News Roundup

Lakeview Business Corridor Getting Transformation

The Times-Picayune
By Lolis Eric Elie
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Store owners applaud improvements

Through a mix of city, state and federal efforts, the commercial strip along Lakeview’s Harrison Avenue is being transformed into a picturesque thoroughfare with wider sidewalks, landscaping, better lighting and bike lanes.

While the work is being done, the lake side of the four-lane boulevard has been closed to traffic with the river side used for cars traveling in both directions.

The construction could easily be a nightmare for commerce along the street, but most business owners say their sales haven’t been badly hurt and that improvements to the street are much needed.

“It’s not fun,” said Myrna Fawer, owner of Little Miss Muffin, a shop along the street. “There’s nothing you can do. Our street needed fixing.”

“I think we’re going to have a wonderful outcome after it’s all done,” said Mark Uddo, the co-chairman of the Harrison Avenue Marketplace, the outdoor food, art and crafts market that takes place every second Wednesday.

“We’ve been dealing with obstacles and roadways in Lakeview for most of our lives,” Uddo said. “What’s a few more bumps with the road?”

The South Louisiana Submerged Roads Program will spend $2.6 million to resurface and repair Harrison Avenue from Marconi Drive to West End Boulevard. The Sewerage and Water Board will spend another $600,000 to replace a 30-inch water main that had been leaking beneath the street.

“We know the water main is leaking and that has led to some of the problems on that street,” said Robert Mendoza, the city’s Public Works director.

On the heels of the street improvements, the city will begin a $4 million streetscape project that will include brick sidewalks and enhanced lighting and landscaping. These will be paid for by the Community Development Block Grant funds that were created with money left over from the Road Home program.

“We really want pedestrians to feel very comfortable, to feel that they can walk and cycle through that location,” Mendoza said.

“We will narrow the streets at those intersections and drivers will feel the road narrow on them,” Mendoza said. “It tends to slow drivers down without actually putting something in the street.”

Mendoza said the slower traffic will be good for business.

“I am a firm believer in the economic opportunities that walkable cities create,” Mendoza said. “Nobody shops by driving by a store. You want your people to slow down enough to do business in the neighborhood.

“It’s going to make Harrison Avenue a real showplace for retail for the city of New Orleans,” said Robert Lupo, chief executive officer of Lupo Enterprises, which owns several properties along the street.

In addition to the improvements along the commercial corridor, the Harrison Avenue bridges over Bayou St. John will be reconstructed.

The streets along that portion of Harrison Avenue that runs through City Park will be resurfaced. The sidewalks in that area will be widened and bike lanes will be installed.

“It’s exciting to be able to put another element of the City Park master plan into use. That benefits both Gentilly and Lakeview,” Mendoza said.

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Lolis Eric Elie can be reached at lelie@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3330.