re: Baton Rouge issues $10M bond to start financing $170M downtonwn-LSU tram.

All of Louisiana is just a dumpster fire burning hotter every year. I don't know how y'all live there without wanting to jump off a bridge.

Nicholson is already being cleaned out.

The gays and young lawyers are already pushing south of government street.

The artists are pressing in west of Park.

Large complexes are clearing out block by block moving north from LSU.

The gardere sewer project is almost finished, which will allow the sewer plant on river road to be shut down and cleaned up.

The River District is supposed to break ground when the tram does, as will the redevelopment of the old Entergy Building.

The ghetto is being assaulted on all sides. This project will send that transition into overdrive.

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All of Louisiana is just a dumpster fire burning hotter every year. I don't know how y'all live there without wanting to jump off a bridge.

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Some days I try to. But I can't get to the bridge with all the traffic!

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As long as this isnt blocked by the idiots who cry racism

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Gary Chambers isn't letting this shite fly. Not on his watch. Gots to bring that equity to NBR.

I am all for the redevelopment of the area between downtown and LSU. But I cant say I agree with spending 170 million on a tram to connect the two. As others have mentioned, who will ride it? College kids on Friday and Saturday night going to bars downtown? The people who work downtown commute from around the area. The state has recently built numerous parking garages so parking now downtown is not a major problem. Who not spend the money improving traffic on Nicholson, or hey make a left turn lane at Nicholson and Lee?

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'm disappointed in several black metro council members tonight. They continue to vote for projects that don't help us address the concerns of north Baton Rouge and will lead to the gentrification of Old South Baton Rouge. The approval of $10 million for the "Tram" in downtown Baton Rouge is shameful. I personally reached out to 7 metro council members. The white council members explained their positions and I understand that, but for the black council members we keep supporting projects that won't help our communities. It's shameful. Don't let them convince you otherwise. I'll be writing on the issue shortly.

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LINK

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The gays and young lawyers are already pushing south of government street.

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I'm neither, but I am doing my part to gentrify it.

I wonder if Kip is trying this to get this project moving prior to the next mayor either being too far on the "Don't spend public money on anything" axis or too far on the "Only spend public money in North BR" axis.

Personal thoughts:

BR needs to work on infill and get its population density up. Many in BR (including many on the OT) would rather live in a more urban environment than they do. One current stranglehold on that development is that there's a few mile band on all sides of downtown that aren't desirable neighborhoods. Spurring development in Downtown East (Entergy) and Nicholson corridor helps fix that issue. There's probably nothing that can be done to the due North for the time being, and that Exxon plant isn't picking up and moving any time soon.

The time to fix this situation is now. Between the influx of young professionals who are now waiting until their 30's to get married, and an increasing number of divorcees, there is a substantial amount of income on the table that can both live in a more urban BR and not be impacted by the deplorable public schooling situation.

The closer this income lives to the core of the city, the less they have to drive and the less they contribute to the traffic problem. From a long term public investment point of view, $34 Million now is going to come across a lot cheaper than taking I-10 to 3 lanes out past Gonzales in 2035 (which will probably still be 10 years too late) if BR chooses to keep thinking like a giant suburb.

Even people who prefer a more rural lifestyle are positively impacted, as the city stops unnecessarily encroaching on their territory. This will still let people have their chickens and horses and still reasonably drive the city even as BR metro approaches 1.5 Million (or more) people later this century.

As for the people that don't live here, improving the Nicholson corridor is a no brainer. The largest collection of hotels in BR is downtown and the most unique experience BR has to offer is LSU, having a continuous means for BR to draw money from that stretch is only a positive. I'd rather have visiting fans drown their sorrows from a loss and spend money on their way back downtown than be stuck in traffic (and not spending any money) with the rest of us following a game.

If this is just a single-line tram system then I don't see if being a long-term success. It needs to be the start of actual legit public transportation that isn't subject to the same traffic I would be sitting in if I drove myself or took an uber.

And right now, like you alluded to, there isn't enough population density to make that work except for a few pockets here and there.