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Louisiana
Editorial: State Leaders Miss Opportunity for Baton Rouge-New Orleans Passenger Rail
When Hurricane Katrina broke New Orleans levees four years ago and forced many evacuees to Baton Rouge some 70 miles northwest, it brought out the long ignored truth that the two metropolitan centers ''are really just one economy,'' and that their connections ''should be strengthened and encouraged,'' writes the Baton Rouge Advocate Opinion page staff, pointing out that world-class planners in the post-hurricane Louisiana Speaks process saw a passenger rail as a ''no-brainer'' necessity for the region's reconstruction and long-term resilience, but the state was ''reluctant to shell out the money'' for upgraded tracks and the infrastructure.
While the federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) offered ''a way to get the upfront costs paid'' and the state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), strongly backed by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, sought $300 million for that purpose, Republican Governor Bobby Jindall has been ''an outspoken critic'' of the stimulus package.
But once he combined stimulus criticism with a call for more stimulus money and got mocked by TV commentators, DOTD suddenly gave up on federal funds for the potential Baton Rouge-New Orleans passenger rail project.
The governor's spokesman denied a link between the media comments and the policy reversal, and the Advocate opinion writers take him on his word even if they've seen ''all too many times that the state policy is driven too much by Jindal's national politics,'' but they reject DOTD Secretary William Ankner's explanation that his department couldn't find $18 million a year to support train service.
''We're not sure a train will work financially, but the lesson from just about every other urban area in America is that every transportation choice requires subsidy. Every freeway system is heavily taxpayer-subsidized; the state makes its money from the increased economic activity spawned by transportation and transit-oriented development,'' the opinion writers observe. ''We think it's absurd to call an $18 million subsidy a barrier to this development.''
Noting that Governor Jindal was a Rhodes scholar and Secretary Ankner is a Ph.D., they conclude: ''But when the state misses a no-brainer, over and over again, one wonders whether the problem is with the train or the state's leadership.'' -- Advocate 8/26/2009
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