Baton Rouge — Streetcar Proposed

Rail Transit Online, June 2006

Tentative plans for a heritage streetcar line serving the downtown riverfront are being developed by Capital Area Transit System, according to General Manager Dwight Brashear.  Tracks could run along North Boulevard or other parallel roads for a distance of three to four miles (4.8 km-6.4 km).  “We’re talking about a vintage streetcar system that would cater to tourists rather than commuters,” Brashear told The Advocate.  “I’m suggesting North Boulevard because it’s wide and there’s plenty of room for a streetcar, but it could also run up Government and almost any other street downtown.”  The project would be part of an effort to give the area an economic boost.  “Nationally, there’s a trend among cities to bring the old streetcars back, and I would love to see it happen here in Baton Rouge,” Downtown Development District Director Davis Rhorer told The Advocate.  Brashear said he doesn’t have a cost estimate for the line but an existing Canadian National Railway corridor through downtown might provide part of the right-of-way if an effort by Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden to have freight trains re-routed around the city is successful.