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Magazine Street Shines as Example
December 1, 2007
Original The Times-Picayune (posted on nola.com) article→
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The challenges occasioned by our nascent recovery also provide us with an attractive opportunity. Could we not use Magazine Street as a model to create mixed-use, commercial corridors in some of the neighborhoods that are struggling to return to viability? Imagine if Lakeview or the Lower 9th Ward had a similarly attractive street in their midst.
The Times-Picayune
Magazine Street Shines as Example
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Lolis Eric Elie
Magazine Street is our greatest street.
This realization didn’t come to me automatically. Certainly the beauty of St. Charles, Ursulines, South Carrollton and Esplanade avenues might make them likelier candidates.
But Magazine Street is an incredible success story because of its mix of old and new, large and small buildings and residential and commercial areas.
The fact that there are banks, antique shops, wine stores, restaurants, drugstores, hardware stores, bars, cobblers and virtually every other kind of business along the street ensures that there are people walking along Magazine virtually 24 hours per day.
Such traffic goes a long way toward making Magazine a safer place to walk.
The fact that the buildings range so widely in size and quality means there are some relatively inexpensive storefronts where fledgling businesses can afford the rent, while there are older, established businesses that help draw traffic.
The street acts as a natural magnet attracting a mix of New Orleanians to its borders, even though some of the surrounding neighborhoods and housing stock have seen better days.
Slow pace beneficial
Of course, traffic is the main problem along Magazine Street. With one lane on each side being given over to parking and the narrow middle being shared by two lanes of traffic going in opposite directions, congestion is a consistent problem.
But even such congestion has its advantages. Since cars must move more slowly to pass safely, drivers are more apt to spot new businesses they might want to patronize.
Consider Tchoupitoulas Street. There, traffic moves faster. So fast in fact that you might miss the car dealerships, the garden store and other commercial ventures that, if you passed them more slowly, might attract your attention and your patronage.
Freret, Oak and Maple streets approximate the charms of Magazine Street. They are pedestrian friendly and, in their commercial areas, mirror something of Magazine’s charms. But none of the miniature versions challenges Magazine Street for the quality, length and breadth of its commercial offerings.
Street could be model
The challenges occasioned by our nascent recovery also provide us with an attractive opportunity. Could we not use Magazine Street as a model to create mixed-use, commercial corridors in some of the neighborhoods that are struggling to return to viability? Imagine if Lakeview or the Lower 9th Ward had a similarly attractive street in their midst.
New Orleans cannot and should not seek to compete with the suburbs for the big box stores and their seas of parking lots. Though there are areas of the city that are well-suited to such development, most areas are not.
If the recovery effort were to use Magazine Street as a model, we can both be ourselves and improve ourselves at the same time.
… … .
Lolis Eric Elie can be reached at lelie@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3330.
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