Frenchmen Street crowd at the intersection of Frenchmen and Chartres. (Photo: welovenola.com)

The OffBeat office has been located on Frenchmen Street for almost 20 years. The only other club that was around back then that still exists is Snug Harbor—others have changed names, changed owners, etc. Frenchmen was the “in-the-know” place where locals went to hear local music and hang. But, as good things are wont to do when the word gets out to the general public, the original Frenchmen vibe, in the words of Benny Grunch, just ain’t dere no more.

The three “cultural district” blocks of Frenchmen (between Esplanade and Royal) are now the home to roughly 30 music clubs, bars, restaurants and retailers (as well as a few apartments and residences too), and while it’s still a place to hear great music, the local vibe has been deteriorating as tourists and folks looking for a party are replacing those primarily seeking a unique music experience. That’s a pity, but it’s the nature of popularity. A great place is exposed to the public, the crowds pour in, and things unfortunately change, not necessarily for the better.

Frenchmen Street has evolved (devolved?) into a crowded party street. Thank goodness it’s still about local music and not about huge ass beers and strip clubs a la Bourbon Street, but it has gotten insanely crowded. It’s not Bourbon Street yet, but it’s moving in that direction.

Frenchmen Street business owners have tried to keep the street “local” but the more people know about how hip the street has become, the worse it is. Success has been good for the businesses, but not for the “culture.”

Here’s an obvious difference between the two entertainment streets: Bourbon Street is closed to vehicular traffic at night and is a pedestrian mall. Frenchmen Street is open to vehicular traffic, even during peak hours, which means not only do cars and cabs clog Frenchmen at night—sometimes for blocks, and especially on the weekends—but so do the people walking from bar to club to restaurant. The sidewalks are jammed with pedestrians, and many times, dangerously so. On any given night, traffic can be at a standstill, as taxis stop to drop off fares and look for new customers.

Frenchmen full of both cars and people, many of whom have been drinking, or drugging,  and they are at least mildly, if not intensely, intoxicated. They’re crammed on sidewalks and have to dodge buskers, brass bands, illegal vendors, parked cars, police barricades, homeless people, garbage cans and crowds in front of the various bars and clubs. With the ban on smoking inside bars and clubs, there’s the additional problem of dodging smokers too.

It’s just too crowded, and it’s time the businesses on Frenchmen decide that the street needs to be closed between Decatur and Royal, to create a safe place for the thousands of pedestrians on Frenchmen in a mall-type situation. Decatur, Chartres, and Royal should be left open so that taxis can get through to drop and pick up customers at the corners.

The illegal vendors need to be prohibited from the street, period. They take business away from legitimate businesses, and in some cases have even threatened business owners when vendors have been asked to move on by the business owners. There’s just no excuse for it.

And, of course, Frenchmen Street needs every-night police presence and protection. There’s just too much that can go wrong with intoxicated crowds concentrated in a three-block area. I might even go so far as to suggest that street parking be banned on the street after 6 p.m. Of course, if that happens, musicians need to be able to access loading zones to drop off equipment for their gigs.

Frenchmen has, and is, changing, and very quickly. Change isn’t easy, but it’s certainly better than not making a change and having an accident occur. The last thing we need is for anyone to get hurt or, God forbid, killed while they were enjoying a night on Frenchmen. The stage is set for such a tragedy. Someone could get hurt. Why not prevent it while we’re ahead? Close down Frenchmen Street.

In last week’s poll, we asked if people thought that Frenchmen Street should be closed. The vote was 72.3% for closing the street and 27.6% for not closing the street. Here are some of the comments we received with the survey results (and thanks for your responses):

• Closing street only promotes Loitering……Needs More Security
• Yes, it can get crowded and you need the street so you can get around, the traffic is dangerous.
• Blocking it makes it more like Bourbon St.
• Considering the length of Frenchmen to close at night is a fraction of the length of Bourbon closed at night, closing the section desired wouldn’t affect traffic in the slightest.
• The intersection at Chartres is the worst, and very dangerous, especially with the Brass Band on the corner has an audience that spills out into Chartres. No one pays attention, the car drivers, nor the pedestrians!
• Yes, it’s just a matter of time until a bad accident happens if it’s not closed.
• My answer should have been sometimes (i.e. weekends). The few times I’ve been there during the week, I don’t feel like it needed to be closed. Friday & Saturday was a different story.
• Yes, but keep intersecting streets open for access.
• If we’re still pretending Frenchmen St. is any less touristy than Bourbon St. we’re kidding ourselves. We’d be doing out of town drivers a favor– no one should try to make their way down that stretch on a weekend evening.