Projects

Greenway Green Rooms Invite Walkers to Think, Share, and Engage

Friends of the Lafitte Corridor hosted their annual “Hike the Lafitte Corridor” guided tour of the mostly-disused rail and transportation pathway connecting Lakeview to French Quarter on Saturday, April 14th.

Over 100 hikers participated in Saturday’s walk and joined in a discussion of the corridor’s past, present, and future significance as the site of New Orleans’ own Greenway.

Representatives from The Urban Conservancy were on-site at the group’s Jeff Davis Parkway and N. Galvez greenway green rooms to discuss the purpose of the repurposed structures: to inform, engage, and remind residents of the importance of the impending Greenway. Find The Times-Picayune’s story here.

Photos credit Chris Granger at The Times-Picayune.

***********************

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Features Lafitte Greenway in their Case Study: Urban Pathways to Healthy Neighborhoods

Nation-wide pedestrian and cyclist advocacy group, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, makes walking and biking their priority. Building ped-friendly and bike-accessible paths means building better neighborhoods, says Rails-to-Trails. Read an excerpt of their Case Study, and walk tall as they shine the spotlight on our own N. Galvez Kiosk along the Lafitte Corridor.

***********************

MLK Day Unites Service-Minded Community Members at the N. Galvez Kiosk

Monday, January 16th marked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. In honor of his memory, service organizations like City Year New Orleans lead community betterment projects throughout New Orleans.

Our second kiosk installation, located at N. Galvez and Lafitte Streets, enjoyed the benefits of volunteers joining hands in pursuit of a single goal. With help from City Year New Orleans and Cargill volunteers, the kiosk’s final panel was installed (complete with artwork from local students and residents) and the welcome banner rolled out.

The Greenway also got a little facelift, as volunteers rolled up their sleeves and took up their trash bags, clearing the area of litter and debris. The kiosk is turning into quite the attraction, so stay tuned for upcoming coverage from WGNO, or check it out for yourself!

************************

Sec. of Interior Gives Greenlight to Lafitte Greenway

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, met with Friends of Lafitte Corridor, public officials, and interested citizens on Wednesday, December 14 to extend the Obama Administration’s support and prioritized commitment to the Greenway. The Corridor is one of seven park projects the Administration has chosen to take on via its Urban Waters Federal Partnership program dedicated to revitalizing urban waterways in under-served communities. Check out the full story in the Gambit, or for more immediate gratification, check out the picture below.

********************

Rails-To-Trails Conservancy Offers a Blueprint for Greenway Success

The national non-profit organization, Rails-To-Trails Conservancy recently compiled a “Blueprint for Bringing the Lafitte Corridor to Fruition,” which you can view here. Under their Urban Pathways Initiative, the RTC shares their findings about how best to connect neighborhoods to healthy living.

*********************

The Greenway Gets Another Green Room

Built with the help of friends, FOLCs, and FutureProof over the weekend, the Greenway got its second Green Room at the intersection of N. Galvez and Lafitte in the Treme. The Green Rooms offer way-finding services along the Lafitte Corridor, as well as information specific to each site providing a brief history of the area and shining the spotlight on nearby local businesses.

From ground-breaking:

To ground-making:

Wise guidance has also been provided by the national non-profit organization, Rails-To-Trails Conservancy. The RTC has recently compiled a “Blueprint for Bringing the Lafitte Corridor to Fruition,” which you can view here.

*******************

Green Rooms a Go!

Greenway awareness gains steam as more citizens become involved and offer their time, efforts, and enthusiasm toward ensuring the Corridor comes together. Two informational kiosks have been successfully installed using repurposed materials, helping hands, and professional know-how from our friends at FutureProof.

The first Green Room, erected in April, can be found at the intersection of Jeff Davis and Lafitte Street:

You can visit our second Green Room, built over the first weekend in November, at N. Galvez and Lafitte Street in the neutral ground:

Photo courtesy J.O. Evans III

The Urban Conservancy is proud to promote Greenway progress! To learn more about how you or your organization can get involved, visit folc-nola.org or contact us at lafittegreenway@gmail.com.

***************

As we gear up for some greenway planning here in New Orleans, we asked our friends at the Rails to Trails Conservancy to provide some examples of urban pathways from around the nation. Here’s what they had to say._ Developing shared-use pathways and promoting their use can help urban communities address problems of obesity, congestion and scarcity of open space. Read more.

****************

Referred to by many names—the Lafitte Corridor, the Lafitte Greenway, the Old Carondelet Basin, the Carondelet Walk, etc.—this strip of land connecting the French Quarter with Bayou St. John and Lake Pontchartrain has a long history of linking various neighborhoods and could once again serve the city as an inviting and uniting public park. Watch why Kelly Pack of the Rails to Trails Conservancy and Peter Hickman of the Mid-City Volleyball Group support the Lafitte Greenway project.

*************

Greenway “Green Rooms” in 2011

With funding and technical support secured by The Urban Conservancy from The Rails to Trails Conservancy, the New Orleans Hash House Harriers, Massey’s Professional Outfitters and Merrell Shoes, local sustainable design firm FutureProof is designing innovative way-finding kiosks for the Lafitte Greenway (see renderings). The kiosks will be constructed barn-raising style starting in early Spring 2011. Stay tuned for opportunities to get your hands dirty and meet some fellow greenway enthusiasts. Sign up to receive The Greenway Gazette, the monthly e-newsletter keeping you updated on events, volunteer opportunities, and developments along the Greenway throughout the year.

Watch volunteer Trishell Joffrion of the Louisiana Himalaya Association tell about helping out with the first kiosk build on April 15 and 16, 2011.

Map of the Lafitte Greenway

This is a map of the corridor area from Basin Street to North Carrollton Avenue produced by the University of Missouri at Kansas City Urban Planning Department.

Friends of Lafitte Corridor

Some of the folks working to create a public greenway linking the French Quarter and Treme with Mid-City and Bayou St. John have formed a citizen group to work on the project. The group, Friends of Lafitte Corridor (FOLC), has set up a yahoo group. Learn how you can help make the Lafitte Greenway a reality at the FOLC website.