NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Large retractable barricades will prevent vehicles traffic from flowing on Bourbon Street during specific times, according to Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s new public safety improvement plan.
Most of the plan’s proposals are designed to have an impact citywide, but significant chunks are dedicated specifically to the heart of the New Orleans tourist industry, the French Quarter.
In addition to a 3 a.m. street cleaning by the Department of Sanitation that will coincide with a controversial citywide plan to have all bars close their doors at that time, new efforts will be made to limit vehicular traffic on Bourbon Street.
After a comprehensive traffic study to create a management schedule that would allow delivery drivers to restock bars, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses along Bourbon, the city plans to install retractable barriers at nearly two dozen intersections.
“To close the street to vehicular traffic, the City will install movable bollards that prevent crossing vehicular traffic at either end and each side street,” according to a press release issued by the Mayor’s office. “The City will install bollard systems in 20 intersections within the 100-800 blocks of Bourbon Street. The bollards can be remotely operated for emergency vehicles and can be opened during standardized delivery times.”
Similar retractable bollards can be found at some government buildings, around the White House, and outside airports across the country. Locally, retractable bollards can be found outside the Federal Reserve Bank Building on St. Charles Avenue.
The hydraulic bollard systems have been known to malfunction and lift police and security vehicles into the air.
Additional parking at the edges of the French Quarter and in the Downtown area will help to alleviate traffic in the areas most heavily traveled by pedestrians, according to the city’s plan.
Details on the timeline of the bollard installation have yet to be released by the Mayor’s office.
