Dense crowds line St. Charles Avenue during the Krewe of Iris parade in 2017. Officials are investigating whether artificial turf could better protect the grass along the neutral ground. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
Officials in the city of New Orleans have considered installing artificial turf along parts of the St. Charles Avenue neutral ground to protect it from the wear and tear of both large crowds at Mardi Gras and even the daily activity of runners.
Last year, the department had previously requested $2 million for a “St. Charles Avenue Neutral Ground Restoration” that would repair landscaping in the neutral ground using “grass pavers” between the streetcar tracks along the Mardi Gras parade route, and a form of artificial turf called “Celebration Bermuda” along the rest of the neutral ground. That request did not receive funding in the current year’s budget, and the department dropped it from its list of proposed projects for the next year, department director Ann Macdonald told city planners last week.
The department now worries that the level of normal pedestrian traffic in the neutral ground may even wear out artificial turf, making the project even more costly than efforts to maintain the grass. Similar experiments to protect the turf in Lafayette Square have also seen extensive wear during the weekly concert series, Macdonald said, so the daily activity on St. Charles might quickly destroy even the artificial turf.
“It’s going to be extremely costly,” Macdonald told the city officials. “We don’t know for sure if even the Celebration Turf — that is a particular turf that’s used on ball fields — could even withstand that. We’ve kind of retreated so we can do some more research.”
The department has also considered green infrastructure pavers in the neutral ground, but officials with the Regional Transit Authority oppose the idea, MacDonald noted, because they worry it would encourage even more people to use the streetcar tracks for running.
“We just recognize that St. Charles Avenue project requires a lot more research, because we don’t want to get funding to do something like that and it not be sustainable,” Macdonald said.
Ways to protect the grass on the avenue remain under investigation, the mayor’s office said afterward.
“The turf replacement project was proposed to repair the avenue from daily use by pedestrians and runners as well as additional Mardi Gras and streetcar traffic,” said Erin Burns, a spokeswoman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “The Department of Parks and Parkways is holding on that request as they research a turf that can withstand the high pedestrian daily use.”
While we’re at it, why not Astroturf Audubon and City Parks and Jackson Square too?
Part of the problem is that streetcars dump sand to create friction on the tracks when braking. How are they going to clean the sand from the artificial turf which already contains rubber beads. Artificial turf on St. Charles is like keeping plastic on your living room furniture.
Maybe some vinyl siding on those old homes on St. Charles. (This is the worst idea ever)
The reason the neutral ground is in such horrible shape is because Parks and Parkways, the RTA and the city of New Orleans, have/has neglected St. Charles Avenue for so long it’s starting to look like Frankenstein’s zipper neck. Putting artificial turf on the neutral ground is a HORRIBLE solution and should NOT happen.The real solution is for PnP / NO / RTA to maintain the area by having it watered regularly and planting more grass/bushes/trees … and stop RTA SUVs from using the neutral ground as a parking lot
Regarding the runners on St. Charles: Someone needs to tell the RTA that they do not own St. Charles Avenue. The people of New Orleans own it and using it for exercise is our right and privilege. There is not enough RTA traffic on the streetcar line to make jogging on the neutral ground an issue and the little path created by runners is 2-3 feet wide. Stand up people… PnP and RTA wants your property and wants to take your right away to use your property.
Basically, you have PnP proposing a very expensive solution that will not work and will make the crown jewel of our city look like the floor of the Superdome. Also, where have all the garbage cans gone? So many of them are missing or damaged that people have been throwing the trash in piles at the stops where the garbage cans are missing.
We need smarter leadership at PnP … are these people appointed?
If they really want fewer people running on the neutral ground, then they should put these resources in to repairing the sidewalks.
seriously!
The city needs to fund rebuilding the ranks of the NOPD Homicide Division before spending money on anything else.
Transdev has got to go. Their performance sucks and they act like they are the most important feifdom in the city. Maybe they would be that important if they were any good at their job.
Some higher density cities in other countries have rules against walking on the grass, which is still better than having no grass. The sensible answer is probably better paths and walkways, letting the grass grow high enough to make it unappealing to walk on, or some other non-stupid idea.
How about we solve a problem that actually exists! Crime, blight, education, lack of opportunity for youth. there are so many real problems yet city is going to spend money on turf???
HAHA….sitting waiting for street car about a week or so ago…. a guy comes along spraying something (he is driving along the traacks spray out both sides,,,get to corner turns and does other side) I stopped him…wondering if he may be spraying for fleas or bugs since the city is being over run with them……….NOPE grass killer…..lol to keeo the grass away from the racks…. so Mitch wants to spend how much to protect the grass…. MAYBE CALL and tell them to stop killing it with chemicals…. grass recovers from Mardi Gras….but Mitch will kill it!