Life on the Greenway (con't).

There is talk about tearing down the highway. It really is an eyesore. The thing is, the acoustics under there are irreplaceable. You should hear a brass band on Claiborne really cutting loose. The concrete columns and the rumble of the eighteen-wheelers really brings out the brass in the notes. Zulu's headquarters is up Orleans Avenue, on the corner of Broad. Claiborne Avenue is the center of black Mardi Gras in this part of the city. It has its own traditions.

The greenway is on the other side of the Lafitte Housing Projects from Orleans Avenue, where Zulu rolls. Nothing rolls on Lafitte Street. It is a wide street but there is nothing on it between Claiborne and Broad but the greenway on one side of the street and public housing on the other, until right before Broad where there is a scrap metal yard. It breaks up the monotony.

To cross Claiborne Avenue at the greenway, you have to cross two lanes of traffic. Then, you are under the interstate. This is nice when it is raining. Then, it is two more lanes of heavily trafficked Claiborne Avenue. Cars do not stop. These are Chalmations with somewhere to go. They are either going to work or they are going home depending on the time of day. People who live in the Lower 9 take the bus.