Presentation to New Orleans City Council by University of New Orleans (UNO) students and Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED) - on making the St. Claude Ave. bridge safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. http://blog.sustainthenine.org/2012/04/connect-the-9-improving-access-across-the-st-claude-bridge-video.html

1. Connect
the 9 Bridging St. Claude for All Users
1

2. Agenda
• Project Summary
• Existing Conditions
• Neighborhood Profile
• Recommendations
2
Photo courtesy of Connect the 9

3. SAFETY ACCESS EQUITY
3

4. Methodology
• Survey (Connect the 9, Tulane and SCBSAC)
• Bike and pedestrian counts (Connect the 9, with SCBSAC)
• Bridge-opening logs (Port of New Orleans)
• Bridge vehicle traffic counts (Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development)
• Crime stats (5th District Police and New Orleans interactive crime maps)
• Vehicle and bicycle and pedestrian crash statistics (Regional Planning Commission)
• Census data
• Land-use survey
• Case studies (Morrison Bridge, Portland, OR; Bay Farm Island Bridge, Alameda, CA)
• Site visits and user interviews
• Attendance at SCBSAC committee meetings
4

5. Existing Conditions
5
Photo courtesy of Connect the 9

6. 1. narrow shared-lanes
Photos courtesy of Connect the 9
6

7. 2. narrow walkways
Photos courtesy of Connect the 9
7

8. 3. unsafe stairs and railings
8
Photos courtesy of Connect the 9

9. dangerous access
Photos courtesy of Connect the 9
4.
9

10. 5. accident-prone
Lower Ninth Ward
Crashes Reported to DOTD 2007-2009 New Orleans, LA
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Created April 20, 2012 0 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Sources:
10
Miles
New Orleans Metro Regional Planning Commission
LA DOTD 2009

11. Despite the dangerous conditions, during a 20
hour period, we observed 479 people
crossing the St. Claude Bridge on foot or by bicycle.
Photo courtesy of Phys.org Photo courtesy of Connect the 9
271 biked. 208 walked.
11

12. Jobs and Amenities
Major Employment Centers within5 miles ofof the Lower Ninth Ward
Major Employment Centers within 5 miles the Lower Ninth Ward
Lower
Ninth
French Quarter/Marigny Ward
(17,073 jobs)
CBD
(39,293 jobs)
12 Employment data provided by Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.
miles 3

13. Neighborhood Profile
Photo courtesy of Kathy’s Remodeling Blog
13
Photo courtesy of Make it Right Photo courtesy of The New York Times Magazine

14. demoGRaPHics
Population by Race for the Lower 9th Ward (2010) Population by Race for New Orleans (2010)
African American Afr
African American Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Ce
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94
White only Wh
White only
American Indian and Am
American Indian and
Alaska Native alone Ala
Alaska Native alone
Asian alone
Asian alone
57.17% As
91.09% Native Hawaiian or
Native Hawaiian or
Pacific Islander alone
Pacific Islander alone
Na
Pa
Some Other Race Alone So
Some Other Race Alone
14
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Redistricting data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table P1.

15. income
Median Household Income for the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans (2010)
$40,000
$35,000
$35,024
$30,000
$25,256
$25,000
Lower Ninth Ward
$20,000
New Orleans
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
15
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, C2010 Census Data.

16. equity
Lower 9th Ward
Maurepas Foods
Photo courtesy of Maurepas Foods
Photo courtesy of Connect the 9
Bacchanal
Photo courtesy of Dinah Rogers, Times-Picayune archive
16
Upper 9th Ward Photo courtesy of Connect the 9

17. Recommendations
17
Fremont Bridge, Seattle, WA
Photo courtesy of Kate Montana

18. immediate actions
• Add Shared Lane Markers (Sharrows) at 200-Foot Intervals
• Improve Signage
• Improve Pedestrian-Scale Lighting
• Improve Lighting in Tunnels
• Additional Garbage Cans
• Improve Railings on Stairs and Walkways
• Improve Grating on Bike Lane Portion of Bridge
18

19. eXistinG
Pedestrian/Bicycle Path
St. Claude Avenue Bridge Staircase
Staircase Staircase + Bus stop
Rail
PRoPosed
Paths continues to Poland Paths continues to Reynes
Pedestrian/Bicycle Path
St. Claude Avenue Bridge
ADA Ramp Rail Ramp ADA Ramp + Bus stop
19

20. 1. widened walkway
} Existing
20 } Proposed

21. 2. improved visibility
Visible non-motorized access parallel to St. Claude Avenue.
Steel Bridge, Portland, OR Bike/Ped sidewalk
Photos courtesy of Jonathan Maus
Street
21

22. 3. improved access
Replacing steep stairs with ADA accessible ramps.
22

23. Costs and Funding Morrison Bridge, Portland, OR
Photos courtesy of Jonathan Maus
Estimated cost of construction is $1.75-$2.25 million.
Potential funding sources:
• Transportation Enhancement Activities
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/transportation_enhancements/
• Recreational Trails Program
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/index.cfm
• TIGER Grants
http://www.dot.gov/tiger/

24. SAFETY ACCESS EQUITY
MURP 6720 | Instructor: Earthea Nance, PhD, PE, CFM | April 24, 2012.
Shani Armbruster | Emilie Bahr | Molly Brackin | Jonathan Dodson | Lawrence Guimont IV |
Kirk Hunter | Kimberly Hymel | Mariana Marmol | Sophie O’Neill | Nikolaus Richard |
Jonathan Rutherford | Aaron Ryan | Melanie Sand | Scott Weston.
24
Photo courtesy of Connect the 9