Friday is the deadline for firms to submit their proposals to modify and expand the downtown city dock. The city-parish and Downtown Development District earlier this year issued a Request for Qualifications for the project, which will entail expanding the docking facility to accommodate multiple boat operators and provide a new landing and dock area with a passenger facility for disembarking passengers.
At a monthly meeting of the Downtown Development District Board of Commissioners held this morning, DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer said the return of river cruising vessels to the city is the driving force behind the project, which is expected to cost around $4.5 million dollars.
This year, 84 vessels are scheduled to use the city dock, a 47% increase over the 57 dockings in 2014. And with European river cruise giant Viking establishing its first North American home port in New Orleans—with Mississippi River cruises expected to start in March 2017—Baton Rouge could be among their stops, requiring even more dock space.
“One of their proposed stops is Baton Rouge, and we want to position ourselves to be able to handle the increased traffic,” Rhorer said. “This is another game-changing project along our riverfront.”
Also at this morning’s meeting, DDD officials announced that planning work will begin in the next few weeks on the city’s proposed bike-sharing program. The Environmental Protection Agency, which earlier this year awarded the city a technical assistance grant to help develop the program, notified city and downtown leaders Monday that they will be sending a team of consultants to Baton Rouge in the next couple of weeks to start meeting and planning.
The bike-sharing program will be developed in conjunction with the downtown greenway—a 2.7-mile, tree-lined path for cyclists and pedestrians that will wind through downtown and connect with City Park, the LSU Lakes and Southdowns neighborhood. A later phase of the project will connect the greenway through the Rouzan and Kenilworth neighborhoods and tie into a BREC greenway project also under development that will eventually stretch all the way to Siegen Lane.
The bike-sharing program will be an important component of the greenway project. Rhorer said EPA consultants will spend several weeks here working out details such as how many sharing stations should be established and where they should be located.
—Stephanie Riegel
