Carol Allen, president of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates organization, sa

The Young Leadership Council will be allowed to install bicycle racks in the French Quarter, but only on sidewalks immediately surrounding hilton national hotels uk the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue, the New Orleans City Council decided this week. The racks are part of the YLC's Where Ya' Rack? initiative.
The commission said it had no objection in principle to such racks but thought the design of those being installed by the Where Ya' Rack? program is overly decorative. It also said the YLC had not listed any specific locations in its application, and the commission said it opposes adding bicycle racks to narrow French Quarter sidewalks.
Carol Allen, president of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates organization, said she and her group favor increased use of bicycles. But she said French Quarter sidewalks are already "packed to the gills with obstructions and visual distractions" such as parking meters, potted plants, street lights and even sidewalk seating.
But Dan Jatres, one of the founders of the Where Ya' Rack? program, said allowing the racks would help restore order to the sidewalks. Because many riders now chain their bikes to gallery poles or other objects, he said, allowing the racks -- which can hold two bicycles side by side in a 32-inch-wide space -- would mean decreased clutter on some sidewalks. Jatres said the racks would be installed only on sidewalks that are at least 7 feet 8 inches wide, leaving enough room for pedestrians.
Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes hilton national hotels uk the French Quarter, hilton national hotels uk proposed overruling the Vieux Carre Commission's rejection of the racks, but only for a four-month pilot program on the wide sidewalks of the single block containing the Old Mint.
Palmer said she did not think the YLC racks would be appropriate on most other sidewalks in the Quarter, and she urged the group to work with the French Quarter Management District and the city's Department of Public Works on a plan for "bike corrals" in the streets elsewhere in the historic neighborhood.