As Mardi Gras rolls toward its big finale, we decided to do a little neutral ground progress report, just to see how well folks are sticking to the city’s parade route ground rules.
Quick refresher: no couches, no grills, no outdoor restrooms, no cordoned-off camps, and no ladders chained together along the route. In other words, less campground, more carnival.
So how’s it going so far? According to people who live and work along the uptown parade route, better than expected.
One bartender told us that by early afternoon on a typical big parade day, the neutral ground would usually already look like a fully furnished outdoor living room.
“By about one o’clock, you’d normally see the homestead setups; couches, grills, the whole thing,” he said. “The fact that we’re not seeing that like before is a good sign.”
An uptown resident gave the first parade weekend solid marks, saying the changes were noticeable and welcome.
“Everybody played nicely,” she said. “There weren’t big clusters of ladders blocking sight lines like we’ve seen in the past.”
Another worker along the route said the difference showed up after the crowds cleared out.
“Cleanup has been better,” he said. “There hasn’t been as much trash blowing in front of the business like we usually deal with.”
Now, in true Mardi Gras fashion, it wouldn’t be complete without at least one rebel float in the form of a rogue living room. We did hear about one couch-and-crew setup over the weekend, but witnesses say it packed up and rolled out before the next wave of parades.
Final grade so far? Let’s call it an A-minus for effort, with extra credit pending through Fat Tuesday.