In the week March 10-16, Greater New Orleans lost nearly a person a day from traffic deaths involving people walking or biking being killed by someone driving a motorized vehicle.

March 10 – A man was killed crossing Claiborne Avenue at Milan Street

March 11 – A man was killed and a woman was injured on Elysian Fields at N. Dorgenois

March 13 – A woman was killed on Gentilly Boulevard and Elysian Fields Avenue

March 14 – Joshua Bordelon, 13, was killed on LA 300 in St. Bernard

March 16 – Trevor Carter, 27, was killed on Highway 190 in Slidell

These incidents serve as poignant reminders of the vulnerabilities faced by non-motorized road users and underscore the imperative for enhanced safety measures across our community. What do these locations of these tragic occurrences have in common? They all happen along state highways – roadways that are designed only with speed and efficiency of moving automobiles in mind, and not the fact that people biking and walking inevitably must, and will cross or travel along these corridors.

We must tell our policymakers, LADOTD and the City of New Orleans that all roadways are places, places that all people deserve to access safely by any mode of transportation. We need complete streets now. We should not have to accept these traffic deaths as a given – this issue needs to be addressed as a major epidemic seriously impacting countless lives in our region. These tragedies reinforce the continued need for community-wide efforts to enhance road safety, including infrastructure improvements, public education, and increased awareness among all road users.

As we mourn the loss of these individuals, our thoughts are with their families and friends during this difficult time.