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Friday, December 31, 2010

NorthWest Carrollton's 11 wishes for 2011

#1) We'd like to have the Polling location for 17-10 returned to NorthWest Carrollton from Xavier University. This polling location used to be in Incarnate Word / Head Start and since this is open again we're hoping for a return to the original location but we have other ideas for where a polling location could be and will be working with the Registrar of Voters.

#2) We'd like NOPD to continue to work with us to fight blight by having Abandoned Cars tagged and removed. We typically do a sweep once every 4 to 6 months and report this to NOPD for followup. We'd also like to have parking enforced as well because this helps protect the investment in our (limited) sidewalk infrastructure and protects the TREES we've planted with Hike for KaTREEna. Believe it or not Abandoned Cars was one of the first issues NorthWest Carrollton tackled with the help of our 2nd District Quality of Life Officer and (now) Major Bouyelas. It continues to be a focus area.

#3) All Illegal Containers Removed
8100 Block of Fig
8200 Block of Fig
2900 Block of Joliet @ Fig
18 wheeler shipping containers are not legal "buildings". No neighborhood in New Orleans wants to see these become de facto standards for building in residential neighborhoods and allowed to remain indefinitely.
Storage containers on the street (8300 Block of Nelson) or someones yard for years are not legal either. Everyone understands the need for temporary storage but temporary storage should NOT become permanent neighborhood fixtures. More than a year is too long!

#4) We'd like to see the building at 2538 DANTE ST - corner Apple & Dante returned to commerce.

#5) We'd like there to be a consistent set of processes and procedures for addressing blight. We'll continue to report our blight issues and work the blight problem from as many angles as we can find, whether that is reporting via the new 311 site or eMails to specific city agencies or escalating to our city council representative or calling in the news media or.... whatever it takes.

#6) We'd like Leonidas to be stripped to indicate parking and with a center line. Eventually we'd like "bump outs" where trees could be planted... but for now we'd settle for having lines painted on the street. This would allow people to park legally and also slow down traffic, that currently treats the street like a 4 lane highway. In addition to striping on Leonidas for parking we've also asked for Bike Lanes on Earhart and Carrollton.
These requests are just part of a Complete Streets approach that we'd like to see in all the infrastructure improvements done by Public Works. This would mean the streets would become more than just lanes for cars or worse large trucks but would be transportation corridors for people on sidewalks, or riding public transportation or riding bikes. If the legislation passed in July 2010 had been in place when the Earhart construction approved then we'd be much closer to the 21st Century City.

#7) We'd like to see the last FEMA Trailer disappear from NorthWest Carrollton.

#8) TREES! TREES! and more TREES.
We'd like the Oak Tree that was removed from Carrollton @ Apple replaced by a reasonably sized oak tree. We want to retain the oak tree canopy on Carrollton.

We'd like to work with Business Owners along Earhart to encourage tree planting along the edges of the parking lots that will create shade for pedestrians and cyclists and counter act the heat sink affect of the large expanse of concrete roadway and parking lots, buffer the sound of the roadway and help clean the air of the pollution both dust and exhaust that results from the roadway.

We'd like to see Trees perhaps sponsored by AutoZone, planted in the 3000 Block of Dante. We're thinking bald cypress might be nice... or water oak... we want larger trees to help clean the air because of how close this is to Earhart.

We plan to continue sponsoring a once a year in Novemeber/December tree planting with Hike for KaTREEna for anyone in the neighborhood who is interested.

Once construction is complete on Earhart we will begin working to create The Orchard on Fig.

#9) We'd like to at least see some information on the 2nd phase of FEMA Sidewalk repairs. It would be wonderful if some of the sidewalk issues we have in NorthWest Carrollton could be addressed by those repairs instead of sidewalks that weren't damaged being dug up and replaced.

#10) We'd like to see Sewerage & Water Board Repairs completed within 6 months of 1st being reported. We wait much longer than that now. So 6 months would be an improvement.

#11) We'd like to see the Homes for Sale in NorthWest Carrollton be purchased by individuals who want to like in NorthWest Carrollton, a neighborhood we consider the next coolest neighborhood in New Orleans.

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