Message from the Department of Public Works, City of New Orleans
2016 Road Work Planned for Jackson Avenue. Please find attached the factsheet for both Jackson Ave. construction projects scheduled to begin soon between S. Galvez and Tchoupitoulas streets. Additionally, DPW generally follows American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines which call for motor vehicle travel lanes to be 10 ft wide for urban thoroughfares and recommends travel lanes be 11 ft wide for bus transit routes. The current travel lanes on Jackson are 10 feet wide each. The Department of Public Works considered two options to meet the guidelines mentioned above:
• Option 1 would require DPW to maintain two travel lanes and a parking lane. However the parking lane would be substandard and create a hazard for parked cars and be inconvenient for residents.
• Option 2 would eliminate one driving lane, maintain one driving lane and a parking lane while allowing for the addition of a bicycle lane which is consistent with the City’s Master Plan and the Complete Streets policy.
When the road is re-paved, Jackson Ave. from Tchoupitoulas to St. Charles Ave. will be restriped to include one travel lane, a bicycle lane and a parking lane in both directions.