Residents could know which roadways Baton Rouge’s bus-rapid transit system will utilize by the end of the year, project leaders told elected officials during a Tuesday briefing.
What’s known is the line will run between LSU and downtown, extending north up Plank Road to its interchange with Airline Highway. Though the exact route remains in the works, Bryan Jones, of HNTB Gulf Coast, said Plank and Nicholson Drive are the likely northern and southern components.
How Plank and Nicholson will connect through downtown and Mid City is not yet finalized.
“We’re looking at a number of segments that will ultimately connect Plank Road to Nicholson Drive,” said Chris Handzel, transit project manager, adding he’s meeting with LSU for input.
Based on HNTB’s analysis of the downtown corridor, Florida Boulevard appears to be the best potential site, with high CATS ridership numbers and population density. But Government Street is a close second, says Handzel, and should not be ignored.
As for the other specifics—guideways, vehicles, terminals and so forth—Baton Rouge will have to determine what it wants out of its BRT.
For realistic inspiration, the city can look to Prospect Avenue MAX in Kansas City, a $56 million project funded partially by a local share, partially by a $30 million Federal Transit Administration grant, Handzel said. With some 50 stops total and economic development activity brewing along the corridor, project leaders consider it an attainable success story.
“That is a comparable project at this point,” Jones said.
When it comes to vehicles, people generally prefer the use of electric buses with diesel, hybrid, CNG or electric propulsion, Handzel said. In Baton Rouge, it’s likely the 40-to-60-foot buses would have to go through mixed traffic rather than having a dedicated travel lane.
The city-parish and CATS are splitting the $440,000 cost for HNTB to redefine the project from a tram to a BRT. Over the next few weeks, the contractor will solicit input from stakeholders from Old South, the Downtown Development District and LSU before presenting its analysis to the public in January.
