PoBoy Festival

STREET RENOVATION HELPS BRINGS CROWDS TO FESTIVAL
Oak Street Renovation Sets a New Stage for the Po-Boy Fest

On November 22nd, New Orleanians celebrated one of their most beloved sandwiches, the po-boy. The 3rd Annual Po-Boy Preservation Festival celebrated the role the po-boy has played in New Orleans’ culinary culture. With 40 food vendors, 2 stages of music, and an artists’ village, the street was packed with pedestrians enjoying a Sunday of food and entertainment.

Many locals told their stories about Katrina and their joyful return to New Orleans. They danced, laugh and cried about being back home just to have a po-boy sandwich. all of this tied into the city's effort to revitalize New Orleans.

The festival also highlighted the ongoing revitalization of the Oak Street business corridor, which was designated a National Main Street in 2006 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a Louisiana Main Street by the Department of Historic Preservation, which authorizes the program. This year, the festival drew in record crowds, bringing over 25,000 people to a local uptown street, Oak street.

Attributing to the festival’s success, the City of New Orleans recently finished major renovations to the entire Oak Street corridor, from Carrollton Avenue to Dante Street. The restored street features new pedestrian-friendly amenities, utilities and asphalt roadway, as well as extended sidewalks at each intersection to allow more space for greater pedestrian use, to help calm traffic at the intersections, and to make the roadway safer to cross. The extension reduces the distance needed to travel by pedestrians crossing the streets and prevents vehicles from parking too close to intersections, which improves visibility at the intersection and assures emergency vehicle access.

The City reused the existing cobblestone from the old rail tracks to create decorative patterns at each intersection. This enhancement not only improves the aesthetics of the roadway, but also acts as a traffic calming device at the intersections. In addition, the project included replacement of the asphalt pavement roadway, driveways and concrete sidewalks, replacement of sewer lines, water lines and drain pipes, installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps in sidewalks at associated intersections, and new sidewalk benches and bike racks.