Advocates have reason to be concerned about the performance of the two newest streetcar lines in New Orleans—both the largest transit projects after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
"A public transit advocacy group is calling into question the city's return on investment in two new streetcar lines completed in recent years at a cost of $75 million, reports Beau Evans.
The report by Ride New Orleans criticizes the results for the new 1.6-mile, roughly $40 million streetcar line that runs along Rampart Street from Canal Street to St. Claude Avenue, as well as the slightly older 1.5-mile, roughly $35 million streetcar line on Loyola Avenue. The main complaint for the two lines: that they've actually slowed travel times for transit users commuting to some 1,000 jobs located along the routes.
"Both lines were realized by a $75 million federal grant and marked the biggest capital projects undertaken by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority since Hurricane Katrina wrecked the city's transit system in 2005," according to Evans.
It's not the first time Ride New Orleans has criticized the city's post-Katrina transit planning efforts. A report in July 2014 found inefficiencies in spending by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research