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Started By
Message
re: Dedicated passenger train from Baton Rouge to New Orleans "3-5 years away"
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:04 pm to brodeo
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:04 pm to brodeo
quote:
his. In addition, Nearly all BR neighborhoods will be accessible by bike thanks to BREC's plans to connect most of their properties with bike trails or lanes.
Plans are plan and life is life.
I see a bike path by the mall and never a biker, one at Siegen but never a biker. I know the bridge to connect the two was never built, but why not?
Then I see the bikepath at La'berge, at LSU and downtown. I never see anyone at L'auberge, I see a few bikers at LSU and I see a few downtown.
I see other bikers especially on Nicholson, Bluebonnet and on other busy streets, but honestly these paths so far are just a fancy sidewalk with few customers.
They will never be used enough to put any kind of dent on our traffic issues and never is a long time.
I feel the plans for the train will be like the bike deal. People will be paid to draw plans, build stations, improve tracks, build a train or two and that's it. Unless of course some govt. decides to subsidize the project in a big way to the tune of 7 million a year or so for starters.
I know the construction dollars are all suppose to be federal dollars so that isn't seen as real money, but as a conservative I feel that's part of the problem. We have pressing needs that go unfunded while we build monuments to mankind.
And it's not that a train isn't a noble endeavor, or that the library downtown isn't something that will be used, or that the bike paths are a bad thing, or a great zoo at City Park isn't cool; it's that we have so many other needs that go by the wayside while we fund these "extra" stuff.
No one prioritizes anything because each entity believes their project is "it".
There are to many govt. departments competing for too few tax dollars and no leader standing up to say we need to do this first, that second and so on and so forth. No one is there to say what's best for the whole.
1
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:05 pm to offshoretrash
quote:
I wish there was one from Atlanta to Dallas
It's called a plane, not a train.
I don't hate trains. I just know people here won't use them enough for them to not be money pits, nor will they help at all with the traffic problem.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:07 pm to WeeWee
quote:
BR end is behind, but the train is not going to start running tomorrow. It is projected to take 7 years to get the paperwork with the railroads, new bonnet carre spillway bridge built, trains ordered,etc. EBR has plans for streetcars and CATS. Will those thing ever happen or even work? IDK, but they are plans and the commuter rail line is designed into the FuturEBR masterplan for 2030. The earliest the train would be running would be 2022 if the funding was approved today, but more likely it will be 2025-2027. Approval of the commuter rail would also likely kick the mass transit plans into high gear.
Will those plans cost money? Yes, but they will also greatly improve the life of everyone in the city. BR drivers send an average of 42 hours/yr in traffic and BR is #2 for worst traffic in cities with less than 1,000,000 ppl. It has been proven time and time again all over the world that you can not fix congestation by just adding more traffic lanes to highways LINK. So you have to find an alternative and the only realistic alternatice for getting from BR-NOLA is a commuter train. High speed rail would have been awesome, but it would cost too much and with the current track it would only have been able to run full speed for about 5 miles and then have to slowdown again. In order to have true high speed you have to pull a California or TCR and build new tracks and that is just not feasible in the SELA corridor. Nobody is saying a commuter rail will replace the need for a loop or will be the solution for everyone, but commuter rail is needed.
To truly solve the BR congestion problem you will need a solution that is involves:
1. A complete loop with atleast 6 new lanes over the MS river
2. A commuter or high speed rail that connect to the southern suburbs and a connection to Hammond would be ideal, but a BR to Gonzalez is absolutely need due to the population shift from EBR to AP.
3. I-49 completed
4. I-10 expanded to 3 lanes to atleast Gonzalez and I-12 expanded to atleast Livingston
5. A much improved CATS
6. Streetcar/BRT routes along the major surface streets inside the city.
7. Upgraded and syncronized traffic signals and better systems to warn drivers of traffic conditions. Luckily there are apps like WAZE that can supplement roadside signs.
8. Louisiana drivers actually learning how to f**king drive.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:08 pm to offshoretrash
I'm sure delta flies Monroe to Atlanta. Seems like that would be much easier
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:08 pm to fightin tigers
quote:
I would love to see you do this. Even the IRS mileage rate for chairty is .14, making it more than $20.
FYI, I have done Pville to NOLA for about 4 years total. You have to think of more than just gas.
I drive to N.O. fairly often, and did every day for a year and a half. $15-20/day is what it takes.
What do you want me to think of more than gas?
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:11 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
What do you want me to think of more than gas?
Vehicle wear and tear?
Why do you think the IRS mileage reimbursement covers a good bit more than just typical gas costs?
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:12 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
What do you want me to think of more than gas?
Wear and tear is one that is never considered. Tires, oil changes, air filters, shocks, headlights, windshields, etc. all things that get used up a lot quicker when the car is going down the road rather than sitting in a train station parking lot.
I think for business the rate is mid 40s right now. Basically they are estimating that trip is costing you $80 roundtrip.
This post was edited on 7/15/15 at 5:13 pm
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:14 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
I drive to N.O. fairly often, and did every day for a year and a half. $15-20/day is what it takes.
What do you want me to think of more than gas?
Well for starters:
1. Cost of having a second car payment (assuming you are married with kids and have the average 2 cars/family). Alot of families in ares where they have good mass transit options (i.e commuter rail and bus) get by with just one car.
2. Cost of insurance. You don't have to pay insurance premiums for a train ticket.
3. Tires, oil changes, added wear and tear of driving from BR to NOLA everyday.
There is alot more expense in commuting by car than just the gas you burn in the car.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:16 pm to fightin tigers
quote:
I think for business the rate is mid 40s right now. Basically they are estimating that trip is costing you $80 roundtrip.
.575
A trip from N.O. to BR and back nets me almost a hundred bucks in reimbursement.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:17 pm to WeeWee
quote:
1. Cost of having a second car payment (assuming you are married with kids and have the average 2 cars/family). Alot of families in ares where they have good mass transit options (i.e commuter rail and bus) get by with just one car.
I'm not sure the way to sell this is with being able to get rid of a car. It would be nice, but having a beater or nice lease to drive the couple miles from your house to rail station the ride the rest of the way is most likely.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:18 pm to Y.A. Tittle
quote:
A trip from N.O. to BR and back nets me almost a hundred bucks in reimbursement.
Geez! it has been a while since I had to know the rate.
I paid off my car early when I did lots of high mileage driving. Down side was the resale value plummeted because of high mileage. I figured it cost me almost two grand a year.
This post was edited on 7/15/15 at 5:19 pm
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:28 pm to RonBurgundy
How about this for a citywide light rail plan?
I may make and post a statewide one later.
I may make and post a statewide one later.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:29 pm to WeeWee
so are all of you not owning cars anymore, just taking a train everywhere?
if i have a car at $15/day in gas, and this train is $25/day, which i think is an underestimate, then that's $2,500 more a year to ride the train.
If you're driving an old camry/altima/accord, it probably comes out pretty even if not better.
YOu also have to consider the advantage of having a car to go to lunch, or a doctors appointment, or go to an emergency, or leave early from work. Taking the train from BR means you're likely at work and traveling for 14 hours a day.
if i have a car at $15/day in gas, and this train is $25/day, which i think is an underestimate, then that's $2,500 more a year to ride the train.
If you're driving an old camry/altima/accord, it probably comes out pretty even if not better.
YOu also have to consider the advantage of having a car to go to lunch, or a doctors appointment, or go to an emergency, or leave early from work. Taking the train from BR means you're likely at work and traveling for 14 hours a day.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:32 pm to brodeo
quote:
How about this for a citywide light rail plan?
so who's yard along Highland are you going to take to allow this to be built?
You think this light rail plan is going to go in front of the Pennington house
No one on highland road would ride this rail, or allow you to build it there.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:33 pm to TeddyPadillac
I figured it would become a major source of pride in Highland and a Jewel in BR to have gorgeous streetcars traversing the most scenic route in the city, Making Highland Road BR's St. Charles Avenue.
This post was edited on 7/15/15 at 5:34 pm
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:35 pm to brodeo
brodeo, I bet you work a lot cheaper than the consulting firm who is going to get hired for over 1 million dollars just to draw up the plans for the LSU/BR Downtown route.
You da man with da plan!!!!
You da man with da plan!!!!
This post was edited on 7/15/15 at 5:38 pm
Posted on 7/15/15 at 5:43 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
if i have a car at $15/day in gas, and this train is $25/day, which i think is an underestimate, then that's $2,500 more a year to ride the train.
If you're driving an old camry/altima/accord, it probably comes out pretty even if not better.
Who says not to own a car? Own two cars. The cost of travel is cheaper by train than by car, most times. It may make you walk a half mile, but looking around south louisiana that is something we can all use.
Also, this is a commuter train, not a train to the grocery store and back to your front door. Trolleys and other light rail would come later and that is what can reduce the need for a car.
Posted on 7/15/15 at 6:01 pm to fightin tigers
as long as you improve the bridge across the Bonnet Carre, which is a desperately needed infrastructure improvement...if not double-tracked all the way that lengthy sidings are available to keep trains deconflicted and moving...AND do away as many grade crossings as you can...
Posted on 7/15/15 at 6:08 pm to Roberteaux
quote:
my friend did this concept for a terminal in BR. Not a serious proposal, just something he did during his free time. He's an architecture grad, as am I.
Just saw your post. That is awesome!
Posted on 7/15/15 at 6:26 pm to brodeo
quote:
I may make and post a statewide one later.
What do the colors mean? Can we get an explanation please.
IMO this what BR needs for mass transit by 2025-2030:
1. BRT from LSU to governor's mansion
2. BRT from levee down florida or government to the cortana mall area. I think that Florida would be the better choice since it is longer, straighter, and passes by the current CATS depo, but government or North Blvd would also work.
3. BRT from MOL down Perkins and through the garden district and mid-city yo connect to Plank road and then extend it to the airport. This way the Perkins and Florida lines cross at the CATS depo.
4. A couple of other BRT lines throughout the city.
5.Improved bus system with smaller more efficient busses and bid it out to a private company to manage. It is a downright embarrassing to have those big busses on routes that don't have the demand for them. Put casino busses or handicap capable vans on them.
6. Commuter rail that connects to NOLA in the south and Hammond in the east. I would really like to make it connect to Slidell in the east but you would have to build track, acquire right of way. That way trains could run in both leave NOLA and head to BR (with stops along the way) head to Slidell with stops in the major suburbs and towns and then head back to NOLA along the current track that handles the Amtrak train. Trains could run in both directions and express trains from NOLA to BR could be added so ppl could skip stopping in the suburbs to pick up or drop off commuters. Make sure the BR station connects with the BRT system in Baton Rouge so that ppl can move in the city.
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