Stakeholders and key decision-makers from Baton Rouge and the Greater New Orleans area came together Tuesday on the LSU campus to discuss how the city and region could best harness transit and planning measures to enable economic development and the creation of great Louisiana neighborhoods.
The engaging policy forum was hosted by the Connect coalition, a project of the Center for Planning Excellence, a Smart Growth America coalition partner.
“We know this regional transportation network will continue to be built-out as a series of incremental investments, so this effort is to ensure that the end result is a well-connected, integrated regional system,” Rachel DiResto, executive vice president at CPEX, said in a statement.
Having a passenger rail system is predicated on sound connections among transit systems, a realistic funding plan and a public and political buy-in to lead the job both now and in the future, say advocates.
That public and political buy-in has been a focus of CPEX and other transit advocates across Louisiana. Building a local consensus for the best strategies in response to expected growth and to address economic development goals can be daunting, but those in attendance Tuesday have high expectations for the region’s potential in coming decades. Having conversations about planning and transit represents the first step toward reaping the biggest bounty when it comes not only to job creation and immediate financial gains, but also to quality of life improvements and enhanced access to housing, transportation options and other vital aspects of strong communities.
“We may be preaching to the choir,” said the Rev. Patrick J. Mascarella, a retired priest with the Diocese of Baton Rouge, who was attending the forum. “But it’s a large choir and it’s a committed choir; and reality begins with dreams and hopes.”
Read more about Tuesday’s transit policy forum here. Click here to learn more about the work of CPEX and the Connect project.