Partnership for an Active Community Environment

Path is constructed! 

The concrete is laid for the walking path along the neutral ground on St Roch Avenue.  Future improvements will include landscaping and benches to fully bring out the beauty of this walking path.

Development of the St Roch Walking Path 

PACE interviewers asked 100 residents who live on St. Roch Avenue to talk about their vision for the neutral ground.  A whopping 95% of residents responded that they would use the neutral ground if there was a walking path through it. They also indicated that the walking path should be enhanced with benches, plantings, bicycle racks, drinking fountains and places to play games. Residents wished to see this historic path, which is lined with hundred-year-old oak trees, turned into a place where people would meet to visit the St. Roch Market or the park at Independence Square.  Rather than an area for trash and cars, it is now becoming a place to socialize and exercise.

PACE will continue to help with this transformation.  Our proposed project would be a catalyst for improving opportunities for recreation in the neighborhood.  Since several parks in the area were either damaged by Hurricane Katrina or are being used as trailer sites for temporary housing, there is a vital need in the community for places where residents can get recreation.

Through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PACE has enough money to finance construction of two blocks of a walkway on St. Roch. The Office of Recovery Management has partnered with the Department of public Works to provide the additional funding needed to finish this pathway.  We also hope to include plantings and benches in the construction to help fulfill the residents’ vision for their walking path.

Get Involved!

PACE is always looking for more residents to become involved in the future of this walking path and other improvements to this historic neighborhood.  Use the contact form at right, or call Kathryn Parker, PACE program manager, at 504-988-7778 for more information.