Tyronnisha "Ne Ne" Johnson is joining the team!

Ne Ne is joining our team as our Get Fit Coordinator! Ne Ne shares, "I am super excited to be a part of the Lafitte Greenway family. I'm thankful for this life changing experience being able to interact with communities and nature in a change for the better. Thank you and welcome me to the family, friends of the Lafitte Greenway." You may have seen her on the Greenway trail or attending Get Fit classes. Say hello to Ne Ne at the next Get Fit class. 

A Super Summer event 

Join us for a Super Summer event in celebration of Juneteenth on the Greenway in partnership with Young Audiences! Families with children (infant to 8), expect an engaging morning singalong, an interactive workshop experience, and a visual arts craft that children can make and take home with them. This event is free and all children will receive a free book, a snack, an activity packet, crayons, and a surprise special gift. For parents who need a morning boost, coffee will be provided by HEY! Coffee Co.

June 25th

9:30 - 11:30AM

2200 Lafitte Ave.

Photo by Sophia Germer

Basketball court mural coming this summer

This summer, the BELite youth artists are transforming the Greenway's basketball court with a new on-court mural! Jalen Gray, a community member and basketball player, brought this idea to Friends of Lafitte Greenway and NORD, and we have been thrilled to work with and support Jalen to accomplishing this vision.

The site preparation will begin in July and include a period of court closure. Stay tuned for updates. Posted signage will inform the public of court closure.

This project has been made possible by Sneaker Politics, Jaxson Hayes, United Way, Baptist Community Ministries, and Neel Choudhury.

Meet Alexis Marceaux - Programs & Projects Manager

We are so excited to welcome Alexis Marceaux to the team as our new Programs & Projects Manager! As a proud New Orleanian, Alexis looks forward to creating programming that celebrates the culture of New Orleans. When she is not biking, walking or working on the Greenway, you can find her performing with her bands Sweet Crude and Alexis & the Samurai at venues all throughout the city. She is excited to fuse her music career and education experience with her position at the Greenway.

1. What is something new you've learned about the Greenway? 

I've learned that each one of the cypress trees we planted on the Greenway holds 880 gallons of water! Imagine what planting 1,000 cypress trees on the Greenway will do to prevent flooding in the neighborhood!

2. What are you most excited to dive into? 

I'm really excited about our green infrastructure projects and implementing new programs that celebrate the culture of New Orleans throughout the year!

3. Where are people most likely to find you on the Greenway? 

People can find me walking and biking the greenway daily and checking on our little baby cypress trees. I cannot wait to watch them grow!

The Lopez Bike & Pedestrian Bridge is Open!

Today, May 18th, Mayor Cantrell, Friends of Lafitte Greenway, project partners, and community members cut the ribbon on the N. Lopez Bridge. This new bridge creates critical safe connections from the neighborhoods, to the Greenway and beyond. 

Water Management Feasibility Study

Could the Greenway do more to address neighborhood flooding? This is the question that we are asking in a study underway. Friends of Lafitte Greenway, in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the New Orleans Business Alliance, has commissioned a study by Waggonner & Ball Architects to study the feasibility, cost, and impact of adding additional stormwater management facilities to the Lafitte Greenway. Parks have the power to address climate change. Preliminary results from this research are expected this summer. Stay tuned for opportunities to learn more and engage. 

By Katherine Hart 

May 13, 2020

A ray of good news has appeared through the gloom of the coronavirus pandemic: More New Orleanians are getting on their bikes and enjoying local trails and greenspace.

It’s a phenomenon many have noticed since the stay-at-home restrictions began, whether they’re among those getting out to exercise or among those observing the world from their porch or front window . Now there’s data to support it. A sustained rise in biking and walking counts has been recorded throughout the stay-at-home order by the University of New Orleans Transportation Institute.

The institute records data on pedestrian and bicycle activity from permanent, continuous counters in key locations throughout the region .

“It appears that many people are discovering or rediscovering the bicycle during this time of significantly disrupted travel behaviors and traffic patterns,” said Tara Tolford, research associate and pedestrian and bicycle outreach coordinator at UNO Transportation Institute.

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.