With more people using bikes as a primary source of transportation, bike-friendly roads have always been a struggle. But good news bikers, the city just approved a new bike path around City Park! The park received a $915,000 grant from the state to construct a five-mile path to allow bikers and joggers alike more space.
This new path will extend an already existing path between Marconi and Harrison Avenue. The new bike path will now end at Zachary Taylor Drive. Bob Becker of the City Park board said this new pathway will also create a new sidewalk to the Pan-American stadium.
“This is really the completion of the whole ring of bicycling and jogging paths we started about a decade ago.” Bob Becker, City Park board member
This new addition is a much-needed relief for bicyclers and joggers alike who use the park as an area for recreation. Not only that, but it will help ease traffic for an already thinly stretched section of road for commuters. The good news is, New Orleans has been on the rise for becoming an overall more bike-friendly city.
In fact, just a decade ago, New Orleans barely had 11 total miles of bike lanes in the whole city. But times have changed. Grants like this, as well as increasing the number of shared pathways, the new bike-share programs, and over 100 miles of bike lane offer hope for bikers around the city.
This new grant has been funded by federal money, so the next step is to go through a review process. Once it passes through the rigorous review process, we will hopefully see construction start soon. But, just like anything with the government, things tend to move slowly. Until then, bikers can still enjoy the existing bike baths around City Park, along with the lakefront, and throughout the city.