The Battle of the Bike Lane

 The bike lanes along Newton Street between Elmira and Behrman in Algiers are the battleground for many cyclists and residents. Several months ago District C Council member Freddie King wanted the city to reevaluate their position on the protected bike lanes in Algier due to neighborhood disagreements regarding the lanes.

Since the situation was brought to the city’s attention, minimum changes have occurred. The city has removed dozens of the flex posts and the ones that remain have been shifted closer to the bike lane. They said this should help with parking on the street and alleviate residents’ concerns that the flex posts could obstruct emergency vehicles from getting by.

Residents are still up in arms about the protected lanes while cycling advocates are afraid of what might happen if the lanes are removed. King suggested the city remove over 2 miles of protected bike lanes located on MacArthur Boulevard and Newton Street. If this passes and goes through, this will be a downfall for the citywide bike plan created by Mayor LaToya Contrell.

West bank residents voted for King over Kristin Gisleson Palmer when he said he would advocate the removal of the paths. Residents wanted to be heard and felt that the city did not survey enough residents regarding the installation of the bike lanes in Algiers. The city has defended its actions but does admit that it did not do enough outreach to the residents of Algiers.

“We did have a number of meetings in Algiers. Obviously we needed to have more,” said Sarah Porteuos, a city infrastructure spokesperson.

As of now, the cyclists’ lanes on MacArthur and Newton include plastic posts guarding the separate lanes and parking spaces closer to the main travel lane than the curb. Automobiles will be the second line of defense for cyclists. Those who are for the lanes say that the protected lanes not only increase the safety of cyclists but motorists as well.

Research has shown that cyclists’ lanes reduce accidents for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Around the city, around 30 of the 75 planned miles already have cyclists’ lanes installed. According to city officials, there were 327 crashes involving cyclists between 2014 and 2018 on MacArthur Blvd before the cyclist’s lanes were installed.

“Please do not remove protected bike lanes, said Corinna Chaney, a resident who wrote to the City Council. ” This critical infrastructure is saving lives, drivers included. We should be slowing down traffic not tearing up what little safety we have here.”

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Plaquemines Parish New Oil Terminal Cancelled

 

Tallgrass Energy Partners is now going back to the drawing board to discuss different options for the property in Plaquemines Parish that was slated to become an oil export terminal and pipeline. The Midwest energy company called off the $2.5 billion project last month as they felt the world is going another way away from oil and gas.

The property which is located on 200-acres up the Mississippi River from Ironton is owned by the Plaquemines Port Harbor & Transit District. Tallgrass is leasing the property from the port and both companies are discussing "other ways to develop its Ironton property." Some of the discussions were using it for a distribution center or warehousing.

After a study conducted, the company sees that the market is changing. Many are swaying away from oil and gas and looking into other alternatives. If the project had been completed, the terminal would have been able to store around 20 million barrels of oil.

The site which was part of the St. Rosalie Plantation is part of the communities history. In fact, many residents of Ironton descended from slaves who lived at the plantation. Many residents were opposed to the project because it would be built over the plantation's cemetery.

“Integrity and respect are core Tallgrass values,” William Moler, CEO of the Leawood company said. “As part of our PLT permitting process, our cultural survey work identified a cemetery and potential artifacts consistent with what community members shared about the history of the site. Since then, we reduced our development footprint to protect those areas and engaged with the Ironton community and other local stakeholders on an appropriate path toward memorializing them.”

Ironton residences were excited by the news of Tallgrass' decision to stop the project. Residents are still struggling from Hurricane Ida's destruction to Ironton. Many residents moved away from the area after the storm surge flooded most of the community. Those who are still there feel like they have a victory.

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