Meaning
In New Orleans, neutral ground is the ordinary local term for the median or central strip separating traffic directions on a street or boulevard, including landscaped spaces and some streetcar rights-of-way.
How it is used
The City of New Orleans explicitly defines neutral ground as what other cities call a median and says these spaces play a prominent role in local history, culture, parades, streetcar access and everyday life. Mardi Gras route language also distinguishes the neutral-ground side from the sidewalk side.
Examples
- “We watched the parade from the neutral ground side.”
- “The streetcar stops are on the neutral ground along parts of the avenue.”
Pronunciation
/ˈnuːtrəl ɡraʊnd/ · NOO-truhl ground
Tone and register
Neutral and practical. During Carnival the term can carry strong local-event associations, but outside parade season it remains ordinary street and landscape vocabulary.
Visitor guidance
Use neutral ground as the local median term, but do not treat the space as automatically available for parking or private setup. The city currently prohibits parking on neutral grounds, and event-specific rules can change.
Cultural context
The phrase is one of the clearest New Orleans localisms because it is both institutional and conversational. Visitors encounter it in parade directions, streetcar descriptions, city maintenance language and ordinary neighborhood navigation.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.