Ambitious plan could help N.O. reclaim its riverfront (1 Viewer)

[MikeyF]

by Bruce Eggler, The Times-Picayune Saturday April 05, 2008, 10:26 PM


It's called "Reinventing the Crescent," a nearly $300 million plan for giving the public access to several miles of New Orleans riverfront that have long been inaccessible because of warehouses and cargo-handling activities.


It envisions the riverfront, shorn of most of its once-ubiquitous metal sheds, as a place for walking, jogging, dining, celebrating, worshipping, relaxing and even living.
City Council President Arnie Fielkow has called the ambitious plan "the most exciting project the city has seen in decades, maybe in its history."


On the other hand, it has aroused deep suspicion among some neighborhood activists, and both port officials and some private developers have problems with parts of it.


Yet many New Orleanians, accustomed to grandiose visions that eventually dissipate, probably suspect that the whole plan is just another pie-in-the-sky project that will never move beyond the pretty-pictures stage.


A city agency on Monday will receive proposals to begin the process of turning the pictures into reality, but most of the money needed to implement the $294 million blueprint remains more hope than reality.



Ambitious plan could help N.O. reclaim its riverfront -
New Orleans News - NOLA.com




Desire

 

[The Mongoose]

Is it just me, or does it seem like warehousing/industrial uses along the river are more important than bike paths? Especially with the increased shipping traffic expected in the next 10 years, and the competition from Mobile, Mississippi, Texas, etc?

Or am I missing something?

 

[TPS]

I've seen the watercolor renderings of what Blaine Kern has envisioned upriver, and with the River being the heartbeat of the city, no doubt there are far better usages for that real estate than cargo. That stuff is important but that can easily be replicated further downriver or in the more industrial areas slightly upriver from the city. The Mississippi is a major natural asset for us, so we should be utilizing it to grow new businesses and residential areas. I know that on the westbank, there is a real big redevelopment project going on with a sales HQ at Place St. Charles. Let me see if I can find the links.

Kern's isn't out there yet but I called them and if it's public domain, they're going to scan and e-mail me a picture, which if I get, I will post down the road.

Here is Algiers Crossing.

http://www.algierscrossing.com/

TPS

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Is it just me, or does it seem like warehousing/industrial uses along the river are more important than bike paths? Especially with the increased shipping traffic expected in the next 10 years, and the competition from Mobile, Mississippi, Texas, etc?

Or am I missing something?

I agree.

But you are missing one thing -

.

It's only a matter of time....