NEW ORLEANS -- It was late Friday morning, and some young people who choose to live outdoors and are known as "travelers" were still sound asleep or just waking up on the Esplanade Avenue neutral ground between North Rampart Street and the Mississippi River.
Jonathan Barton, who was visiting New Orleans from Austin, Texas, and a group of friends took notice as they walked by.
"Because of the homeless or the travelers that are kind of around here, maybe that keeps some people out of this area," Barton said. "For us just being here as tourists, (it) definitely makes us take pause a little and say, ‘Maybe I don't want to spend too much time down here.’"
Freelance photographer and French Quarter resident Cheryl Gerber shot video of this same stretch of Esplanade around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
It’s where she walks her dog every day.
The video showed dozens of travelers lying around from one end of the neutral ground to the other.
"You've got to step over people and sometimes you can't see the people until you're tripping over them," Gerber said. "They're in the bushes. They're on the trees, right in the middle. They don't even try to get off to the side."
The video caught the attention of city Council member Stacy Head who has been a longtime critic of the city's approach to the travelers.
Head cited a number of local laws that prohibit people from camping out in public spaces.
"It is illegal to obstruct the free and proper use of the public place and the public right of way," Head said . "That's one of the laws that is violated. I don't don't understand why we don't enforce the laws."
Head added that the city is quick to charge business owners a fee for using public spaces for outdoor dining and signage.
"The city only enforces the rules against the business owner," Head said.
French Quarter residents complained that police refuse to force travelers off the neutral grounds.
"One of the big problems is the police keep telling us that there's nothing they can do, that it's not illegal because this is a neutral ground, it's not a public park," Gerber said. "It's not doing anybody any good to have people just sleeping and eating and defecating in our public spaces."
Neighbors hope the city will take fresh look at a chronic problem that affects their quality of life.
Late Friday evening, the NOPD released a statement about travelers using the Esplanade Avenue neutral ground as a campground.
"The NOPD has been made aware of these concerns and is working actively to address the issue. In the last three nights alone, we have issued 12 summonses to these subjects for various infractions of the law. We will continue our enforcement actions, including planned sweeps for illegal activity. The NOPD is working actively with the City Council to address potential obstacles in the law resulting from recent changes made. We believe those efforts will result in more streamlined enforcement going forward.”