BRAC, religious and civic leaders to work on transit

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Together Baton Rouge, a coalition of more than 100 religious and civic groups, have agreed to work with the city’s planning consultant team and the Metro Council to find solutions for the transit issues, Mayor Kip Holden says. Holden made the announcement today at the Old State Capitol while unveiling the summary of the draft of FuturEBR, potentially the city-parish’s next comprehensive master plan. “While we continue to work for short-term assistance for our bus system, we need a thoughtful, facilitated discussion on options on building a system that will serve our parish in the future,” Holden says. BRAC and Together Baton Rouge had their first meeting Tuesday night. The Capital Area Transit System is facing a funding shortage and serves about 24,000 riders per day, planner John Fregonese says, which is a very small number compared to other regions with similar populations. Under the new plan, he says ridership could increase to 110,000 per day, which would be comparable to peer cities and alleviate traffic congestion. “By doubling the annual investment, the bus system can become the backbone of the transportation network,” the summary says. More open houses are planned for April, and ideas can be submitted and tracked at futurebr.com. The planning process will be paid for with about $2 million in Community Development Block Grant money, part of $34.2 million East Baton Rouge Parish received for hurricane recovery, the state Division of Administration says. —David Jacobs