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October 31, 2007
Holy Rosary's "new" dome...
Our Lady of the Rosary church on Esplanade Avenue finished re-coppering the dome on the top of the church this month. I remembered having taken a photo in 2004 of the church when the dome was green:
and here's one of the church with its new copper:
clicky for a larger image
I always have mixed emotions when a building gets its exterior copper "cleaned up." There's the part of me that loves seeing the new-ness of it, imagining what the building was like when it was first constructed. Still, when something you've seen as green all your life is all of a sudden much darker, it's an odd sensation.
Posted by YatPundit at 8:55 AM | TrackBack
October 30, 2007
The Voodoo That Da Park Do
(cross-posted from YatPundit)
Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park
This weekend's Voodoo Experience presents an interesting problem for the City of New Orleans: is it possible that the city's private sector is coming back too fast? Can the problem-plagued city government keep up with events like Voodoo that are growing in popularity?
If you read Da Paper's account of the festival, reporter David Hammer depicts the fest as a rousing success. Unfortunately, he decided to cross the bayou and interview people almost totally unaffected by the noise coming from over at Tad Gormley. Who knows, maybe he took the streetcar to the park and didn't know where Tad Gormley was. By the standards of both City Park and the fest's producer, Stephen Rehage, last weekend was a resounding success, with massive crowds coming to Tad Gormley Stadium to hear Rage Against The Machine on Friday night and Smashing Pumpkins on Saturday. (Memo to Rehage: City Park ain't in Bywater, cap. If you're going to act like a New Orleanian, go get Chase's book, or another easy-to-read history of the city.)
What Hammer's story doesn't discuss is the very serious problem that Voodoo has revealed: The private sector of New Orleans is coming back much faster than the public infrastructure can handle. Consider Voodoo. When this festival started in 1999, it was a low-rent headbanger experience held at Marconi Meadows, the site of the park's old golf driving range. This venue is on the northern side of I-160, in a part of the park that's all golf courses, athletic fields, "Scout Island," and an arboretum. The more populated part of City Park is south of I-610, which is where the stadium, "Storyland" and the childrens' rides, along with other park attractions, are located. While City Park is big, it's not on the same scale as Central Park in New York. When a big event is held at the south end of City Park, the surrounding neighborhoods feel the crunch.
The inconvenience of big events is something neighbors have to accept, however, if you want a facility like City Park to be your recreational green space the rest of the year. Tad Gormley Stadium has been around since 1937, having been built as one of the many WPA projects in the park. It's used almost every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night in the fall for high school football games. The stadium hosted The Beatles in 1964, Pope Paul VI in 1965, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Alice Cooper in the 1970s. Given that I attended the latter two events on that list, as well as all too many high school football and soccer games at Tad Gormley, Park Place neighbors who have a problem with events at the stadium don't get a lot of sympathy from me. After all, unless you owned your house in prior to 1937, you pretty much had to be aware of the stadium's impact on the neighborhood across the street.
But 70,000+ people on two successive nights is a but much for any neighborhood. If Hammer's numbers in Da Paper are accurate (and the fluffy-puffy feel of the piece does give one pause), that's double the official record crowd for an event in the stadium (34,345 for the Jesuit-Holy Cross football game in 1940). The official capacity listed on the stadium's webpage is 26,500 seats. While not all those people were in the stadium proper, surely both the Park and Rehage knew that putting a crowd of double that in the south-of-610 portion of the park would stress the neighborhoods.
In terms of contractural responsibility, I've no doubt that both City Park and Rehage did everything that anyone would expect of them. What neither the Park nor Rehage factored in was the below-standard support their event received from the City of New Orleans. For events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival or Carnival parades, the city support services are usually out in full force. Tow trucks haul cars away from the streets of Faubourg St. John and Gentilly at JazzFest time as fast as they can be illegally parked. Same goes for the Garden District on parade nights. Frankly, given the ruthlessness of parking enforcement at JazzFest time, I'm surprised the city missed the opportunity to tow away cars from Park Place this past weekend. Perhaps the residents of this neighborhood are too quiet, and city officials think the area is still just a bunch of gutted houses?
Overall security in the neighborhoods surrounding Da Park were an issue as well. We're talking about neighborhoods where NOPD presence is still well below pre-storm levels. Police patrols in most of Lakeview and Gentilly are provided by Military Police teams from the Louisiana National Guard. Given the low staffing levels in the NOPD 3rd District, it's no surprise that there was no "neighborhood policing" going on to prevent that vandalism, public urination, and general disturbing the peace that invariably happens when the crowds from a large event invade the area.
Who is to blame for that lack of external support/security? Clearly city government isn't much help. Given the crisis that the city's justice system finds itself in, nobody really expects much from this mayor for the rest of his term. City agencies like NOPD who rely exclusively on govermental funding won't be able to rise to the challenge of large events like last weekend, either. That puts the burden on those hosting/sponsoring/promoting the event. They're making the money, they should be the ones spending a bit more of it to be good neighbors. In this regard, City Park's and Rehage's reliance on support from the city has created a bit of bad blood with the neighborhoods.
The neighborhoods aren't blameless, either. There's a lot of complaints, in letters to the editor of Da Paper, on blogs, and in online neighborhood forums about the noise in particular. I'm having a hard time buying these complaints. The lineup for Voodoo Fest was no secret, and it's no secret that bands like RATM, Smashing Pumpkins, and Fallout Boy are loud.
In terms of parking, I've seen a couple of people write about how fest-goers moved the garbage cans they put out in front of their homes! Oh, the shock! When people near parade routes want to block off street parking for guests, they're out there monitoring the situation. To expect that folks coming to the Park from other parts of the city and the burbs to honor your "reservation" is naiive at best. If the neighborhood wants to prevent blocked driveways and fire hydrants (legitimate concerns), I suggest purchasing a box of Avery 5165 labels. These are the full-sheet (8.5x11) labels. Print "YOU ARE ILLEGALLY PARKED" on these labels and stick them on the front windshield of every car illegally parked. This works for office buildings with garages, it should work for you.
The time to file a complaint isn't during or after the performances; perhaps working with the Park and the producer beforehand might have been a better idea. Frankly, I'm surprised that the Park Place neighborhood don't already have some sort of neighborhood liaison with City Park. After all, the Park doen't put on just Voodoo, but all those football games, Celebration in the Oaks, and other events. Both sides of this issue should learn from last weekend and establish some sort of permanent line of communication.
And communication is the key here. There are a number of people on Teh Internets talking about how City Park is a "bad neighbor." I'm not so sure about that. I took some of the complaints registered by members of one online forum for Lakeview and forwarded them to folks at City Park. It's not all that hard to do, you know--I went to the Park's website, looked up the "contact" page, and found e-mail addresses for the key players. Within an hour or so of e-mailing Da Park, I got a response from the CEO, Mr. Bob Becker. Mr. Becker not only gave me the courtesy of a reply, but he provided me with clear answers to several issues:
Noise: Mr. Becker conceded that the sound from some of the stages was poorly directed. His ultimate solution is the plan by the park to move Voodoo (and all other similar major events held in the park) to the South Golf Course (see map). Part of the City Park's Master Plan is to convert one of the four golf courses (North, South, East, and West), into a festival ground. The South course is on the opposite side of the park from the stadium, and Bayou St. John separates it from the neighbors.
Parking: Voodoo's on-site entrance to the park was from Wisner Blvd., similar to the set-up used for Celebration in the Oaks. Of course, many people who knew they were going to see an act in the Stadium would be likely to bypass the on-site parking and park in the neighborhood. I do this for my football games when my son plays in the Brother Martin High School band. We park along Marconi Drive rather than in the stadium parking lot. The problem here was that the city didn't take their usual stance, that such events are great revenue generators for them in terms of traffic tickets and towing fees. When you think back on some of the stunts the city's parking control people have pulled over the years with Carnival and JazzFest, I'm willing to cut the Park a break on this.
Wither the future of Voodoo? Mr. Becker feels (and I concur) that Voodoo can be successfully held on the South golf course. Given the population decline of the city post-storm, cutting back from four golf courses in the park to three is a wise re-allocation of resources. In fact, converting the South course to a festival area should be considered a prudent move, not only for Voodoo, but because it provides a publicly-owned alternative to the Fair Grounds should something ever happen to the relationship between that venue and the JazzFest folks. (Not that I'm saying such a thing would happen, mind you, but having a viable alternative is nonehteless a prudent move.)
Is City Park a bad neighbor? Overall, I'd have to say no. I'd like to think that anyone representing LCIA, FSJNA, or MCNO would receive at least as fast an e-mail response from Mr. Becker or one of his people as I did, and I'm sure they'd be willing to meet with neighborhood representatives as well. Given that the specific venues in the park for this year's Voodoo are temporary, it should be easy for both sides to move forward from here.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:17 AM | TrackBack
October 28, 2007
Feature Photo - Canal Station Sign, 1963
The sign out front of Canal Station in 1963, just nine months before the Canal streetcar line was "converted" to bus service. The photographer was standing in front of the Canal Station streetcar barn building. Behind the sign is a bus parking lot on the site of the old Kemster Athletic Field. NOPSI acquired the ballpark from NORD in the 1940s. It was cleared and paved over for bus storage. The building in the background is Warren Easton High School, across N. Gayoso from the bus lot.
Note the GM "Old Looks" buses in their maroon and cream NOPSI livery behind the sign. Some of these buses remained in service as late as 1979, operating on lines such as Cartier, which existed primarily as service for students of John F. Kennedy Senior High on Wisner Blvd.
For more details on Canal Station, the A. Philip Randolph SIS facility that replaced it, and the new Canal Barn, check out our new Canal Station section.
Photo courtesy H. George Friedman, Jr. and his fantastic site, "Canal Street: A Street Railway Spectacular."
Posted by YatPundit at 10:31 PM | TrackBack
October 25, 2007
Voodoo Yoga in Da Park
Announcement I read on the MCNO mailing list:
celebrate voodoo fest with free yoga in city park we will meet at the peristyle at 9 am sponsored by new orleans yoga center ... for more information check out www.makeyoganeworleans.com
Posted by YatPundit at 9:45 AM | TrackBack
October 23, 2007
revised media kit cover...
Ruthie said that four streetcar shots in the collage was too busy on the cover, and I trust her judgement, so how about this?
Posted by YatPundit at 1:48 PM | TrackBack
October 22, 2007
NOSRA Media Kit Cover
What do y'all think?
clicky for larger version
Posted by YatPundit at 6:48 PM | TrackBack
Feature Photo: NORTA 29 restoration
From 2003, this Earl Hampton photo shows NORTA being fully restored in 2003. The metal covering has been mostly removed, exposing the wooden frame. The wood of the 1899-vintage Ford, Bacon & Davis single-truck streetcar was replaced from top to bottom. Car 29 was restored in the shops at Carrollton Station uptown, under the supervision of Elmer Von Dullen.
This photo is a great illustration of just what we want to accomplish with the New Orleans Street Railway Association. While NORTA had the funds back in 2003 to fix up 29, there simply isn't any money to restore the three additional streetcars in storage at Carrollton Station. Even if NORTA could get funding to restore the two Perley A. Thomas streetcars (ex-NOPSI 919 and 924), there's no possibility of getting money to restore 453. Like 29, 453 has a wood-frame, and would not be suitable for regular revenue use, so it wouldn't meet FTA's requirements.
One of the things we'll be looking at doing with NOSRA is holding a conference on the "craft of streetcar construction" at some point. New Orleans has a long tradition of streetcar construction and restoration, and we want to show that off.
www.nosra.org
Posted by YatPundit at 6:57 AM | TrackBack
October 15, 2007
Feature Photo: Von Dullens at the Cemeteries
Von Dullen streetcars 2011 and 2020, along with a bus on the West End line at the Cemeteries Terminal. 2011 is on the single-track stub at the end of the line. When 2011 is ready to depart, the operator will flip the traffic signal to stop autos turning onto Canal from City Park Avenue. 2011 will then switch onto the inbound track and 2020 will be able to pull into the stub track.
Riders coming in from Lakeview on the West End bus line must cross into the Canal Street neutral ground to continue downtown on the streetcar. Keep in mind that Canal street is three lanes wide here, and there is a lot of traffic coming in both directions. There are no "don't walk" signs to safeguard riders who are transferring.
The family walking towards 2020 at the right of this photo is one of the main reasons most of the objections to the various proposals for an new streetcar terminal in this area ring hollow. There is no way those kids should be walking that close to automobile drivers who are preparing to make the left turn onto City Park Avenue to reach points west.
The red Von Dullen streetcars shown in this photo are currently undergoing repairs to replace parts damaged by flooding in the storm. They'll still be a year or two coming back to Canal Street. In the meantime, the 900-series streetcars continue to get riders from downtown to the Cemeteries.
Posted by YatPundit at 9:05 AM | TrackBack
Cemeteries Terminal: Early Map
This is the earliest map I've found that shows the trackage at the head of Canal Street:
This is from the Robinson Atlas, plate 28, courtesy of the New Orleans Notarial Archives. The track is indicated as turning left from Canal Street, onto City Park Avenue, then right at the New Basin Canal, to head out to West End. This atlas is from 1881, so the Canal line was operating with mule-drawn "bobtail" cars and West End with steam locomotives.
Funny how you notice one thing while researching something else. This map lists the "Half Way House" as being on the other side of the New Basin Canal (basically where the Semolina's restaurant was before the storm). What is now the abandoned Orkin building and usually referred to as the Half Way House is listed as a "Road House." Interesting, and will merit more research.
Posted by YatPundit at 8:46 AM | TrackBack
October 11, 2007
Train Thursday
The Sunset Limited, almost finished its trip from Los Angeles, crosses the Mississippi River at the Huey P. Long Bridge in Jefferson. Photo is from the 1940s. Southern Pacific operated the Sunset Limited until the line's incorporation into Amtrak in 1971.
Travelers who wanted to go further east from New Orleans could get to Atlanta and the Northeast on the Crescent Limited, or to Jacksonville, FL, on the Gulf Wind, both operated by the Louisville and Nashville RR. Amtrak's Sunset Limited absorbed the old Gulf Wind route in 1993, when the Sunset Limited was extended to Miami. The route was subsequently shortened, and now the train runs from Los Angeles to Orlando and the Mouse.
There's nothing like the sensation of driving across the Huey P. Long when a train is on the bridge. It's a very odd feeling, and very unnerving to those uncomfortable on high bridges in general.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:49 AM | TrackBack
Cemeteries Terminal - Traffic at Canal Blvd. and City Park Avenue
When I posted all of the Cemeteries Terminal stuff earlier this week, I also put a pointer to it up on half a dozen streetcar/trolley mailing lists that are out there on Teh Internets. While many streetcar enthusiasts are historians or amateurs (or both, in my case) a lot of the people involved in street railway preservation are transit professionals. So, who better to get some feedback from than folks who do/did this stuff for a living?
My instincts were right and well rewarded. Bob Diamond of the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association read over the stuff on the website, as well as the alternative proposal, and has these thoughts:
***Bob's Analysis***
I see one of the primary design challenges arises from Canal being "dog legged" where it crosses City Park Av. I have some rough draft traffic control solutions for you. If you want to see more, let me know, and we can lay out a sketch for you showing phases.
One solution that comes to mind, is a grouping of traffic signals (located at both of the dog leg intersections or "S Curve Ends") which would be preemptively controlled by the movements of the streetcars. The streetcars would have to be given traffic control priority over automobile traffic at these two intersections.
Here's what we have in mind:
When a streetcar is at a certain precalculated distance or time from the "S Curve", a simple sensor circuit in the track (completed by the axle of the streetcar) would trigger the "yellow" and then "red" phases of the traffic lights at both ends of the S Curve.
All automobile traffic at both ends of the S Curve would be completely stopped by red traffic signal phases. Then, a "Streetcar Only" green phase pathway would be lit, permitting only streetcars to travel through the two S Curve intersections.
If you wanted to get just a little complex, the red phases at "north and south" ends of the S Curve could be delayed a few seconds apart, permitting the standing automobile traffic contained within the S Curve to "drain out" before the streetcar enters the S Curve.
For example, relative to auto traffic travelling "north" (as per the map on your website) on City Park Av, the red phase stopping auto traffic at the south end of the S Curve would occur first. The green phase at the north end of the S Curve would continue a few seconds longer, allowing time for autos in the north bound lanes of City Park Av inside the S Curve to drain out.
Similarly, traffic travelling south along City Park Av would be red phased first at the north end of the S Curve, the green phase for south bound autos at the south end of the S Curve would continue a few seconds longer, permitting autos in the S Curve travelling south to drain out,
For that matter, the traffic light phasing triggered by the streetcars could be further simplified:
1. At the southern end of the S Curve intersection, for autos travelling on City Park Av
Northbound lanes- Red Phase (prevents northbound auto traffic from entering S Curve )
Southbound lanes- Green Phase (permits "drainage" of southbound autos from S Curve)
For Canal "Dog Leg" (South End of S Curve)
Eastbound lanes- "Streetcar Only" Left turn City Park into Canal
Westbound lanes- "Streetcar Only" Right Turn from Canal into City Park Av
2. At the northern end of the S Curve intersection, for autos travelling on City Park Av
Northbound lanes- Green phase (permits "drainage" of northbound autos from S Curve)
Southbound lanes- Red Phase (prevents southbound auto traffic from entering S Curve)
For Canal "Dog Leg" (north end of S Curve)
Eastbound lanes- "Streetcar Only" right turn from Canal Terminal into City Park Av
Westbound lanes- "Streetcar Only" left turn from City Park Av into Canal Terminal
***
It's no surprise that I got a response of this depth. I've no doubt that RTA has considered a lot of these factors (RTA aren't amateurs when it comes to streetcars, either), but maybe there's something new for them in here as well. While the depth of the analysis didn't surprise me, I was surprised that Bob thought the Canal Blvd. extension could be safe. I wrote back a reply, with the simple question, "so, this can be done safely?" Here's his response:
***reply***
Hi Ed,
Yes, in my opinion, it certainly CAN be done safely.
I also recommend, at least in the beginning (until commuting motorists on City Park Av get used to it), well publicized, high- profile, traffic enforcement at these 2 key intersections.
This could include both N.O.P.D. traffic control officers observing these intersections for the first couple of weeks of operation, and then by video cameras installed at both intersections.
The way the "red light cameras" work here in NYC, they automatically record the license plate of any motorist blowing through red lights.
About three days later, they get a $115 ticket in the mail. The "red light cameras" work very well, we've had them for about 15 years or so.
Around here though, the City's concept is to keep the cameras hidden, so they can use them as a way to raise money. In N.O. however, I suggest the presence of these particular cameras be well publicized as a "deterrent".
I would even put up signs at the two intersections: "Motorists- Obey Traffic Lights- You Are Being Video Recorded".
***
We can debate the pros and cons of traffic cameras, of course, but the reality is that they've come to the area. They're up in Jefferson Parish now, most notably at the intersection of Clearview and Vets.
Thanks again to Bob and BHRA for this great analysis. Go throw something in their tip jar, please!
Posted by YatPundit at 7:07 AM | TrackBack
October 9, 2007
Google Earth shot of Canal Blvd.
The badly-drawn red lines are the extension of the line proposed by RTA to tie the streetcar with the existing bus terminal. The area on either side of Canal Blvd. is more visible here, so you can see that the neighborhood association's argument about the terminal being a disruption is pretty hollow. The turn, however, is still the issue--it's a very cramped area, and mixing streetcars and autos here is a bad idea.
Posted by Edward J. Branley at 7:30 PM | TrackBack
Cemeteries Terminal - Clarification on 100-120 City Park Avenue
Some questions arose concerning Adrian and Johnny's proposal to loop the streetcar through 100-120 City Park Avenue, then exit via Banks Street, specifically that the map wasn't very clear. I pulled up this part of City Park Avenue on Google Earth, and here it is:
The red line (pardon my lack of skills with GIMP) shows the extension of the Canal line into 100-120 City Park. The yellow is the tie to Banks Street. Banks Street runs right up to the back of the Half Way House, so tie the track from the empty lot next to the 911 call center to track running on Banks.
In Adrian and Johnny's proposal, track runs down Banks to S. Bernadotte. Turn left onto Bernadotte, cross Canal and go out N. Bernadotte to Orleans. Left turn on Orleans, up Orleans, then left turn on City Park Avenue to pass in front of Delgado Junior College. Continue on City Park Avenue back to Canal Street.
When I looked at the sat photo of the area, however, it looks to me like there may be enough room for a stub terminal similar to what exists already on Canal, or possibly a double-track terminal like at Beaureguard Circle or Carrollton and Claiborne. That might breathe life into the off-street proposal agian.
Posted by Edward J. Branley at 6:27 PM | TrackBack
The Cemeteries Terminal - A New Alternative
NOTE: Scroll down to the beginning of this series for background
RTA is really caught between a rock and a hard place on the terminal issue. None of these plans is a good idea, and their current proposal, the Canal Blvd. location, has the neighborhood howling. It's pretty much a lose-lose at this point.
Going back to the initial proposal, 100-120 City Park, Adrian Bruneau and Johnny Adriani have proposed a modified version of this plan that factors in the presence of the Orleans Parish Communication District's new 911 Call Center facility. Their proposal is to loop around the call center and back out onto City Park Avenue. It's similar to the original off-street, City Park Avenue proposal, but it now includes the OPCD facility.
Their proposal is available as a PDF here.
Please have a look at this proposal, particularly those of you who are in the transit business in other parts of the country/world. I'd like to see your thoughts and comments on it. While I think that Adrian and Johnny are a bit harsh in their criticism of RTA, they raise very valid concerns about the Canal Blvd. proposal.
Props to Adrian and Johnny for putting this together. Adrian Bruneau is a candidate for State Representative for District 94, which includes Lakeview.
(NOTE: CanalStreetCar (dot com) is not affiliated with the Bruneau campaign, and we can't vote for him, since we don't live in District 94.)
Posted by YatPundit at 11:28 AM | TrackBack
The Cemeteries Terminal - RTA's Current Proposal - Canal Boulevard
Now faced with 100-120 City Park Avenue unavailable and an alternate plan that is totally unsafe, RTA has developed a third proposal for the Cemeteries Terminal, to move it to the first two blocks of Canal Boulevard:
The right side of this drawing is the head of Canal Street at City Park Avenue. The proposal calls for the streetcar track to continue into the City Park Avenue intersection, turning right, then turning left onto Canal Blvd. Once on Canal Blvd, the streetcar terminal would merge with the existing bus terminals:
From the perspective of rider/pedestrian safety, it doesn't get much better than this. The problem with this site isn't with riders, though, it's with automobiles.
This is a ground-level view of City Park Avenue at Canal Blvd:
The shelter in the foreground is where Jefferson Transit buses for the Veterans and Metairie lines currently terminate. Streetcars would turn onto City Park like the truck in the background of this photo is doing. The tracks would cross the traffic lanes to the inside line so they could do a reverse-S into the Canal Blvd. neutral ground.
The streetcars would turn just behind where the white car in the center of this photo is turning.
The above photo illustrates the biggest problem with this proposal - automobile traffic. There are traffic signals at City Park Avenue and Canal Street, but just stop and yield signs at City Park and Canal Blvd. To allow the streetcars to leave Canal Street, turn onto City Park, then turn into the Canal Blvd. neutral ground, traffic signals would have to be installed at Canal Blvd. and City Park. They'd have to be synchronized with Canal Street and City Park, and the streetcars would have to have their own cycle long enough for them to pull out and make the two turns.
There are more things that can go wrong with this configuration than when a football quarterback throws a pass. I'm no traffic engineer, though, so I invite comment from others on what this looks like to you.
The Lakeview Civic Improvement Association (LCIA) is the most vocal opposition to this proposal. (Memo to LCIA: tell the folks in your group who use the phrase "those people' to stay home when you have your next meeting on this issue. They don't make a very good first impression on visitors.) The group opposes this plan on the grounds that the construction will disrupt the intersection too much, and the teminal's location will be a huge disruption to the Lakeview neighborhood. They also argue that it will increase crime in the area, ostensibly because "those people" will be in their neighborhood. News flash for y'all: They're already there:
This is the existing bus terminal on Canal Blvd. The Esplanade/Jackson line, Canal Blvd line, and the Louisiana line terminate here. Canal streetcar riders disembark on Canal and walk around the corner to catch the inbound Esplanade bus near the JeT shelter on City Park Avenue. If there's a bad element amongst those riders, they're already in your neighborhood.
I also don't buy the "neighborhood disruption" argument. Greenwood Cemetery is to the immediate right in the above photo. I don't think the residents of Greenwood much care if the streetcar parks next to them. On the left, from the corner, is an empty lot (the old gas station), an abondoned commercial building, The Bulldog pub, a convenience store, and more abandoned commercial property (the old K&B/Rite Aid drugstore). Unless the neighbors think that the streetcar will drop off rowdies who want to have a beer at The Bulldog, there's really not much here to disrupt.
Still, the traffic concerns trump everything as far as I'm concerned. This proposal is questionable on that basis alone.
NEXT: Another possibility?
Posted by YatPundit at 11:16 AM | TrackBack
The Cemeteries Terminal - Original Proposal #2
A terminal located in the Canal Street neutral ground was developed for the Canal line's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) along with the City Park Avenue proposal:
While it looks OK on paper, this proposal is probably even worse than the existing arrangement, because it moves all the bus traffic from Canal Blvd. and City Park Avenue up to this position. With St. Anthony of Padua (K-8) on the left side of this map and Langston Hughes (5-7) on the right side and one block down, this configuration would put a lot of children and parents in the path of a lot of transit vehicles. The unpredictability of children running across the street, combined with the wide turns made by buses make this a very, very dangerous idea.
In the current debate over what to do with the Cemeteries terminal, the only advocates for this idea are some of the members of the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association. Their NIMBY perspective is so strong that they don't consider the safety factor. Cooler heads will prevail on this, no doubt.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:33 AM | TrackBack
The Cemeteries Terminal - Original Proposals
There were two original proposals for streetcar/bus terminals at the end of the Canal line. RTA's desired plan was to build an off-street terminal at 100-120 City Park Avenue that would look like this:
The streetcars would make a left-turn from Canal Street onto City Park Avenue, just like the old West End Line used to do. Instead of continuing west, then turning north, however, the streetcars would make another left turn into the 100-120 City Park Avenue property and loop around the big oak tree that's growing there.
This was the best solution to the problem, but RTA and the owners of the property, the Firemen's Benevolent Association, could not come to terms on a lease. Now, four years and two hurricanes later, the Benevolent Association has leased the property to the Orleans Parish Communications District, so they can place a new 911 call center for the city there. OPCD says they have a 50-year lease on the site, with five 10-year options after that, so they have it locked up into the next century.
OPCD representatives invoke security concerns when asked about the new building, arguing that it's a potential terrorist target. I can't help but wonder, if it's such a juicy target, why is it being placed in an area that is not only historically valuable to the city, but along one of the busiest intersections in the metro area?
We'd point you to the OPCD's online presence, but as of now, 1017 on 9-October-2007, www.911nola.org is off the grid. Going to that address points you to a Network Solutions-hosted error page.
NEXT: The Extended Canal Street Terminal proposal.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:25 AM | TrackBack
The Cemeteries Terminal Problem
When the plans for the Canal line were developed, one of the stickiest problems was what to do about the terminus of the line at the head of Canal Street. Two proposals for ending the line were developed. The first was to build an off-street, intermodal terminal at 100-120 City Park Avenue, and the other was a terminal in the neutral ground on Canal, between Bernadotte and St. Patrick Streets. The neutral ground terminal was generally regarded as a bad idea (and still is to this day) because it puts a lot of bus traffic right in front of two schools, Langston Hughes Charter School (using the Marshall Middle buildings) on one side and St. Anthony of Padua on the other. The off-street proposal was RTA's preferred solution, but RTA could not come to an agreement with the Firemen's Benevolent Association, the owners of the property, on a lease.
To keep the Canal project moving, RTA punted, constructing a temporary terminal at the head of Canal:
The inbound and outbound tracks merge to a single stub terminal track. The streetcar in the stub is separated from automobile traffic turning onto Canal Street from City Park Avenue by concrete barriers. To depart for its inbound run, a streetcar waits while a traffic signal stops auto traffic. The operator then pulls the streetcar out of the stub, into the left traffic lane. The streetcar travels a block and a half in the street, then returns to the neutral ground for the remainder of the 4.3 mile run to the river.
From a streetcar operations perspective, there aren't any real problems with this terminal. From a rider/pedestrian safety perspective, it's a nightmare. Disembarking riders must get off in the middle of one of the busiest and most complicated intersections in the city. Some must cross left to the western side of Canal Street (left in the photo) to get buses stopping in front of the cemeteries. Others must cross to the eastern side of Canal to make other bus connections on City Park Avenue.
To illustrate how much of a dangerous situation this is, let's zoom in on the fencing constructed to protect riders:
The idea is that riders disembark behind the fencing, then cross the street. Unfortunately, at least one auto has hit the fence right where riders cross the street. This is just a lawsuit waiting to happen, and it's got to go.
RTA has $10 million left in FTA funds from the original Canal project budget. That money has always been intended to build a decent terminal at the head of Canal Street, but the situation is now even more complicated than when RTA originally put off the decision. We'll examine the possibilities for re-locating the terminal in succeeding entries. One thing is for certain, though--take a look at the photo above again. The existing terminal MUST be re-located.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:05 AM | TrackBack
October 8, 2007
Feature Photo: 866 on Tulane
clicky image for larger version
Peley A. Thomas streetcar 866, on Tulane at S. Carrollton Avenue. The direction and roll sign indicate that 866 is running on the Tulane Belt line. The railroad grade crossing gates and the switch tower in the neutral ground are for the tracks leading into the Illinois Central's Union Station at Loyola Avenue. There was a small station at Carrollton Avenue so Uptown passengers could board or leave trains without having to go all the way downtown. (Union Station was torn down in the 1950s to make way for the Union Passenger Terminal complex.) NOPSI 866 ran on various lines in the city, including Canal and St. Charles, until the Canal line's discontinuance in 1964, when it was scrapped.
The stadium in the background is Pelican Stadium, home of the New Orleans Pelicans from 1915 to 1957, when it was demolished. The Pelicans played two seasons at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park, before the team shut down in 1959. The "Pelicans" name was used again briefly in the 1970s, when the city had a AAA team playing in Da Dome, but that venture failed. The current AAA team for the city is the New Orleans Zephyrs. They kept that name when the team moved from Denver. Because the wooden roller coaster at Pontchartrain Beach was named the "Zephyr," the name stuck.
Pelican Stadium was also home to the "New Orleans Black Pelicans" of the Negro League. For more information on baseball in New Orleans, check out www.neworleansbaseball.com, by S. Derby Gisclair, who has written two books for Arcadia on the subject. (Arcadia was my publisher for the Canal streetcar book.)
This part of New Orleans was still referred to as "back of town" by many, as Mid-City was still a developing neighborhood. Now, Mid-City is a neighborhood in recovery, still working through the aftermath of the storm.
Posted by Edward J. Branley at 8:52 AM | TrackBack
October 5, 2007
Live Music at Bayou Coffeehouse
MUSIC IS BACK ON THE BAYOU IN MID CITY!!!!
TAKE A BREAK, RELAX & JOIN US FOR THE MUSIC OF
Liese's Living Room TONIGHT 7 - 10 PM
Margie Perez & the Groovey Blues Sat 10/6 7-10 pm
Live Music Fridays & Saturdays
Bar & Kitchen are open. Happy hour 5pm-8pm*$1.50 long necks*2.50 Imports
*$4.00 Wine*
Bayou Coffee House & Cafe'
326 N Jeff Davis Pkwy
Mid City New Orleans, LA 70119
504-484-7390
Posted by Edward J. Branley at 2:26 PM | TrackBack
October 3, 2007
Updates...
John DeFraites reports that the wiring crew was working at S. Carrollton and Jeanette last night (2-Oct). Only seven blocks to go to Claiborne for the wiring!
Posted by Edward J. Branley at 10:15 AM | TrackBack
October 1, 2007
Feature Photo - NOSRA Logo
Street railway preservation gets a permanent and organized voice in New Orleans starting this month, in the form of the New Orleans Street Railway Association (NOSRA). The mission of NOSRA is similar to that of Market Street Railway in San Francisco, specifically to support NORTA as a nonprofit organization in developing/promoting streetcar education and preservation. The basic framework for the organization was worked out prior to the storm, but that event was a bit of a speed bump in the process. Things are now back on track for us on a personal level, so it's time to get this project going.
NOSRA is about working with NORTA, we can't make this any plainer. An analysis of other streetcar-related efforts shows that most of those efforts were really just ad-hoc, single-purpose groups. Once the particular purpose had passed, there wasn't anything to sustain the organization. Another problem is that some folks, while well-intentioned, don't realize that they have to do business with an existing governmental entity (NORTA) to make any streetcar effort work. This means building and nurturing relationships with TMSEL/NORTA, the ATU, as well as city and state government.
We're dead serious about this. On a personal level, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm suspending my computer consulting and training practice and working as NOSRA's president/director full-time. Obviously I can't do this alone, so we've appointed a board of directors, and are in the process of forming an advisory committee. The "virtual" advisors have already signed in and started work, in our Forums on the website, www.nosra.org. Check out our formal mission statement, and our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.
In keeping with our mission of supporting NORTA, we're keeping our goals realistic. First, get NOSRA functioning in an office on or near one of our streetcar lines. Second, begin the process of applying for grants to develop educational materials for K-12 social studies classes on streetcars, public transit, and the history of street railways. Third, begin fund raising to come up with the money that NORTA will need to restore streetcars 453 (the Brill semi-convertible), and 460 (Perly A. Thomas ex-NOPSI 919).
There's often talk about establishing a "streetcar museum" in the city. This is one of NOSRA's long-term goals, but we're keeping this project realistic and workable. It took Market Street Railway thirty years to get to the point where they were in a financial position to do both restoration work and open a museum facility. It's going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the existing streetcars, much less build a museum. We'll get there in the long run, but the best way to get any nonprofit moving is to set reasonable expectations and goals in the beginning. But don't worry, we like to dream, too.
Since we're a startup nonprofit, we're broke, of course. Any assistance you can offer is appreciated. Specifically, we're asking streetcar fans to donate $10 to NOSRA to get things started. We'll set up our membership structure and start soliciting individual and corporate memberships when our corporation papers get back from Baton Rouge and we set up our financial system.
It's going to be an exciting fall for streetcar fans in New Orleans. We encourage everyone with an interest in streetcar education and preservation to contact us and work with NOSRA to make the organization a success.