The Lafitte Corridor and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Urban Pathways Initiative: An Emerging Opportunity to Connect New Orleans Neighborhoods to Healthy Living CONTENTS I. Executive Summary 2 II. Plan Review Summary 8 III. Current Conditions 10 Social Conditions 12 Community Facilities and Resources 16 Physical Conditions and Recommendations 35 IV. Community Outreach 50 V. Recommendations and Action Plan 53 Action Items to Complete During Design/Build Phase 53 Action Items to Complete After Trail Completion 58 VI. Conclusion 61 Appendices A . Works Cited 62 B. Technical Appendix 64 C. Party on the Greenway Survey Summary 71 Photos on front cover: Two women walking and the 2011 Hike the Lafitte Corridor are courtesy of Bart Everson; marching band courtesy of Benedicte Desrus. The Lafitte Corridor and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Urban Pathways Initiative: An Emerging Opportunity to Connect Neighborhoods to Healthy Living Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Project Team: Lindsay Martin Stephen Miller Kelly Pack ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This community assessment was made possible by a generous grant from The Kresge Foundation to support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) Urban Pathways Initiative. RTC and our many local partners extend our gratitude to the Foundation for their support and shared vision to create healthier communities by connecting people and places with urban pathways. RTC is grateful for the support of local residents, groups and businesses that advocate for sustainable and community-minded develop- ment of the Lafitte Corridor. We extend a special thank you to Ethan Ellestad, outreach coordinator for the Lafitte Corridor, and to Bart Everson, Daniel Samuels and the rest of Friends of Lafitte Corridor, the Urban Conservancy, KidsWalk Coalition, Sojourner Truth Neighbor- hood Center, Bike Easy (formerly Metro Bicycle Coalition), University of New Orleans, Louisiana Safe Routes to School National Partner- ship, New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, and the city of New Orleans. Finally, the team wishes to recognize RTC staff who contributed to the accuracy and utility of this assessment: Barbara Richey, graphic designer, Karl Wirsing, editor, Tim Rosner, GIS specialist, and Jay Rauschenbach, GIS intern. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 • The LafiTTe Corridor and raiLs-To-TraiLs ConservanCy’s Urban PaThways iniTiaTive EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. EXecutive SummarY Since 2006, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has worked with local organizations in New Orleans to advocate for trail development within the Lafitte Corridor, a former railroad and canal corridor that stretches through several neighborhoods in the heart of the city. In 2009, with support from The Kresge Foundation, RTC began a multi-year effort in New Orleans to implement the Urban Pathways Initiative (UPI), a program that provides community-based assistance to groups and municipal agencies that promote or develop pathways intersecting low-income communities. New Orleans is one of four U.S. cities receiving in-depth assistance through RTC’s UPI program. The first phase of UPI consisted of a thorough assessment of the physical environment and social conditions of neighborhoods adjacent to the Lafitte Corridor. Findings and recommendations are presented in the four main sections of this report: • Plan Review Summary — An overview of existing research and planning documents that in- form subsequent sections of this report. The Plan Review Summary emphasizes planned and proposed changes that will impact the study area outlined below; • Current Conditions — A description of existing physical and social conditions of the New Orleans neighborhoods within a quarter-mile of the corridor. This analysis covers both im- portant demographic and social factors and identifies significant landscape barriers that may limit accessibility to the future greenway; • Community Outreach — A summary of RTC’s outreach activities and involvement with the community and key stakeholders; • Recommendations and Action Plan — Suggestions for increasing awareness of the corridor revitalization project and for encouraging use of the facility once it is constructed. This report combines the community assessment with empirical research, community input and RTC’s 25 years of trail-development experience to inform a set of recommendations and multi- year action plan for creating equitable access to the corridor and encouraging use and community stewardship of the future greenway. The LafiTTe Corridor and raiLs-To-TraiLs ConservanCy’s Urban PaThways iniTiaTive • 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE CORRIDOR The Lafitte Corridor is a largely vacant strip of land once used by Norfolk Southern Railroad, stretching from Basin Street to Canal Boulevard and connecting the French Quarter to the Bayou. Residents from surrounding neighborhoods have worked to preserve the 3.1-mile section of cor- ridor for future open space and greenway development. The corridor has been critical to trans- portation throughout New Orleans’ history — first as a waterway and later as a rail line. There is no other direct route between Mid-City and Tremé, the French Quarter and the Central Business District that is publicly owned and generally undeveloped. In post-Katrina New Orleans, with land use being re-examined throughout the city, supporters have realized the urgency of putting their idea into action. Citizen advocates dedicated to preserving the open space of the Lafitte Corridor for use as a green way formed Friends of Lafitte Corridor (FOLC) in 2006. Shortly after FOLC established, they spearheaded an effort to produce the first plan for the Lafitte Corridor’s redesign, the “Lafitte Greenway Master Plan” (2007). Local support grew for the concept, and in 2009 the city of New Orleans received a federal grant from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to design and redevelop the corridor, including the construction of a multi-use trail or “greenway,” as it is being referred to in this report. This grant will support the complete design of the corridor and construc- tion of the greenway. RTC has been involved in this project for several years and is currently im- plementing UPI by adding capacity to local organizations that advocate for the greenway and by encouraging neighborhood residents and local business owners along the corridor to be involved in the planning process. 4 • The LafiTTe Corridor and raiLs-To-TraiLs ConservanCy’s Urban PaThways iniTiaTive EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMMUNITY STUDY AREA Recommendations presented in this report, especially those related to infrastructure, focus on a defined area surrounding the corridor. For the purpose of this report, that study area is bound by Canal Street and Orleans Avenue and by Canal Avenue and Basin Street. The study area includes a buffer of approximately a quarter-mile around the corridor and was determined based on previous planning efforts (Lafitte Greenway Master Plan, 2007) and on advisement of FOLC board members and an urban planning specialist with the city of New Orleans. Neighborhoods included are: Tremé, Iberville, Lafitte, Tulane/Gravier, Bayou St. John, Mid-City and Navarre (South Lakeview). The physical assessment of walking and biking conditions used these boundaries to examine streets that connect or are close to the Lafitte Corridor in order to determine future greenway access and overall neighborhood walkability and bikeability. The summary of the social conditions in this report presents data for U.S. Census tracts that are either completely within or intersect the defined study area. The results of the physical assessment included in this report, combined with social data and community resource inventory, can help shape the greenway planning process while also informing citywide policy for creating safe and accessible pedestrian and bicycle network. THE TRAIL-HEALTH CONNECTION During the past 20 years, obesity has become a significant health risk to millions of Americans. The number of deaths associated with obesity is second only to the number of deaths per year related to smoking. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control announced that the obesity rate among the adult population swelled to 30 percent (about 60 million), a figure that has doubled since 1980. The health risks associated with obesity can be mitigated by creating environments that provide individuals with a place to engage in regular, safe physical activity. Research suggests that walking is a particularly important component to active living since it is the most accessible form of physical activity across socioeconomic groups and in areas that are urban or rural (Henderson, 2005). Related studies support the role of multi-use trails as enhancers of communities’ pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and reinforce the notion that The LafiTTe Corridor and raiLs-To-TraiLs ConservanCy’s Urban PaThways iniTiaTive • 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY trails contribute to community health by providing accessible and safe walking and biking ACTION ITEMS TO BE COMPLETED environments (Troped et al, 2005). The Lafitte Corridor extends through economically DURING DESIGN/BUILD PHASE distressed communities that are in need of safe, inexpensive recreational facilities to help DESIGN AND INFRASTRUCTURE promote healthy lifestyles and curb the significant trends of obesity-related disease among • Access Points/Gateways New Orleans residents. • Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure • Include Sustainable Water Design as RECOMMENDatIONS AND ACTION PLAN Element of Greenway Planning Since the Lafitte Corridor is currently undeveloped, the recommendations