NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday will unveil the city's detailed plans for revitalizing Canal Street.

The first step is a street-beautification project that will include landscape and sidewalk improvements to encourage pedestrian traffic along the Central Business District's main artery. The beautification of Canal Street is intended to serve as a catalyst for future economic development.

"Bringing Canal Street back to its original grandeur will require a concerted economic development effort," Nagin said. "We are starting with a construction project that will enhance the look and feel of New Orleans' main street. We must leverage that investment by encouraging different sections of Canal Street to grow as shopping, entertainment and medical districts."

The plan calls for sidewalk "bump-outs" in the fourth lane, which is currently used for parking. The sidewalk would be extended into the existing parking lane near the corners. Some blocks will also contain bump-outs in the middle of the block. The bump-outs will be paved in granite and landscaped with palm trees and will create more walking room on street level, more organized street parking, more convenient loading and unloading zones for tour busses, and a better turning radius for larger vehicles, according to a Nagin news release.

The Canal Street Revitalization Project is a product of a partnership among Nagin, the Downtown Development District of New Orleans, the Canal Street Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, and the New Orleans City Planning Commission.

"The beautification project will make Canal Street more pedestrian-friendly, encouraging both citizens and visitors to stay and explore what Canal Street shops have to offer," said Kurt Weigle, executive director of the DDD. "The longer people stay on Canal Street, the more likely they are to shop there."

The Canal Street beautification is scheduled to go out for bid in June 2004, with construction set to last approximately 18 months. In order to minimize the impact on Canal Street retailers, construction will progress on a block-by-block basis.

Streetscaping is only the first step in a multi-phase plan. The plan divides the length of Canal Street from the Riverfront to Claiborne Avenue into three distinct zones that address specific development issues.

The upper Canal Street section, from Claiborne Avenue to Basin Street, contains the New Orleans Medical Center and the Iberville Housing Development.

The Medical Centers will be encouraged to make Canal Street their front door. Plans also call for the transformation of Iberville into a mixed-income residential community that extends all the way to Canal Street. Nagin has committed to work with residents to find a redevelopment program that meets their needs.

The Rampart-Basin street area, which contains the Orpheum, Saenger, Joy, and State Palace theaters, is classified as an entertainment district. Plans there call for each theater to provide entertainment appealing to a different demographic, generating to a wider audience and more foot traffic to Canal Street.

The Lower Canal Street-riverfront plans call for reusing vacant upper floors for commerce and residential purposes, creating better accessibility between Canal Street and the riverfront, and upgrading the retail mix to secure more high-end shopping.