Mayor's Office of Transportation July Newsletter

It’s Hurricane Season, Avoid and Report Flooding

Along with hurricanes, summer brings some heavy rains. Always avoid flooded waters while driving and report them to 911.

To check for flooding, visit NOLA Ready’s Streetwise Tool, which maps reports of flooding in real-time: streetwise.nola.gov.

Make sure you and your family have a hurricane preparedness plan and are ready for any type of storm that comes our way. Need help? Visit NOLA Ready’s Hurricane Preparedness website for tips and information https://ready.nola.gov/plan/hurricane

Parklet Pilot Program Extended 

The City of New Orleans’ Parklet Pilot Program and subsequent fee waivers have been extended from June 30, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2021, as the City continues to develop a permanent program. The extension also includes fee waivers for sidewalk café use permits.

The Parklet Pilot program has been available to restaurants and bars citywide since fall 2020, with 36 businesses currently operating a parklet space. The Program allows restaurants to utilize on-street parking spaces in front of their business for additional seating. Under COVID-19 restrictions, the additional outdoor dining space helped increase capacity for restaurants under occupancy restrictions. 

"As we continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that despite our progress it is still safer to eat outdoors, and that many restaurant patrons continue to feel more comfortable doing so. Any increase in capacity for restaurants and other businesses still affected by COVID-19 will contribute to the recovery of the City’s economy and tax base and improve our residents' quality of life," said Jeffrey Schwartz, Director, Office of Economic Development.

The future permanent program being developed by the City would require re-permitting and the City is working to make the transition as seamless as possible.

For more information, visit www.nola.gov/parklets.

New Orleans was among seven U.S. cities recognized by the Walk Friendly Communities program (WFC) for their commitment to prioritize walking and create safe, comfortable and inviting places to walk. Each of the awarded cities had previously been recognized as Walk Friendly Communities, and the new designations demonstrate a sustained commitment to prioritizing people on foot.

"I'd like to thank Walk Friendly Communities for this honor. We are excited to see that our work to implement the New Orleans Complete Streets Ordinance and make mobility safer, more accessible and more equitable is being recognized on a national level. However, too often we are reminded of how far we have to go, considering the deaths on our roadways due to crashes involving people who walk. We will continue to work to make our streets safer for everyone," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Find out more about Walk Friendly Communities at their website, walkfriendly.org.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced last week the award of $5,150,000 from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low- or No-Emission (Low-No) Grant program.

“The RTA is making great strides to improve the quality of life for all New Orleanians. The switch to electric buses will take thoughtful planning and significant infrastructure investments. This award provides the RTA with the opportunity to begin that process. I'd like to thank our partners at the federal level and the strong leadership of President Joe Biden and USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg for this investment that aligns with our climate goals,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

The agency will utilize the funding to install the battery charging infrastructure in its facilities and required diagnostic and maintenance equipment to fully integrate No-Emission vehicles in the RTA fleet. The grant will also fund at least three new electric buses.