Lincoln Beach Redevelopment Funding

The Lincoln Beach Community Advisory Committee was established by Mayor Cantrell to include representatives of the Lincoln Beach area communities and members of the administration.

 

Construction contracts to address immediate needs at the beach, such as the repairing the shelters and pavement were tentatively scheduled to go to bid in the first quarter of 2024. Register on BRASS to be notified of upcoming construction contract opportunities.

The Cantrell Administration is prioritizing quality of life issues. In 2021, the city completed a Site Assessment showing the current conditions of the beach and identified the kind of mitigation activities that would be necessary to return it to public use.

 

Access to the Lincoln Beach site is prohibited; however, there is ample evidence of unpermitted and unlawful use of the beach and property behind the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity earthen levee and floodwall on Hayne Boulevard. Prior to being closed, the beach was accessible through a tunnel beneath the levee. The tunnel is currently fenced and filled with water and wildlife including alligators and venomous snakes.

• Environmental Site Assessment and Habitat Assessment—a simple habitat assessment of the beach area to determine plant species that are present on site, and characterize habitat types and percent cover. Specifically, identify potentially poisonous flora, such as poisonous oak or ivy, which could pose a risk to staff or volunteers performing clean-up activities. Identify invasive species and percent cover, provide an estimate to facilitate removal of such invasive species.
• Facility Asset Assessment—update the site inventory and assess the conditions of the parking lot structures, shelters, tunnels, swimming pool, concrete pads, and other historic structures.
• Facility Access Assessment—evaluate current pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular, and public transit access possibilities and limitations. Potential future access points that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act will be identified, and opportunities and challenges for implementing future access points for pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular, and public transit will be evaluated.
• Utility Assessment—conduct a utility assessment including existing drainage, sewerage, potable water, gas, and electrical systems.
• Topographic, Bathymetric, and Magnetometer Survey—survey of the shoreline demonstrating average water depths and the location of underwater debris that may present a challenge to converting the space to recreational use.
• Comprehensive Site Assessment—include conceptual level engineering evaluation and drawings indicating potential areas of future development of the site, suitability of the existing beach for recreational use, suitability of the existing waterfront structures and nearshore areas for recreational boating access, potential areas of ingress/egress, list of potential permits required for development of the site, and areas unsuitable for development due to the presence of wetlands or other environmental concerns.

• Lincoln Beach Redevelopment Master Plan—currently, the Office of Resilience and Sustainability is spearheading the master planning process which includes other city agencies, residents, and environmental groups. Future use of the site may include recreation, eco-tourism, education, historic preservation, rentable dock space, and special events or concert space. The future site must be accessible to the general public, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, and people with disabilities when it opens.

Residents are reminded that Lincoln Beach is not currently open to the public for recreation. Existing structures are not safe or structurally sound.

Questions about the Lincoln Beach Redevelopment Master Plan may be directed to Cheryn Robles at crobles@nola.gov .