Budget constraints are forcing RTA chief Justin Augustine to curtail planned expansions, he told City Council on Wednesday. Photo by Ariella Cohen By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | The city’s transit chief delivered a blunt message this week: Don’t expect service to return to pre-Katrina levels in parts of the city where significant […]
Tag: Regional Transit Authority
Posted inOpinion
RTA lists worthy projects; let's be sure they're well designed
TIGER III dollars would link and extend streetcar service. By Stephen Crim, The Lens contributing opinion writer | With applications due at the end of the month for TIGER III grants for transportation infrastructure, the federal government will soon be playing Santa Claus to transit agencies around the nation. As in the past, the New […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics, Land Use
Against long odds, RTA seeks federal funds to extend streetcar line to Poland Avenue
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | With less than a month to go before the deadline for a final round of federal stimulus transit funding, city officials are pushing to extend the proposed Rampart Street/St. Claude Avenue streetcar line all the way to Poland Avenue, on Bywater’s downriver edge. On a visit to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Filled-in canal drives up cost of planned Loyola Avenue streetcar extension
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | A bridge running over a buried canal beneath a streetcar track — the setup sounds like a backdrop for the post-industrial romance of an Arcade Fire video. On Loyola Avenue in the Central Business District, however, the infrastructure sandwich will soon be a very expensive reality – and […]
Posted inOpinion
TIGER III funds: How NOT to spend these federal transit dollars
By Stephen Crim, The Lens contributing opinion writer | The U.S. Department of Transportation has opened the application process for $527 million in grants for transportation projects under the name TIGER III. In an earlier round of similar funding, last year the Regional Transit Authority won $45 million for the Loyola Avenue line. As a […]