People for Bikes, a national non-profit organization that promotes bicycling, has announced that New Orleans will be one of ten communities participating in the Big Jump Project.
Big Jump is a new initiative supporting the City of New Orleans and community partners in creating a network of “low-stress” bikeways such as protected bike lanes, bike boulevards, and shared use paths. The initiative will also bolster New Orleans’ existing community outreach and data collection efforts around bicycling and bicycling infrastructure. The New Orleans project will focus on connecting the bikeway network between residential areas and downtown, where most jobs are clustered.
Over 80 communities of various sizes competed to participate in the program. The other communities selected to participate in this three-year initiative include New York City; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; Memphis; Austin, Tx.; Providence, RI; Fort Collins, CO; Baltimore; and Tucson, Az. Each community will receive approximately $200,000 in annual technical support from People for Bikes.
This initiative is led by the City of New Orleans Department of Public Works and the Office of Resilience and Sustainability. More information on the People for Bikes The Big Jump Project can be found here.