjna.org/2012/12/plant-a-tree-reduce-crime/

featured-img-parkwayParkway Bakery. Those who frequent this restaurant know quality poboys and friendly folks can be found there.

pavers1eEven the President of the United States and his family heard how great the place was and decided to check it out.

pavers1gDriving down Jefferson Davis Parkway toward Bayou St. John, where Jeff Davis turns into Hagan, you may have noticed the transformation of the lot on the corner there.

pavers1bAs many assumed, the lot is going to be a place for cars to park. But, what was once a constantly flooded mess will now be an environmentally friendly place for folks to put their vehicles when they visit Parkway Bakery for poboys.

Jay Nix, owner of Parkway Poboys paved his parking lot in an environmentally friendly way.
Jay Nix, owner of Parkway Poboys paved his parking lot in an environmentally friendly way.
How could a parking lot be environmentally friendly? It’s not asphalt or cement but recycled plastic forms that are filled with gravel. This type of pavement allows the water to go through the parking lot so pools of water don’t form when it rains and there won’t be water running off in to the street further taxing the city’s pumping system.

See those yellow lines in the photos below? Those are not painted on lines like you would see on a regular parking lot but plastic inserts that snap into the molds.pavers1i

Permeable paving allows water to go through the parking lot instead of running out into the street.
Permeable paving allows water to go through the parking lot instead of running out into the street.

Want to know more? Check out the video report below from WDSU TV:

You can have an environmentally friendly driveway or porch installed at your home for about 7-10 dollars per square foot.
You can have an environmentally friendly driveway or porch installed at your home for about 7-10 dollars per square foot.
Yellow plastic inserts are snapped in to the molds to make lines for the parking lot. No paint!
Yellow plastic inserts are snapped in to the molds to make lines for the parking lot. No paint!

For more information about TRUE GRID PAVERS, click on the photos above or the link below:

http://www.truegridpaver.com/product-features/

Green Infrastructure Projects

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courtesy Life City at www.mylifecity.com
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Public Unveiling of Sewerage and Water Board Green Infrastructure Projects

This Event is RSVP Only

When

Thursday, September 25, 2014
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Where

Propeller : Large Conference Room
4035 Washington Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70125

Get Map

Details

Water entrepreneurs and community members interested in Louisiana’s critical water challenge are invited to hear presentations from the Sewerage and Water Board’s Green Infrastructure grantees.

Presenters:
S&WB Green Infrastructure Grantees

• Ripple Effect // Ripple Effect
• Parkway Partners // Green Keepers
• Louisiana Urban Stormwater Coalition // Educational Program
• Groundwork New Orleans // Lower 9th Ward Earth Lab
• Dana Brown & Associates // Central City Project
• Hanging Gardens // Rabouin International High School GI Lab
• Land Trust for Louisiana // The Water Effectiveness in Broadmoor
Emcee: Joe Becker, Sewerage & Water Board

Agenda:
I. 6:00pm Networking & Refreshments
II. 6:30pm Overview of S&WB GI Projects
III. 6:45pm 3-minute “spark” presentations from 7 S&WB grantees
IV. 7:15pm Q&A and Networking

Registration

RSVP for this Event

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pollution-prevention
green-conference
intern-energy

info courtesy Life City at www.mylifecity.com

New Marshland Created

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Photo courtesy the Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation's website.
Photo courtesy the Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation‘s website.
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has recently completed construction on a wetland creation project at the mouth of Bayou St. John.  Over half an acre of marsh has been created and planted using dredge spoil from the channel dredging project for the Bayou St. John sector gates.  The wetland is now thriving with numerous fish and birds spotted within the lush plants. The Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation is holding a formal dedication of the wetland to the city on the morning of Tuesday, October 14th.

Bayou St. John is a natural and historic bayou within the city limits of New Orleans.  The bayou has great historical significance since the bayou was used by French explorers to found New Orleans in 1718. Although the bayou has been highly altered from its natural swamp terrain and hydrology, the bayou has attained great urban beauty and is a prized green space corridor that runs from the Lafitte corridor to Lake Pontchartrain.

In spring 2013, the Orleans Levee District undertook a dredging project to unplug the mouth of Bayou St. John at Lake Pontchartrain and improve water flow inward when the floodgate is open. This is part of a series of projects intended to improve the Bayou’s hydrological and ecological function, including the recent removal of a nearby dam. The dredging project was an opportunity to beneficially use sediment for environmental enhancement. 

Biologists working with the Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation developed a plan to build a containment dike using a relatively new product (called DeltaLok), and to have dredge material placed in two areas within the Bayou for the purpose of marsh creation to create an isolated area of marsh area along the otherwise armored seawall which stretches for ten miles along New Orleans’ recreational lakefront and Lakeshore Drive.  The Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation hopes that the new marsh will draw the community to enjoy and embrace the area, and help focus international attention on Louisiana’s rich but imperiled environment.   

More at:  http://www.saveourlake.org/coastal-projects.php

Louisiana Water Festival

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Louisiana Water Festival, Saturday,
March 8, 2014

Green Army pelican3Louisiana Water Festival, State Capital Grounds, Baton Rouge March 8, 2014, 1 to 3 pm

Speakers: Russell L. Honore (Ret), LA Green Army; John Barry, Restore Louisiana Now; Marylee Orr, LEAN; Sandy Rosenthal, Levees.org; Jonathan Henderson, GRN; Darryl Malek-Wiley, Sierra Club; Louisiana League of Women Voters; Louisiana Progress; Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and others. Everybody is invited.

What is the GreenARMY ?

Five days after the floodwalls in New Orleans broke during Katrina US Army General Russell Honore and the Louisiana National Guard were allowed to enter the city, restore order, and start recovery operations. The General was able to get things done despite the inadequate national, state and local political leadership in place at the time, and despite the immensity of the disaster. We have another huge disaster that unfolds every day. That is the continuing destruction of our coastal environment and our water quality caused by unregulated and exploitative oil and gas extraction in Louisiana and its coastal waters. Retired General Honore has chosen to lead a broad coalition of environmental and community organizations in drawing attention to these issues and in forming a legislative agenda to tackle the problems. The GreenARMY event on March 8 is a chance for us to show support for the General and for holding big industry accountable for damage to our water and coastal resources. Please join us on Saturday, March 8, 2014 at the Louisiana State Capital. More about the GreenARMY: http://gogreenarmy.com/

Logistics

Event location is 900 North 3rd Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802. A bus will be available in New Orleans. To reserve a spot on the bus from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, please send an email with BUS in the subject line to Darryl Malek Wiley at darryl.malek-wiley@sierraclub.org. Meetup time for bus and carpools will be 11 am on Saturday, March 8. Please consider volunteering to drive your car.

A bus is available from New Orlean to Baton Rouge – no charge, but a donation is requested.
Email andy.zellinger@sierraclub.org if you want a seat on the bus.
For more information, please visit the link –> http://lasierraclub.org/node/96

City Removes Tree

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tree-removed-2013july16

A neighbor in the 3200 block of Grand Route Saint John called the City of New Orleans about a dead tree in front of their home.

The tree was dead and full of bees. The City came out and determined that the tree needed to be removed. The Parks and Parkways Department will help with trees on City property. This tree was between the sidewalk and the street. The area between the sidewalk and the street belongs to the City of New Orleans.

The Department of Parks and Parkways encourages tree planting by citizens, but requires citizens to get a free Tree Planting Permit to plant a tree between the sidewalk and curb. Citizens also need to submit plans for the trees and/or shrubs they intend to plant on public property.

For full information and a permit application, see the Tree Planting Permit page from the City of New Orleans Permit & Licenses department. Depending on the location planting location, citizens may also need a Sidewalk Cut Permit.

If you need to contact the City of New Orleans please visit the link below:
https://fsjna.org/contact/federal-government-links/

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Many thanks to the City workers
who did a great job!


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Entergy came out after the tree was removed
to make sure all the utilities were safe.


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City workers left the area clean.