A Feb. 19 meeting about a forthcoming pedestrian bridge over the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad tracks turned testy as Algiers residents peppered a lead architect with questions about the project's design.
The bridge, which intends to help ferry riders cross the tracks without long delays behind trains, was proposed after plans for a new terminal that did not include a bridge drew criticism from Algiers residents and other people who take the ferry. But the prevailing sense at Algiers Auditorium Monday was that too little had been done to incorporate rider input, leaving a terminal design and bridge location riders fear will expose them to the rain and heat as they move between the bridge, the ticket station and along gangways.
"Our extreme concern for shelter is over all of this. No one wants to get soaking wet," Connie Burks, an Algiers resident, said. "The idea of the unimpeded cone took more precedence."
[jump] The "cone" in question is the "visual cone" architects tried to create with the terminal and bridge setup, as described by architect Ray Manning, whose firm is working with Royal Engineers & Consultants on this project. Partially drawn from the "Reinventing the Crescent" master plan, the idea has been to "create a more pedestrian-oriented end of Canal Street" and "reduc[e] the visual clutter" of the current ferry terminal, opening up the riverfront for improved pedestrian traffic flow.ย
But riders say that they're having trouble understanding why an unimpeded riverfront was prioritized, as opposed to practical needs of transit users. For example, there are concerns about a 70-ish-foot walk between the new ferry terminal and gangways to the boats, and about the efficacy of metal canopies which are proposed for those same gangways, given that "our rain does not come down vertically; it comes down horizontally" (as one woman put it). Another Algiers resident, Belinda Little-Wood, pointed to safety concerns as riders are move among busy pedestrian crowds during peak tourism times.
There also seemed to be confusion about the site chosen for the bridge and its distance from the terminal, though Manning cited the location's low level of utility conflicts and - again -ย the way it minimized visual obstructions on the riverfront.
For his part, Manning seemed to grow frustrated with the questioning process, pointing out that the bridge and its funding had come out of response to public comment.
"Score one for comments being made and now being responded to," he said. "To say we have been totally negligent as to the needs and desires of the users is simply not true."
This meeting, the second of two sessions soliciting public input for this part of the project, provided some new information about the status of both the bridge and the ferry terminal. Designs for the terminal, which features 10,000-square-feet of rain shelter and "360-degree" ADA compliance (including in its surrounding landscaping), have been finalized for some time. The project should be out for bid within the next 30 to 60 days, and ferry services should remain fully operational during its construction.
The bridge, which will be situated near the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, should have designs ready for public viewing in approximately six weeks. Those designs, which will incorporate feedback from this meeting series, will be made available at another public meeting with a date yet to be announced. And a recently signed cooperative endeavor agreement between the City of New Orleans, the Audubon Institute and New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) ensures the bridge's construction, Manning said.
He assured meeting participants that the terminal would not open without the bridge's completion. "We will not have one without the other," he said.
Despite pledges from Manning, meeting facilitator Bill Rouselle and Audubon Institute president and CEO Ron Forman - who pointed to an additional $2 million in funding that had been secured to "dress up" the bridge - riders seemed skeptical that their feedback would be taken into account. Though some complaints were more general (frequency of ferry service, a few jabs about a lack of investment in the city's West Bank) the biggest concern seemed to be what about what this project will ultimately mean for ferry riders' commute, which they stress should be the top priority as the project moves forward.
"We just want to get to work and we don't want to get wet," Algiers Point President Kelsey Foster said. "We live here, and this service is designed for us."