New emergency call boxes will soon span the length of the Greenway. The City of New Orleans is installing 18 emergency call boxes and 71 public safety cameras, monitored by the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security, along the length of the trail. The call boxes are located on the lamp posts with blue lights that are labeled “Emergency.” These boxes join NORD’s Grounds Patrol officers-- Rob and Virgil, who walk and ride the Greenway daily-- in working to keep Greenway users safe.

How to use the Greenway's Emergency call boxes

Only use call boxes in case of a true emergency.

1. Press the button. The camera will turn on and you will be connected to a dispatcher, who will see and hear you through the camera and microphone embedded in the call box. You will hear them through the speaker.
2. State your emergency. The dispatcher will connect you to the appropriate response team, NOPD or the NORD Grounds Patrol.

Friends of Lafitte Greenway thanks the City of New Orleans, NORD, and the Office of Homeland Security for their proactive work to ensure that the Greenway is a safe transportation route for people on foot and on bike at all hours. We believe that the number one way to keep the Greenway safe is for many people to use it. As over 320,000 users travel the Greenway each year, and trail use continues to grow by approximately 10% per year, these new security measures put additional tools in place to respond to emergencies.

 For more information about the Greenway’s security system, watch WWLTV’s report here.

request for proposals

Friends of Lafitte Greenway, in partnership with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORD), is calling on artists to submit proposals for our first Ephemera exhibition, a collection of temporary public art installations on the Lafitte Greenway to debut on Halloween and remain in place for the month of November.

This program will activate the Lafitte Greenway, a public space that connects New Orleans’ neighborhoods, history, and ecology, and plays a critical role in our bicycle and pedestrian transportation systems. 

Five artists will be selected to create temporary installations to be exhibited along the Lafitte Greenway for one month.  The temporary installations will be paired with Friends of Lafitte Greenway (Friends)’ and NORD’s interactive arts programming and events to engage Greenway users and neighbors with the arts and with each other. Technical support will be made available to artists through scheduled office hours with the Friends of Lafitte Greenway team. 

The installation will open at the Halloween Spooktacular, Friends and NORD’s citywide Halloween celebration. The 2018 Spooktacular was the first to be held on the Greenway, drawing over 600 New Orleans kids and families for games and family fun, trick-or-treating, and live music. A beautiful event for children, the art installation and activities will expand this event to create engaging activities for all ages, and programming that encourages participants to interact with the temporary exhibit.

This program is made possible thanks to generous support from The Helis Foundation.

Announcement Date: August 1, 2019

Q&A Info Session & Tour: August 9, 2019, 5:30-6:30pm at Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center, 2200 Lafitte Avenue. RSVP for the Q&A Tour Here!

Submission Deadline: August 23, 2019, 11:59PM

Eligibility:  Emerging artists and artist teams

Maximum Budget: $1,000

More Details & Application Instructions: See our full request for proposals here.

By: Kathy Finn | May 31, 2019

Source: MyNewOrleans.com | Full Article

In a city where land available for commercial development is scarce, it is refreshing to see a strip of green space not only preserved, but transformed into a magnet for new activity, which is what is happening along the corridor that stretches from New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood through Mid-City.

The former railroad right-of-way now known as Lafitte Greenway is slowly becoming an oasis of outdoor fun and relaxation thanks to a 2.6-mile bicycle path, with playgrounds and pedestrian-friendly features that have taken shape there. Since the corridor’s opening in 2015, about 320,000 cyclists and pedestrians access the greenway annually, according to automated people counters monitored by local researchers.

Now, developers who recognize the growing appeal of the green space have begun re-purposing adjacent sites and renovating ramshackle structures into new housing, cafés and bars, with plans to make the Greenway a place where people will routinely come for a refreshing break in the heart of a bustling city.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Lafitte Greenway multi-purpose field is currently closed for field reconditioning and to improve the natural grass quality, the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission announced today. Lemann Field, located at 628 N. Claiborne Ave., is available for use nearby until further notice.

"We want to ensure that all of our facilities are in the best possible condition so that they can satisfy the needs of as many residents as possible. This closure allows NORD to continue to preserve the investment made on the Lafitte Greenway, and we're excited that the field will come back greener and better than ever," said NORD CEO Larry Barabino, Jr. "We want to thank our residents for their understanding."