Area residents favor mass transit and loop, BRAC says

FuturePAC, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s political action committee, says 65% of respondents to an April survey called for an improved transit system, while only 8% said there is no need for such a system. FuturePAC surveyed 1,500 people in East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and Iberville parishes, the five parishes that would be directly affected by the proposed Baton Rouge Loop highway project, and found 83% of respondents favored the loop. The results of the loop questions were released in May, while the results related to transit were released today. Among transit options presented, 54% favored rapid bus transit, while 42% supported light rail. An attempt to get $15 million from the Legislature to pay for the second phase of an environmental impact study for the Baton Rouge Loop project failed this session, but backers plan to try again next year. The money for the first phase of the environmental impact study will run out in mid-2010.