Our Views: Compromise on bus tours

Access to the Lower 9th Ward is fine, even for a profit, but the feelings of New Orleans residents are also important. Being the epicenter of a national catastrophe only seven years ago makes the Lower 9th a historical site, one that draws bus tours to hear and see the consequences of the levee failure after Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans is one of the great tourist cities of the world. It’s the victim of the levee failures and thus site of a significant historical event. When one adds in the celebrity of Brad Pitt’s foundation building new houses, the Lower 9th is clearly not going to be off the sightseers’ radar anytime soon.

A rarely enforced 2006 ordinance is being invoked against bus tours in the neighborhood, but we hope that efforts to lower the temperature can bring a reasonable compromise. These are, after all, public streets.

Councilman Ernest Charbonnet is gathering tour guides and residents together Friday to begin discussing possible changes to the ordinance. Those might include limiting bus sizes and requiring a single route to protect streets and the privacy of the residents.

“I feel confident that we will come up with a plan that will work for everybody,” Charbonnet said.

We hope so. It’s real money to the tour groups that ought to be harvested without becoming obnoxious to the residents. And first-hand experience of the levee failures ought to remind visitors from around the country and the world about the continued need to support the New Orleans area in its recovery.

Comments

1) Comment by ScotB - 17/10/2012

Nobody is touring the Mississippi gulf to view the disaster. What makes it fascinating to people is that it is 7 years later and it still looks like a disaster.

2) Comment by DMJ - 17/10/2012

Disaster tourism is a very distasteful thing, in my opinion. Can you imagine how you'd feel if you were the victim of a disaster (especially if you were already poor to begin with) and some tourists yahoos rode by on a bus, while on vacation, and took photos of you? Have some class, people! Just because you have the right to do something, doesn't mean you should. Rights and morals don't always align.

3) Comment by tradewinns - 17/10/2012

these tours are a temporary thing because of the event. when (if) the 9th ward is rebuilt there will be nothing to see and the tours will stop. when was the last time anyone toured alaska due to the gigantic earthquake in the 60's? there's nothing remaining to see. all repairs have been made. currently politicians and yes even the residents are asking for and receiving "assistance" from the taxpayers to rebuild. the taxpayer is paying for the repairs and should be allowed to see what their money is doing.