NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Plans are inching ahead for a centralized Regional Transit Authority hub that would serve numerous bus lines converging on a single downtown New Orleans location to ease transfers.
But nearly every aspect of the proposal remains up in the air, from its location to the amenities that would be offered. That's according to Tim Reynolds with Parsons Brinckerhoff, the contractor hired to make recommendations on the project.
Reynolds, speaking at a public meeting called last week to lay out the proposals and gather preliminary input, said everything remains up for discussion.
The New Orleans Advocate’s Jeff Adelson reports the idea is to find a site that's already on bus routes and close to the RTA's streetcar lines, to provide a single location for transfers.
The first step is choosing a location. Four possible sites have been identified: Basin Street near Canal Street; South Rampart Street between Canal St. and Tulane Ave.; the rectangle of green space running from Perdido Street to Gravier Street between Duncan Plaza and the parking garage behind it; and the Canal Street neutral ground.
Residents at last week's meeting raised a number of concerns, worrying that a concentration of buses in one location would result in increased exhaust fumes and more trash. There also are worries about increased crime with hundreds of young people from throughout the city gathered at one spot.
At the same time, many argued that a centralized location could be a positive step, making it easier for riders to make transfers, providing a more pleasant wait and potentially increasing ridership.
The proposal is in such an early stage that there are no concrete plans for what the hub might look like, how much it would cost or what amenities would be available.
"This is an opportunity, and its RTA's desire that it not be a meek facility," Reynolds said. "It can be a good piece of design, a signature type of facility, that's an asset to downtown and not just transit riders."
RTA officials want the transit hub to be completed in time for New Orleans' tri-centennial in 2018.
In addition to the four main sites, the RTA is looking at other locations that could serve as smaller hubs that would feed into the central one.
