We, the residents, business owners & visitors of the French Quarter call on the New Orleans City Council to permanently restrict vehicular traffic on the streets of Bourbon & Royal.

As a resident of the French Quarter and a business owner on Royal Street, I write this petition with experience and a genuine and impassioned desire to protect our community.

Vulnerabilities along Bourbon & Royal Streets have existed for years, and on January 1, 2025 were exploited in a cowardly terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 14, injured 35, and caused fear and destruction in our home.

Following the attack, there has been a clear lack of serious response from the city - Bourbon Street and Royal Street remain open to traffic and are even more vulnerable today to this type of act than they were on New Years Eve. Action must be taken to ensure this never happens again.

We therefore propose a restriction on vehicular traffic on Bourbon Street and Royal Street from Canal Street to St. Phillip Street and the transition to a 24/7 pedestrian only zone on these blocks. We propose the use of fortified barriers that prevent access to potential attackers and accidental traffic.

This is not a call for action without precedent here in New Orleans:

- Royal Street has been a dedicated pedestrian mall since 1971 - being closed to vehicular traffic from 11AM-4PM M-F and 11AM-7PM on Weekends between Bienville & Orleans.
- Bourbon Street is currently supposed to be closed to vehicular traffic from Iberville to Orleans from 6pm - 6am.
- Mardi Gras sees a near total restriction on vehicular traffic throughout the French Quarter - with exceptions for local residents & businesses.

It is also not without precedent nationally & internationally. Many cities have developed technology & process to allow necessary traffic while keeping pedestrian malls safe.

- Venice, Italy - 2.5sq mile pedestrian only historic city center with 50,000 residents and over 6 million visitors per year
- Ghent, Belgium - .5sq mile (size of FQ) inner city, completely car free
- Stroget - Copenhagen, Denmark - extensive 1.1km pedestrian mall with mixed use retail, residential and cultural areas that hosts 80,000 people per day
- Kaufingerstraße in Munich Germany has nearly 13,000 visitors per hour as a closed pedestrian mall
- Times Square, NYC - 110,000 sq ft of pedestrian only space, resulting in a 40% reduction in pedestrian injuries with over 300,000 visitors per day

A pedestrian only zone from Canal to St. Phillip does not impact current residential parking spaces, and carveouts for first responder access, local deliveries and local handicapped access can be created using technological means or process as is done in many other major cities & pedestrian areas. Many options exist, including:

- Use of small vehicles similar to those already in use by NOPD / EMS / FQ Taskforce
- Entry passes with manned entry points as done during Mardi Gras
- RFID pass enabled bollards
- Scheduled delivery hours for businesses
- Centralized delivery hubs and partnerships with local couriers

This terror attack has brought to light numerous issues with the security of New Orleans' primary economic, tourism & cultural center: the French Quarter. It is time for action - it is time to ensure that this type of attack does not occur again in our city, on our busiest streets.