Lopez Bridge, where North Lopez St crosses the Lafitte Canal, was in horrible shape. People have fallen through the deck and children on the Canal Street side of Lafitte Canal were not allowed to cross to the green space on the other side due to their parents' safety concerns.
In fall of 2012, recognizing that repairs associated with revitalizing the Lafitte Corridor were a long way from happening, we* spent a few mornings patching holes, repairing railings, and salvaging plywood to create a path over the bridge.
"No more broken heels""My daughter can play around there now and I'm not worried""Yall gonna mess somethin up (1st time guy walks by)... yall gonna mess somethin up (2nd time walking by) ... oh man this is pretty nice (3rd time)"
While the space is still not "up to code", it is functional. Used by people of all backgrounds and a fun bike ramp, I declared the project a personal success when someone started regularly cutting back the tree which borders the path to keep it accessible. Black-Eyes Susans and other flowers have shown up along the path, as well.
*Freedom to Build, a research/reflection/action group focusing on power dynamics within the built environment, part of the New Orleans Free School Network. See Freedom to Build blog posts "Lopez Bridge Sucks" and "Lopez Bridge is a Simple Machine"