NEW ORLEANS — There are plenty of places along the Mississippi River with easy access to the water and this isn’t the first-time signage warning about the dangers of this river has been brought to the attention of council members.
“We need a long-term solution,” said Michael Willis, as he looked out over the Mississippi River in Algiers Monday afternoon.
Born and raised on the West Bank of New Orleans, Willis knows how mighty the Mississippi River can be.
“The river is dangerous,” said Willis.
Willis, who founded the organization Help Other People Endure, or HOPE, has been on the levee just about every day since three kids were swept about by the river’s current April 23rd. He’s seen search crews come and go, but something he hasn’t seen. There’s no signage, warning people about getting in the water.
“We don’t have the proper signage around here, that end, this end. This will happen again if we don’t do that,” said Willis.
Whether the West Bank or the East Bank, Eyewitness News spotted not a printed word of warning. To fix that the city council unanimously passed a signage resolution last week to begin the process of getting signs put up.
“Everyone is working to get the next step here sooner than later,” said District C councilman Freddie King, III.
Before that next step can happen, King says city leaders have to figure out who owns the land the signs would go on.
“Once that’s done [we’ll] immediately get in contact with them to get the signage up,” said King.
It’s an issue that could have been figure out by now. In a July 2019 email obtained by Eyewitness News there was a request from a concerned citizen after seeing people swimming in the river near the French Quarter. That email, sent to then councilmembers Kristen Palmer and Jay Banks, asked for warning signs to be put up and even stated “it’s only a matter of time before there is a tragedy.”
A response from Palmer’s office noted a previous complaint about the same thing and noted no law against swimming in the river, but Palmer’s office would inquire about signage with overlapping agencies like levee police and the Coast Guard.
Almost three years later, there no signs.
“We know it’s needed now,” said King, who’s district includes Algiers and the French Quarter, separated by the river.
King wasn’t on the council at the time but says there’s no time to waste. While there’s no way of knowing whether a sign may have stopped 15-year-old Kevin Poole, 14-year-old Brandy Wilson, and 8-year-old Ally Wilson from begin near the water, King says a simple sign could save lives moving forward.
“The more notifications and signs you can get out to let people know to stay away, and respect the river, and respect the water, the better,” said King. “If no more than just to put it on somebody’s mind for a second, to stay back, proceed with caution.”
A caution Willis wants on the minds of everyone.
“We’re not calling anybody out. We just need to figure out now how do we move forward and find solutions to make sure this never happens again,” said Willis. “We’re willing to do what we’ve got to do. This is our community. Those are our children.”
Once city leaders figure out who owns the land and what agency can authorize those signs, King says they’ll be put in place as soon as possible.