If you are looking for a genuine public-private partnership, look no further than the Canal Street Revitalization Plan.

The Plan began as a project of involved private citizens, led by Sandra Herman, who have now called themselves the Celebrate Canal Coalition. The goal was to develop a plan to revitalize Canal Street into the vibrant central artery of New Orleans that it once was. The Plan focused on what New Orleans needs to do to bring economic development back to Canal Street, to improve its infrastructure, and to assure public safety along this heavily-trafficked corridor.

The Canal Street Revitalization Plan can be viewed here.

Canal Street Progress Report

The Plan has now been embraced by various City agencies, including the Downtown Development District (DDD) and the City Planning Commission (CPC). Last December, the CPC released the Canal Street Progress Report & Analysis of Current Conditions 2025, an update on a study that the Commission conducted in 2018.

The goal of the 2025 study was to “identify any ongoing or new gaps, ascertain what recommendations from the 2018 study – if any – have been implemented by the City of New Orleans or its partner agencies, analyze new aspects, and address any barriers to implementation of key recommendations to address and incorporate desired improvements.”

The report makes recommendations regarding retail, upper floor occupancy, placemaking (re-conceiving and reinventing public spaces in a way that capitalizes on the place’s assets) transportation, and opportunity sites, which are discussed in individual chapters. The Canal
Street Study recommendation table in the section on Recommendations and Implementation summarizes the action items, recommendations, status (in progress, not started, completed, no longer recommended), and agencies responsible.

As noted in CPC’s Canal Street Progress Report, “Many of the recommendations highlighted in this report mirror those discussed by Celebrate Canal!, including enhanced landscaping and the redevelopment of key opportunity sites in the corridor.”

Read the Canal Street Progress Report >

What’s Next

The City is throwing its resources behind the various components of the Plan. The goal is to have a completely revitalized and reimagined Canal Street ready for the next Super Bowl in New Orleans, which the City hopes to be in 2031.