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New Links Network Redesign Plan - Final Recommendations (REVISED BOARD REPORT)
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DESCRIPTION: Requesting Board to adopt the New Links plan and the final recommendations as a first step towards implementation.
AGENDA NO: 21-015
ACTION REQUEST:
? Approval ? Review Comment ? Information Only ? Other
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt the New Links plan and Final Recommendations with a goal to implement the recommendations to the extent possible.
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ISSUE/BACKGROUND:
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Transit in greater New Orleans has not been re-thought in a long time. Many of the features of the current system are based on a scaled down version of the regional network run by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and Jefferson Transit (JET) before Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The network includes many bus lines that were designed for a different time in the city's history, and some of these "legacy" services are not well-suited to the current needs of the region. Since Katrina, from 2006-2019, there has been significant growth in the region and major changes to the places where residents are living and working, but the transit network has not fully kept up with those changes.
Poor reliability, limited infrastructure for transit users and other issues also add to the challenge of using public transit. Limited coordination between transit services operating in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes mean that cross-parish trips are difficult for riders. Because most bus lines in the city are designed to get riders to and from downtown New Orleans, it is difficult and time consuming to access destinations in other parts of the region. Taken together, these issues create significant barriers for residents of the region who must rely on transit to get to jobs and other destinations. A typical resident can only reach 43% of the region's jobs in 60 minutes or less via transit and walking, while a person driving a car can reach over 99% of the region's jobs. 1 Riders have c...
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