Why is Audubon Park so well used? The track is packed with people of all sorts although in August the crowds all seem to be early risers, 6 AM and such. All sorts: Obese and slim, bicyclers and skaters, walkers and joggers, young and old.

Can it be that the circular track makes it convenient for people to drive there make a round or ten and get back in their car?

Our small restaurants and businesses were never as keen as Mid-City but the potential for NEW owners/businesses is important. For Mid-city, it sounds like you enjoyed the previous owners and want them back. This is something I hope Tulane/Gravier can eventually say about its small business owners who fully affect the care of the neighborhood (corner stores, dive bars etc.)

Our street car idea is to loop the Canal line through Galvez down to Loyola along Perdido and Poydras in order to feed into the future Rampart loop and mainly create drop off points at the medical centers, city hall and the new jazz center.

Your involvement has seemed to grow beyond webmaster and I’m glad MCNO is starting the planning to paper stage.

I have just learned that the City Council planner’s group for mid city will meet tomorrow (June 3) at 10:00 a.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street. This was confirmed with a call to Michael at Byron Stewart Architects ((504) 527-5339)) one of the local firms selected to implement this process.

Please attend so that we are not “flattened”

You have taken a great start on a much needed endeavor. I have been working on a broader plan with friends in other neighborhoods, and we are trying to put together a blog & meet with politicos.

Dibert was and can again be a great school, and kudos to all involved in the charter project. The Mid City education piece needs to include the “at risk” schools: Fisk-Howard & Crossman, as well as what was one of the better middle schools of the old system, Thurgood Marshall, to maintain the diversity in the neighborhood. We should utilize the expertise of our new council member who was a co-founder of the International School of Louisiana that operated at Jeff Davis & Canal.

Perhaps the library-learning center concept could be incorporated with a school as was done at Martin Luther King Elem. in the lower 9th ward years ago. MCNO’s participation with Dibert could be key here. If the city isn’t able or willing to bring in the public library, a semi-public one could be created at Dibert without them.

I agree in part with the comment by Gothgate that, given the present (or pre-Katrina) level of use, more greenspace is not a high priority, but using what we have is. Turning the RR corridor into the bike path/linear park in the Lafitte Corridor and fully utilizing the Jeff Davis neutral ground and the natural levee along Bayou St. John as you suggest would be a great beginning. Encouragement of some neighborhood gardens, such as the old MidCity Green Org. had done might be another part of the plan.

With all of the rental property that was in my area (south of Canal St.) and that has not been cleared or redeveloped, it seems like the Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation could be encouraged to assist new owners to acquire these properties with guarantees that there would be owner occupancy. The shotgun and camelback doubles that we see throughout MC provide a means for people with limited resources to acquire property by either partnering with similarly situated friends or family members, or by enhancing their income with rent receipts from the other half of a double. Maybe MidCity CDC or ACORN could help here.

Mid City also had a history of “cottage industries”, both blue and white collar, with people working out of their homes. This should be included in any formal economic development plan.

I have heard from friends with RTA that the cost of getting a street car under or over the I-10 & RR overpass is prohibitive. Instead, extending the street car line on Carrollton as far as Tulane, where riders could transfer to the Tulane Avenue bus, would enhance usage and better serve MC residents south of Canal.

I hope that MCNO will begin actively getting input from residents and developing a plan. Seems like other neighborhood associations are getting help from various universities in and outside of the city. Has anyone offered to assist Mid City?

Thanks Bart for laying the seeds to get this discussion started.

when i hear about the various people planning our city for us (new urbanism etc.), i keep hearing about “greenspace.” and talk about the need for small neighborhood parks.

have these people ever lived in new orleans in august? it’s hotter than hades and all but a very few committed souls venture out for more than a minute or two. a dog walk is enough to sunburn you to a crisp and leave you gasping for a breath of air that doesn’t scorch your lungs.

when i looked at the plans for the ‘katrina cottages’, i thought they were nice, but really, wasting 8′ deep of ‘under the roof’ space for a front porch? most of the porches on the old cottages around here are maybe 4-6′ deep at most. when you’re talking about as tight a space as a katrina cottage, to frame that space in as living space would make more sense to me. very few people sit out on their porches anymore. it’s not a matter that the houses don’t have porches or that the neighborhood isn’t condusive to porch-sitting. it’s that it’s not safe, it’s too hot, and there are too many bugs. the neighborhoods are condusive to porch-sitting, the climate isn’t.

and have they ever looked at the small parks that already exist here and go unused and unrepaired? who is supposed to pay for these small parks & greenspaces to be maintained? NORD? they couldn’t upkeep what was here before they’re going to do better now with fewer resources & money? neighborhood associations are a great idea in theory, but i seriously doubt they’d generate the funds or volunteers needed for greenspace/park upkeep.

i remember pre-k driving to my kids’ pediatrician’s office in gentilly. we’d pass a couple of parks. they were totally broken down and no one was ever in them. when we lived in mid-city, i never saw anyone use that park/playspot on the neutral ground on jeff davis. it’s the same for every other park/playspot i’ve seen in the city. even the park on octavia & st charles isn’t that well maintained.

there isn’t a single small park in the city that i know of that would be safe and appropriate to take my kids to. when we wanted to go to a park pre-k, we’d load up the car and head to lafrenier. they had a great playground, the pond, and all sorts of space for kids to run wild in. and we knew it was safe and clean. for a more structured outing we’d go to the audubon zoo or to storyland in city park.

these planners are longing for the “good old days” when parents would let their kids go out unsupervised to the neighborhood parks and let them play all day with a “be home for supper” and “don’t get into trouble.” those days are long gone and have been for years.

it would be great if there were a family-oriented medium-sized park somewhere in mid-city. but it would only be great if there was a committment and funding stream to keeping it maintained. if they provided enough playground equipment, well-kept grass, rubberized stuff under the equipment, smooth sidewalks/paths, h/c accessible, clean & unbroken benches, lots of shade, and security.

basically, all this talk of greenspace, public space, parks, mixed use, etc. is nice — but if no one can be counted on to maintain it in the long run, it’s soon going to be a dangerous eyesore.

In my opinion, housing, local control (I worry over how much of that you will get) and education are your top three priorities. Without that, there is no hope for a viable community.

http://www.neighborhoodsolutions.info/philosophy.html