re: Why hasn't the French Quarter moved to a car-free zone?

Until you've lived there, you don't understand how difficult it is to get repair people to come and ...duh...do repairs.

Your A.C. goes out, and the guys you call won't come to the quarter. You find one who will, but you have to guarantee he'll have a place to park, so he won't have to carry his gear four blocks, and that if he's there more than two hours he won't be ticketed. So you and your spouse make sure that you have the place near the front of your townhouse has your car in it, and the space is large enough for a work truck. When he arrives, one of you pulls out and goes somewhere for several hours. Even if you don't want to, it's the only way to get work done.

And this isn't just the Quarter. A lot of uptown streets have similar parking restrictions.