Understanding New Orleans's geography
Why New Orleans's drive times defy radius math.
The Mississippi River bend through the city creates a sinuous southern boundary, and the Crescent City Connection bridges add 4-7 peak minutes for sites trying to capture Westbank (Gretna/Harvey) trade areas. Lake Pontchartrain to the north means that Metairie and Kenner along I-10 are accessible from Mid-City, but the lake itself eliminates all northward expansion — the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is 24 miles of non-retail bridge.
The Veterans Boulevard and Clearview Parkway intersection in Metairie is the metro's highest-volume retail intersection, capturing Jefferson Parish's substantial middle-income population. Mandeville and Covington on the North Shore, accessed via the Causeway or I-12, are growing faster than the Orleans Parish core and represent a separate, high-income suburban market that is often overlooked by franchisors.