As civic leaders try to begin moving forward with two new transit initiatives—a streetcar along Nicholson Drive between LSU and downtown and passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans—they’re seeking planning grants from the same pot of federal money, which is potentially a problem. “We’re trying to make sure we can pursue grant opportunities for both projects without harming the chances of one or the other,” says Walter Monsour, president and CEO of the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority. Plans for a 3-mile streetcar line along Nicholson were unveiled earlier this year by the city-parish and have been warmly received. Plans for an inter-city rail line were unveiled in March by BRAF and the Capital Region Planning Commission. Both projects are hoping to secure federal TIGER—or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery—grants, which is an Obama administration stimulus program that will award $600 million in grants this year. “TIGER grants are very competitive,” says Mike Bruce, a transit consultant for the city-parish. “So you don’t want to have too many projects in your region competing against each other … you want to prioritize them.” Both projects, at this stage, will be seeking planning grants from the federal government, which might total $2 million or $3 million each. If either project moves toward the construction phase, the city would then seek funds from a different pool of federal funds from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration. Bruce believes both projects are doable, though he suggests the streetcar is more realistic at this point. “A lot of people are behind it,” he says. “You have city leaders, LSU, [and] land developers all working to make the streetcar happen.” —Stephanie Riegel
Today’s poll question: If federal money is available for only one of two proposed transit projects in Baton Rouge—either the streetcar on Nicholson Drive or the Baton Rouge-New Orleans rail line—which would you rather see get funding?
