NEW ORLEANS | Project/Development Thread - Page 289

Chris from N.O. · #**5761** Posted **Nov 9, 2012, 8:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Really? Look at it from the other point of view... the state is responsible for maintaining many of the other bridges in the metro area. Look at the state of the St. Claude bridge, Claiborne bridge, Paris Road bridge, etc. Maintaining a major bridge properly takes major money, especially when that bridge is a major part of your skyline and you don't want a rustbucket forming.

That's not to mention the ferries, bridge police, and Westbank road projects the tolls have funded. (Okay, I think it's ridiculous to have special police, but whatever).

As to charges of corruption: it's a problem, but "starve the beast" isn't the answer. We just end up with crappier government and crappier cities. Tolls are a pain, I admit; I'd gladly trade the tolls for a doubling of the gas tax, which has been declining relative to inflation for decades. Anybody else agree? Didn't think so.

I actually agree with a lot that you said here. The police force is a waste. And yes, the ferries provide a valuable service. But if you have a car, it's almost always faster to go over the bridge. In large part, tolls paid by West Bank residents are going towards subsidizing a ferry that is used mostly for sightseeing, with many of the passengers being out-of-state tourists. It's not like businesses on the West Bank are making money off them.

Also, and this is an honest question, with the CCC being Business Route 90, do the feds pick up some of the tab?

tennis1400 · #**5762** Posted **Nov 9, 2012, 2:45 PM**

Chartres Street Residential
$250,000.00
Address
2514 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70117
Orleans County
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA Region
Description Renovation and addition to a residential development in New Orleans. Design plans call for the renovation of the front facade and two-story addition to an existing residential building.

Urban Legend · #**5763** Posted **Nov 9, 2012, 4:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris from N.O.

I actually agree with a lot that you said here. The police force is a waste.

Depends on your point of view I guess. Personally I like having a dedicated police department to handle accidents on the bridge. If this is farmed out to State Police the response times will double, if we are depending on JPSO/NOPD to handle their respective parts of the bridge response time will probably quadruple and also be at the mercy of higher priority calls such as response to violent crimes, domestic incidents, and the numerous special events that tax those agencies traffic divisions and overall manpower.

ardecila · #**5764** Posted **Nov 9, 2012, 6:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris from N.O.

Also, and this is an honest question, with the CCC being Business Route 90, do the feds pick up some of the tab?

Not exactly. The Federal government doesn't pay for routine maintenance of US highways; Federal money paid for the interstate system on the condition that states would maintain them.

IIRC, the Feds do distribute formula funding that can and should be used for some kinds of maintenance activities, but it's nowhere near enough, even in a relatively highway-poor state like Louisiana. The money is supposed to be for expansion primarily.

This state has a long history of opposing tolls... going back to when Huey Long built the Route 11 bridge over the lake so drivers could avoid the tolls at the Rigolets bridge on Chef Hwy. The new bridge drove the privately-operated Rigolets bridge out of business, and Long bought it for the state at a steal and removed the tolls.

NOLAforME · #**5765** Posted **Nov 10, 2012, 1:03 PM**

Any news on when I-49 South will be finished? Bits and pieces are finished between Nola and Lafayette. I keep hearing it's to be finished soon, but really nothing seems to be happening to bring the whole length of the interstate into a controlled access route.

NOLAforME · #**5766** Posted **Nov 10, 2012, 1:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Eh... urban plazas are only as good as the buildings that front on them. Duncan Plaza is already fronted on three sides by parking garages and derelict buildings.

Charity as City Hall is a neat idea but the building itself is way too large; the city only needs 1/3 of its 1M square feet. I don't know what you'd do with the remainder of the space once the city has finished moving in. It would be tricky for the city to lease it out to private companies or residents.

How large is the original Charity? Is it 1M square ft or does the 1M fall under later additions tothe original?

ardecila · #**5767** Posted **Nov 10, 2012, 9:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOLAforME

How large is the original Charity? Is it 1M square ft or does the 1M fall under later additions tothe original?

What later additions? They added fire stairs and a few security/receiving pavilions around the ground floor. Essentially, though, what you see IS the original Charity.

source

NOLAforME · #**5768** Posted **Nov 11, 2012, 12:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

What later additions? They added fire stairs and a few security/receiving pavilions around the ground floor. Essentially, though, what you see IS the original Charity.

source

That's a great pic of Charity under construction and also the old St. Joseph's Catholic Church now demolished but rebuilt down the street (the largest Catholic Church building in La) very nostalgic!!!...thanks for the pics ardecila

ardecila · #**5769** Posted **Nov 11, 2012, 2:48 AM**

We were talking about this over in the Transportation forum but does anyone think an aerial tramway system would be a good replacement for the ferries? It would be expensive upfront, but a lot cheaper to operate in the long run. It seems to work pretty well for Roosevelt Island in NY, which is comparable to Algiers Point population-wise. Due to the lower expense, you could have a car crossing the river every 5 minutes.

It wouldn't be able to carry cars to the Westbank, but we have two billion-dollar bridges for just that purpose, neither of which allow for pedestrian crossings.

I know there used to be one, but it seems like they really screwed the pooch on the planning, putting stations in the then-blighted Warehouse District and an industrial part of Algiers. The cars were also single occupancy, which is weird... They should be larger and more bus-like. The stations should also be connected with the bus/streetcar system.

Chris from N.O. · #**5770** Posted **Nov 11, 2012, 9:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

We were talking about this over in the Transportation forum but does anyone think an aerial tramway system would be a good replacement for the ferries? It would be expensive upfront, but a lot cheaper to operate in the long run. It seems to work pretty well for Roosevelt Island in NY, which is comparable to Algiers Point population-wise. Due to the lower expense, you could have a car crossing the river every 5 minutes.

It wouldn't be able to carry cars to the Westbank, but we have two billion-dollar bridges for just that purpose, neither of which allow for pedestrian crossings.

I know there used to be one, but it seems like they really screwed the pooch on the planning, putting stations in the then-blighted Warehouse District and an industrial part of Algiers. The cars were also single occupancy, which is weird... They should be larger and more bus-like. The stations should also be connected with the bus/streetcar system.

When I was a kid, my dad took the gondola to work sometimes. I still (vaguely) remember the towers that were left up there for several years after operations had ceased.

I think one issue would be the required height. The Roosevelt Island tramway crosses the East River, so I don't think it has the clearance requirements that one on the lower Mississippi would have.

tennis1400 · #**5771** Posted **Nov 11, 2012, 9:54 PM**

New name for the Hornets has been decided!!!

Nolacat157 · #**5772** Posted **Nov 11, 2012, 10:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennis1400

New name for the Hornets has been decided!!!

Is it something to be excited about or is it the Gumbo?

tennis1400 · #**5773** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 1:40 AM**

Ill say its more old school... I think people will like it..

rcp11889 · #**5774** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 4:24 AM**

Apparently, the downtown office market is on the rise.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...-office-space/

Does anyone with a CityBusiness subscription wanna give a run down of what this article says?

Reverend_Cletus · #**5775** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 6:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

This state has a long history of opposing tolls... going back to when Huey Long built the Route 11 bridge over the lake so drivers could avoid the tolls at the Rigolets bridge on Chef Hwy. The new bridge drove the privately-operated Rigolets bridge out of business, and Long bought it for the state at a steal and removed the tolls.

Long didn't build the Hwy 11 bridge. Long made the threat to build a free bridge right next to the Watson-Williams toll bridge after his offer to buy the bridge was rejected. Of course this was just a threat, but instead built the free bridges over the Rigolets and Chef Pass as a free alternative. And since people didn't mind driving a few extra miles for a free passage, they drove the owners to selling to the state.

EDIT: At the time the toll was $1.50 for the driver and $0.10 per passenger. Funny how we are bitching about paying $0.40 for tolls.

Reverend_Cletus · #**5776** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 7:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcp11889

Apparently, the downtown office market is on the rise.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...-office-space/

Does anyone with a CityBusiness subscription wanna give a run down of what this article says?

Here is the full article.

http://www.southmarketdistrict.com/getNews.php?id=56

ardecila · #**5777** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 9:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverend_Cletus

Long didn't build the Hwy 11 bridge. Long made the threat to build a free bridge right next to the Watson-Williams toll bridge after his offer to buy the bridge was rejected. Of course this was just a threat, but instead built the free bridges over the Rigolets and Chef Pass as a free alternative. And since people didn't mind driving a few extra miles for a free passage, they drove the owners to selling to the state.

EDIT: At the time the toll was $1.50 for the driver and $0.10 per passenger. Funny how we are bitching about paying $0.40 for tolls.

Oops... switched the bridges.

I don't think too many people were commuting to the North Shore at that point, though... it was mostly weekenders and truck traffic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcp11889

Apparently, the downtown office market is on the rise.

http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/bl...-office-space/

Does anyone with a CityBusiness subscription wanna give a run down of what this article says?

So we've finally bottomed out with the long bleeding-out of oil jobs? God, I hope we don't put our eggs in that basket again.

NolaWave · #**5778** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 5:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennis1400

Ill say its more old school... I think people will like it..

Pelicans?

tennis1400 · #**5779** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 6:13 PM**

Civic Theatre Sign went up!

Link to Port of New Orleans State of The Port

http://www.portno.com/pdfs/headline1.pdf

ardecila · #**5780** Posted **Nov 12, 2012, 10:03 PM**

Holy crap that branding is cool. I love how it functions as a logo and an arrow pointing toward the entrance.

I wonder what Gibbs will do next? The Civic Theater block is almost done except for that stupid little AT&T parking lot on Poydras.

Re: the Port - I'd love to see New Orleans start to make some moves toward dominating the coffee-import business. Right now it is a big part of the port business but I never hear leaders striving to be the top dog. We should have the best facilities and a large market of buyers and distributors, and what we do have should be well-publicized.