James Rapp: Learn from Vegas, Big Easy

Regarding the Sept. 1 column “Just tone it down, but keep partying”: Kudos to Barry Saunders for taking the city to task for plans to curtail the downtown entertainment district. Saunders mentioned how Las Vegas manages to have a vibrant nightlife and still present a clean front.

I lived in New Orleans for 17 years, and the party-happy French Quarter is another good example. Yes, they party until the wee hours, but the clean-up crews hit the streets before dawn with trash and water trucks. It’s spotless by 8 a.m.

It’s worth noting that most of the French Quarter is residential, not just bars and restaurants.

The City Council and mayor should try to learn how these two great cities manage to reap millions of dollars in revenue from a lively downtown and mimic the support the city needs to provide to make that happen.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "James Rapp: Learn from Vegas, Big Easy."