NEW ORLEANS — The Department of Public Works roadway striping contractor is currently re-striping Tulane Avenue between S. Rampart Street and S. Claiborne Avenue, and Common Street between Baronne and S. Rampart streets. The striping work is anticipated to last approximately two weeks.
This project will improve bicycle and pedestrian connections between downtown destinations and the recently-renovated portion of Tulane Avenue, which now includes a widened neutral ground and bike lanes, city reps said.
This nine block project will reconfigure Tulane Avenue to include protected bike lanes, high-visibility crosswalks and new roadway striping. In the riverbound direction, the project will create two blocks of protected bike lanes and four blocks of conventional bike lanes on Tulane Avenue. In the lakebound direction, the project will add two one-block sections of protected bike lanes on Common Street as well as six blocks of protected bike lanes on Tulane Avenue.
The project will also add several high-visibility crosswalks along Tulane Avenue, and will refresh lane lines, edge lines, parking lines, and turn lane lines.
These improvements are being implemented under the city’s Complete Streets Program which was established in July 2016 and supports the City’s recently released Climate Action Plan, which calls for reducing car dependency by half by 2030, city reps said.
The city will minimize impacts to roadway users and adjacent buildings as much as possible, and roadway users can expect to see striping crews on site and should exercise caution during construction activities by reducing speeds, city reps said. Users can expect temporary travel lane shifts and restricted parking during this time.
New Orleans’ bicycling user rates are among the highest in the nation for major U.S. cities, city reps said. In January 2017, the City of New Orleans was accepted into the People for Bikes’ “The Big Jump Project.” As one of 10 communities nationwide, the city will receive technical assistance over the next three years to implement low stress bike networks in the city’s downtown core and adjacent neighborhoods.
