Lafitte Corridor once was a canal and railroad connecting the French Quarter and Bayou St John. Right now, it is a mostly-vacant
tract of land planned for redevelopment as parkland... whenever there is enough $$. At its base along Claiborne, stretching away from the river, past the former Lafitte Projects, it is a partially-fenced green space (including active NORD public swimming pool) becoming an industrial zone once it crosses over Broad. Along this stretch of the corridor (bounded by Conti and Lafitte Streets), the canal is open to the air above and one can find a fenced-off graveyard of street signs, a fence holding in the Red Bull skateboard ramps brought down on a barge last October*, and a deteriorated bridge along N Lopez St as it crosses the canal.
You will most likely see a couple of folks walking across the bridge as
they come from/go to Canal St or even a frustrated biker dismounting
because of the poor bridge condition and
Jersey barriers
(common in military installations**) blocking the way. Often folks
will hang out here, falling through the deck or almost landing in the
canal due to missing railings.
 |
| plan of the bridge... the blue is the pristine canal water. "x"s are railing posts. big black bowling pin on fire is a huge pipe with a tree overhanging. |
SO
We will be meeting up on Sunday, November 4th at 9:00, at the N Lopez Bridge. The spot has a lot of potential, beyond just making it walkable/bikeable.
Things to bring, if you have them:
-wood, plastic, net, rope, tree branches, anything around 83" long (to replace railings)
-pieces of wood (2x12s + plywood is ideal, but we can work with anything) to fill in holes in the deck
-screws/nails >2 1/2"
-paint/brushes
lets see what happens...
*the Red Bull Skate Barge ramps sit on rented trailers in storage, while decisions are not made as to where they can go, only touchable by union workers, while New Orleans skaters are without a city-approved public park. The much-hyped recent Lil Wayne/Mtn Dew park - NOT OPEN ANYMORE - had a handful of problems, such as $5 entry and only open 9-5.
** these have been here at least 5 years now, although the rebar loops on their edges are meant for "short-term placement"
