“It’s Shoot for the Moon”
September 23rd, 2006 by Michael HomanIn a Times-Picayune story today about neighborhood recovery plans by Coleman Warner, Mid-City looks pretty good:
But most plans feature a dizzying array of ideas. Among those rich in intriguing detail is the plan for Mid-City. In addition to calling for creation of the railway linear park that stretches to Treme, that plan proposes a health/residential complex for the elderly, a dog park, a multiple-use recreation complex, restored public schools and four small community gardens.
Long term, the Mid-City neighborhood plan calls for creation of a high-density commercial and residential district in a largely rundown area near the junction of South Carrollton Avenue and Interstate 10.
Val Dansereau, zoning chairman for the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization, said ideas that are filtering into recovery plans are a mix of pre-Katrina and post-storm thinking, hashed out during Monday night meetings that draw 80 to 90 at a time to Grace Episcopal Church on Canal Street. Optimism is running high about the Mid-City plan, in part because businesses are opening and progress is being made in landing a public library branch in the area, he said.
“They’re enthused, otherwise they’d just give up, and we wouldn’t have anyone at the meetings,” Dansereau said. “It’s shoot for the moon.”