**Desire Streetcar Line**

**New Orleans, Louisiana**

(November 2004)

The New Orleans Regional Transportation Authority (NORTA) is proposing
to construct a 3.6-mile extension of its at-grade streetcar system along
North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue, just east of the New Orleans
central business district (CBD) and parallel to the nearby Mississippi
River. The alignment begins near the end of Canal Street in central New
Orleans and extends to Poland Avenue. The corridor would directly link
several low-income communities, including Iberville, Treme, Fauborg
Marigny, St. Roch, and Bywater via a connection to the Canal Streetcar
Line. The connection would eliminate the need to transfer at North
Rampart and Canal Streets, thereby facilitating a one-seat ride between
these low-income areas, the city's Riverfront and the CBD. The project
is intended to provide corridor residents with easy transfers to the
rest of NORTA's system, including a direct transfer to the existing St.
Charles and Riverfront Streetcar lines, and most uptown bus routes. The
Desire Streetcar Line is further intended to provide the corridor's
low-income residents with improved access to employment areas in the
CBD, French Quarter and the nearby Medical Center district, and promote
economic redevelopment in adjacent historic neighborhoods. The project
includes 24 stops, with average operating speeds similar to conventional
bus service. Consequently, the project is not expected to significantly
reduce transit travel times for corridor residents and would generate
very short trips to tourist destinations along the line for
non-residents.

+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Summary Description**            |                                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Proposed Project:**              | Streetcar Extension             |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| ** **                              | 3.6 Miles                       |
|                                    |                                 |
|                                    | 24 Stations                     |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Total Capital Cost (\$YOE):**    | \$121.2 Million                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Section 5309 New Starts Share    | \$68.7 Million (56.7%)          |
| (\$YOE):**                         |                                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Annual Forecast Year Operating   | \$7.5 Million                   |
| Cost:**                            |                                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **Ridership Forecast (2025):**     | 20,200 Average Weekday          |
|                                    | Boardings                       |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
|                                    | 3,700 Daily New Riders          |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **FY 2006 Finance Rating:**        | # Low                           |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **FY 2006 Project Justification    | **Not Rated**                   |
| Rating:**                          |                                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| **FY 2006 Overall Project          | **Not Recommended**             |
| Rating:**                          |                                 |
+------------------------------------+---------------------------------+

####### 

####### NORTA did not submit information to FTA for evaluation in the FY 2006 *Annual Report on New Starts*. Last year, NORTA estimated the cost effectiveness of the project at \$55.48, which is poor. The Desire Streetcar Line is *Not Recommended* at this time based on the absence of a current capital and operating financial plan to evaluate. FTA notes that NORTA and Norfolk Southern Railroad have not reached an agreement on how to accommodate both freight and streetcar service at the Press Street grade crossing in the eastern portion of the corridor. Since the surrounding community has rejected above- or below-grade alternatives at the crossing, the failure to reach an agreement impedes NORTA's ability to move forward with the project. NORTA must resolve this alignment issue and demonstrate progress in advancing the project within the next year, or risk being removed from preliminary engineering status.

####### 

**[Project Justification Rating: Not Rated]{.underline}**

The project is *Not Rated* for project justification because NORTA did
not submit information on the project's cost effectiveness, transit
supportive land use, and other criteria.

# [Local Financial Commitment Rating: Low]{.underline} 

The project is rated *Low* for local financial commitment because NORTA
did not submit a current financial plan for the project. The absence of
a capital financial plan results in *Low* ratings for the capital plan
completeness, capital funding commitments, and capital funding capacity
subfactors, and prohibits FTA from rating the remaining capital
financial plan subfactors. This results in a summary *Low* rating for
the capital financial plan. The absence of an operating financial plan
results in *Low* ratings for the agency operating condition, operating
plan completeness, and operating funding commitments subfactors, and
prohibits FTA from rating the remaining operating financial plan
subfactors. This results in a summary *Low* rating for the operating
financial plan.

MAP