NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor Mitch Landrieu is working on plans for new permanent security measures along Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
It's an effort to prevent a repeat of two shootings that each claimed one life and wounded nine on the city's most famous entertainment strip in the past few years. The idea also is to ward off the potential of a terrorist attack in that area.
Ideas floated by the mayor in discussions with other officials include more centralized surveillance and more restrictions on vehicular traffic.
A preliminary version of the proposal carries a $30 million price tag and calls for closing stretches of Bourbon Street to vehicles during most hours; setting up a $12.6 million command center to monitor a network of cameras; installing new lighting; and taking measures that would allow officers to respond in force to emergencies more quickly, according to excerpts of a draft proposal and interviews with people involved in the discussions.
The city may also step up enforcement of laws preventing performers and artists from blocking sidewalks or business entrances, and prohibiting vendors from operating without permits.
The plan is still in draft form and has been through revisions already. More are likely in the coming weeks before the proposal is formally announced. The preliminary draft has been circulated to some City Council members and tourism leaders, French Quarter business owners and others.
Some involved in the discussions have said the hospitality industry could be asked to pony up some of the cash for the plan, though it's unclear whether hotels or tourism groups would be willing to put additional money toward public safety after having been tapped for previous efforts.
"Some of the public dollars that have gone to the hospitality industry should go toward this and some of the larger community safety and quality-of-life issues," City Councilman Stacy Head said.
While much of the discussion has centered on the Vieux Carre, particularly after a deadly shootout on Bourbon Street in late November, the final version of the plan is expected to include elements aimed at improving security citywide.
Officials with the mayor's office said Monday that they would not comment on the specifics of the plan until it is ready for release.
"The city will roll out in the next couple weeks a very detailed and comprehensive citywide safety plan that will include a number of new safety measures in the French Quarter," Communications Director Tyronne Walker said. "Some of those things the public saw during the New Year's Eve holiday."
New Orleans Police Department spokesman Tyler Gamble said the department was "not prepared to get into any details at this time."
Blocking off vehicular traffic on and across Bourbon Street has been bandied about in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Europe that were carried out by ramming large vehicles into crowded areas. City officials have long considered Bourbon Street vulnerable to similar attacks.
A Section on 01/11/2017