Biking the banks

Residents use parish’s paved trails on journeys as far as New Orleans

The levee has a long history within St. Charles Parish, but when Kathy Lacompte Bourg and her husband led a group of teenagers down it in the early 1980s, there was no Hale-Boggs bridge and the path was muddy and rocky.

“It wasn’t comfortable,” Bourg laughs.

At that time, Bourg and the St. Anthony Catholic Church group she was leading needed special permission to ride the levee for a bike-a-thon benefitting cystic fibrosis. Today, however, bicycling is increasing in popularity. If the trend continues, cyclists could have a smooth path from New Orleans’ Audubon Park to Minnesota. Partnerships between local governments and Mississippi River Trail Inc. seek to make a bike-friendly connection along the entire length of the river. And in St. Charles Parish, the earthen levees provide the perfect real estate to devote to the cause.

For residents, however, the prospects are still somewhat limited. Before construction, East Bank bicyclists could ride all the way to Audubon Park.

“I would love to do it.” Tracy Rodriquez Percle, of Luling, said. “Unfortunately parts of the levee are under construction so you can’t currently ride the levee all the way to the park.”

Percle refers to levee-raising projects that have recently overtaken parts of Jefferson Parish in Kenner. The two-phase construction leaves no room to divert the bike path, effectively isolating East Bank cyclists from New Orleans until approximately 2015.

Many residents, such as Patrick Dufrene of Luling, have made the trek to Audubon in the past. Dufrene said he has made the journey twice.

Some didn’t even need a bike to enjoy the trail. Carl Bordelon, of Norco, traversed Ormond Boulevard to St. Rose Avenue and back – on roller blades.

Percle, who said she had just begun to get into cycling, said she looks forward to the paths’ re-openings, and plans to make the Audubon journey when they do.

In spite of these closures, residents with bikes have much to look forward to. The St. Charles Parish Parks and Recreation Department submitted a master plan in 2012 that envisioned bike paths throughout the parish. Highlights of the plan include trails on both levee banks connecting St. John and Jefferson parishes, as well as a trail from the East Bank trail along lower guide levee road to the Wetland Watchers Park.

That department, however, is facing cuts as part of the latest budget approved by the St. Charles Parish Council. The dream of biking from Wetland Watchers to Audubon could be on hold indefinitely.

Until the levee projects are complete, residents will have to look inward for the rush of fresh fall air and a light burn in their legs. Trails are open on both banks, from Hahnville to Waggaman on the East Bank, and from Norco to St. Rose on the West Bank.

Though residents cannot commute to jobs in New Orleans on the path, there is still much to be enjoyed.

Kim Pennison Perret, of Luling, has taken the trail from East Bank Bridge Park to Audubon “a few times” and said that 20 miles only takes about an hour. For her, it’s not about the destination, but rather “just being outside, rolling by the river.”