New coalition to continue effort for transit reform

A new group devoted to developing a more comprehensive public transit system in Baton Rouge will formally launch Thursday morning. The Baton Rouge Transit Coalition will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Baton Rouge Gallery, 1442 City Park Ave., to outline its objectives. The BRTC Steering Committee consists of 19 members representing prominent city groups, businesses, churches and the Capital Area Transit System. Raymond Jetson, chairman of the committee, says BRTC is the successor of a Blue Ribbon Commission created by Mayor Kip Holden in March to study transit issues. That commission recommended a dedicated tax to support CATS, and it’s expected to be brought before voters in 2012. “We decided to remain engaged and to bring this to fruition,” Jetson says. The steering committee retains eight members of the 17-member Blue Ribbon Commission. BRTC also has 35 to 40 additional members serving in other capacities, Jetson says. The BRTC aims to “have a robust conversation with Baton Rouge” and “be extremely transparent, even though it isn’t required,” Jetson says. Public input, he says, is “absolutely critical to the work we do.” He says he expects the committees within BRTC to meet on a regular basis and the steering committee to meet monthly, though schedules are still being worked out. “We’ll make adjustments as we become clearer,” he says. Jetson is confident that the BRTC will achieve its mass transit goals. “We are optimistic that (the tax) will pass,” Jetson says. “If not, the community will have said, ‘We’re happy with what we have.’ ” —Ian McGibboney