Involving potential clients in planning your program is crucial to success. It helps you understand the multidimensional and systemic aspects to the problem you're trying to address. To give you a flavor of these learnings, we asked three Lower Ninth Ward residents why the average commutes are so long from their neighborhood & how this affects their community...
29.2% of workers have commute times of 45-59 minutes and 42.1 % have commute times of over an hour. People here spend a lot more time in transit than most Orleans residents. Why do you think this is?
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We've got three bridges, with one working sometimes, one that's in repair and we don't know how that's going to end. This cuts us off from the city. And many of the people who live here have to go to Lakeside or Clearview for their jobs. There are no jobs here.” —75 year old African American social worker (Fall 2003) |
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We've got people going to Metairie to work, because they don't have those jobs in the city. McDonalds, even hotels, women going to do domestic work. And, usually they're working more than one job.” |
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Across the canal, there are so many different ways you can go, but on this side, there are only two ways. And it takes so long for the bus to come. And some of them have the nerve to put up the 'Not in service' sign. Now what does that do to you if you are running late? Makes you want to cuss 'em out and throw something at them. Put that together with the St. Bernard Parish rush. They drive like nobody else has to get on the road -- speeding down the side streets, trying to get onto Claiborne Avenue, trying to get onto St. Claude Avenue. Every morning during the week. You've got to leave almost two hours ahead of the time you are supposed to be somewhere. It is so frustrating trying to get across the canal. It just makes people resentful, bitter. It makes them have a negative attitude toward doing anything.” —53 year old African American laborer (Fall 2003) |
What other effects does the commute time have on people?
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When people have to spend so much time getting to work, and usually they're working more than one job as it is, that means they have less time for their families, and less time to deal with other needs.” —54 year old African American nonprofit consultant (Fall 2003) |
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It is just a given that they are away from their families longer. If you are working at a job that starts at 8am, you have to leave home at 6:30am. There are women with school-age children. The children have to go to school, but their mother must leave at 6:30 am. And mama sometimes doesn't get home until 8pm or 9pm. It trickles down to other problems in the families. Supervision, safety... The children are running all over the streets. There are many negatives to this and it affects the whole community.” —75 year old African American social worker (Fall 2003) |
What could be done about people having to spend so much time commuting?
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There should be better quality public transportation, so people don't have to use cars. Ecologically or environmentally, we all need to do that. And it should be more rapid. Public transportation is a plus; it just needs to be more cost and time effective.” —54 year old African American nonprofit consultant (Fall 2003) |
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All day there could be a bus that goes up and down the avenue, picking up people. The owner of the bus could get a percentage out of the money collected and he could use it for purchasing and maintaining the bus. |
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This community is small enough for people to get together and find out who is going which way and where -- just to get them over that hump, over the canal. Once you're over that water, I mean it just does something to you.” —53 year old African American laborer (Fall 2003) |
Source Citation: “Beyond Data: Straight Talk from some Lower Ninth Ward Residents.” (Fall 2003). Interviews by Nilima Mwendo and Allison Plyer, Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org> (March 23, 2005).