New Orleans Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Transportation== ===Public transportation=== Hurricane Katrina devastated transit service in 2005. The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) was quicker to restore the streetcars to service, while bus service had only been restored to 35% of pre-Katrina levels as recently as the end of 2013. During the same period, streetcars arrived at an average of once every seventeen minutes, compared to bus frequencies of once every thirty-eight minutes. The same priority was demonstrated in RTA's spending, increasing the proportion of its budget devoted to streetcars to more than three times compared to its pre-Katrina budget.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jaffe, Eric |title=A Troubling Review of Public Transit in New Orleans Since Katrina |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=August 17, 2015 |access-date=May 19, 2018 |publisher=City Lab |url=https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/08/a-scathing-review-of-public-transit-in-new-orleans-since-katrina/401423/ |archive-date=May 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520054751/https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/08/a-scathing-review-of-public-transit-in-new-orleans-since-katrina/401423/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Through the end of 2017, counting both streetcar and bus trips, only 51% of service had been restored to pre-Katrina levels.<ref name=ridenola>{{cite news |title=The State of Transit 2017: Creating our Transit Future |publisher=Ride New Orleans}}</ref> In 2017, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority began operation on the extension of the Rampart{{endash}}St. Claude streetcar line. Another change to transit service that year was the re-routing of the 15 Freret and 28 Martin Luther King bus routes to Canal Street. These increased the number of jobs accessible by a thirty-minute walk or transit ride: from 83,722 in 2016 to 89,216 in 2017. This resulted in a regional increase in such job access by more than a full percentage point.<ref name=ridenola/> ====Streetcars==== [[File:Canal St NOLA CBD Sept 2009 St Charles Astor Redcar.JPG|alt=|thumb|A New Orleans [[Streetcars in New Orleans|streetcar]] traveling down Canal Street]] [[File:New Orlean Streetcars.svg|thumb|Streetcar network]] {{Main|Streetcars in New Orleans}} New Orleans has four active [[Tram|streetcar lines]]: * The [[St. Charles Streetcar Line]] is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2018/11/st-charles-avenues-streetcar/ |title=St. Charles Avenue's Streetcar {{!}} Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business |last=Terrell |first=Ellen |date=November 28, 2018 |website=blogs.loc.gov |access-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113194151/https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2018/11/st-charles-avenues-streetcar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The line first operated as local rail service in 1835 between Carrollton and downtown New Orleans. Operated by the Carrollton & New Orleans R.R. Co., the locomotives were then powered by steam engines, and a one-way fare cost 25 cents.<ref>{{cite book |title=Streetcars of New Orleans |author=Hennick, Louis C. and Elbridge Harper Charlton |year=2005 |publisher=Jackson Square Press |page=14 |location=Gretna, LA |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2Zu8CSRFZAC |isbn=978-1455612598 |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=January 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110085309/https://books.google.com/books?id=X2Zu8CSRFZAC |url-status=live }}</ref> Each car is a historic landmark. It runs from Canal Street to the other end of St. Charles Avenue, then turns right into South Carrollton Avenue to its terminal at Carrollton and Claiborne. * The [[Riverfront Streetcar Line]] runs parallel to the river from Esplanade Street through the French Quarter to Canal Street to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District. * The [[Canal Streetcar Line]] uses the Riverfront line tracks from the intersection of Canal Street and Poydras Street, down Canal Street, then branches off and ends at the cemeteries at City Park Avenue, with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade, near the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art. * The [[Rampart–St. Claude Streetcar Line]] opened on January 28, 2013, as the ''Loyola-UPT Line'' running along Loyola Avenue from [[New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal]] to Canal Street, then continuing along Canal Street to the river, and on weekends on the Riverfront line tracks to French Market. The French Quarter Rail Expansion extended the line from the Loyola Avenue/Canal Street intersection along Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to Elysian Fields Avenue. It no longer runs along Canal Street to the river, or on weekends on the Riverfront line tracks to French Market. The city's streetcars were featured in the [[Tennessee Williams]] play ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]''. The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948. ====Buses==== [[Public transport]]ation is operated by the [[New Orleans Regional Transit Authority]] ("RTA"). Many [[bus]] routes connect the city and suburban areas. The RTA lost 200+ buses in the flood. Some of the replacement buses operate on [[biodiesel]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=Allen |title=New Jefferson Transit buses run on biodiesel |url=https://www.nola.com/news/politics/article_9eef3085-9930-5d71-b28f-752dcfc47696.html |access-date=March 2, 2022 |work=The Times-Picayune |date=June 23, 2010 |language=en |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302091933/https://www.nola.com/news/politics/article_9eef3085-9930-5d71-b28f-752dcfc47696.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Jefferson Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson Parish]] Department of Transit Administration<ref>[http://www.jeffparish.net/index.cfm?DocID=1196 Department of Transit Administration.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220045454/http://www.jeffparish.net/index.cfm?DocID=1196 |date=February 20, 2012 }} The Parish of Jefferson. Retrieved November 12, 2007.</ref> operates Jefferson Transit, which provides service between the city and its suburbs.<ref>[http://www.jeffersontransit.org/ Jefferson Transit] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930174935/http://www.jeffersontransit.org/ |date=September 30, 2007 }}.</ref> ====Ferries==== [[File:AlgiersFerry TJefferson arriving3 bright.jpg|thumb|Ferries connecting New Orleans with [[Algiers, New Orleans|Algiers]] (left) and Gretna (right)]] New Orleans has had continuous ferry service since 1827,<ref>{{cite web |title=History of New Orleans' Ferries |publisher=Friends of the Ferry |access-date=May 19, 2018 |url=http://friendsoftheferry.org/ferry-history.html |archive-date=May 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520054801/http://friendsoftheferry.org/ferry-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref> operating three routes as of 2017. The [[Canal Street Ferry]] (or Algiers Ferry) connects downtown New Orleans at the foot of [[Canal Street, New Orleans|Canal Street]] with the [[National Historic Landmark District]] of [[Algiers Point]] across the Mississippi ("West Bank" in local parlance). It services passenger vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. This same terminal also serves the Canal Street/Gretna Ferry, connecting [[Gretna, Louisiana]] for pedestrians and bicyclists only. A third auto/bicycle/pedestrian connects [[Chalmette, Louisiana]] and Lower Algiers.<ref name=friendsoftheferry.org>{{cite web |title=Friends of the Ferry |url=http://www.friendsoftheferry.org/ |access-date=July 2, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131434/http://www.friendsoftheferry.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Bicycling=== The city's flat landscape, simple street grid and mild winters facilitate [[bicycle]] ridership, helping to make New Orleans eighth among U.S. cities in its rate of bicycle and [[pedestrian]] transportation as of 2010,<ref name=autogenerated3>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/article_40a94334-eaa5-512d-8f6a-de89a3bb52f0.html |title=Bicycle Second Line celebrates New Orleans' expanded bike lanes and awareness |first=Molly Reid, The |last=Times-Picayune |website=NOLA.com |date=May 21, 2010 |access-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225094816/https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/article_40a94334-eaa5-512d-8f6a-de89a3bb52f0.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and sixth in terms of the percentage of bicycling commuters.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/ |title=Politics | News from The Advocate |first=The |last=Advocate |website=The Advocate |date=May 21, 2023 |access-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107142741/https://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/02/troy_brown_resigns_louisiana_s.html |url-status=live }}</ref> New Orleans is located at the start of the [[Mississippi River Trail]], a {{convert|3000|mi|km|adj=on}} bicycle path that stretches from the city's [[Audubon Park, New Orleans|Audubon Park]] to [[Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/map.html |title=Welcome Mississippi River Trail |website=www.mississippirivertrail.org |access-date=December 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208065602/http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/map.html |archive-date=December 8, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since Katrina the city has actively sought to promote bicycling by constructing a $1.5 million bike trail from [[Mid-City New Orleans|Mid-City]] to [[Lake Pontchartrain]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/wisner_bike_path_opens_today.html |title=Wisner bike path opens today}}</ref> and by adding over {{convert|37|mi|km}} of [[bicycle lane]]s to various streets, including [[St. Charles Avenue]].<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 2009, [[Tulane University]] contributed to these efforts by converting the main street through its [[Uptown New Orleans|Uptown]] campus, [[McAlister Place, New Orleans|McAlister Place]], into a [[pedestrian mall]] open to bicycle traffic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tulane.edu/oua/mcalister-place.cfm |title=McAlister Place |website=tulane.edu |access-date=August 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820085913/http://tulane.edu/oua/mcalister-place.cfm |archive-date=August 20, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Lafitte Greenway]] bicycle and pedestrian trail opened in 2015, and is ultimately planned to extend {{convert|3.1|mi|adj=on}} from the French Quarter to Lakeview. New Orleans has been recognized for its abundance of uniquely decorated and uniquely designed bicycles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://markbattypublisher.com/books/new-orleans-bicycles/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201182715/http://markbattypublisher.com/books/new-orleans-bicycles/ |url-status=dead |title=Markbattypublisher.com |archive-date=February 1, 2015}}</ref> ===Roads=== {{See also|List of streets of New Orleans}} New Orleans is served by [[Interstate 10]], <!--[[Interstate 49]],--> [[Interstate 610 (Louisiana)|Interstate 610]] and [[Interstate 510]]. I-10 travels east–west through the city as the [[Pontchartrain Expressway]]. In [[Eastern New Orleans|New Orleans East]] it is known as the Eastern Expressway. I-610 provides a direct shortcut for traffic passing through New Orleans via I-10, allowing that traffic to bypass I-10's southward curve. In addition to the interstates, [[U.S. Route 90|U.S. 90]] travels through the city, while [[U.S. Route 61|U.S. 61]] terminates downtown. In addition, [[U.S. Route 11|U.S. 11]] terminates in the eastern portion of the city. New Orleans is home to many bridges; [[Crescent City Connection]] is perhaps the most notable. It serves as New Orleans' major bridge across the Mississippi, providing a connection between the city's downtown on the eastbank and its westbank suburbs. Other Mississippi crossings are the [[Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)|Huey P. Long Bridge]], carrying U.S. 90 and the [[Luling Bridge|Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge]], carrying [[Interstate 310 (Louisiana)|Interstate 310]]. The [[I-10 Twin Span Bridge|Twin Span Bridge]], a five-mile (8 km) [[causeway]] in eastern New Orleans, carries I-10 across Lake Pontchartrain. Also in eastern New Orleans, [[Interstate 510]]/[[Louisiana Highway 47|LA 47]] travels across the [[Intracoastal Waterway]]/[[Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal]] via the [[Green Bridge (New Orleans)|Paris Road Bridge]], connecting [[Eastern New Orleans|New Orleans East]] and suburban [[Chalmette, Louisiana|Chalmette]]. The tolled [[Lake Pontchartrain Causeway]], consisting of two parallel bridges are, at {{convert|24|mi|km|0}} long, the longest bridges in the world. Built in the 1950s (southbound span) and 1960s (northbound span), the bridges connect New Orleans with its suburbs on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain via [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]]. ===Taxi service=== United Cab is the city's largest taxi service, with a fleet of over 300 cabs.<ref name="4WWL">{{cite news |last1=Farris |first1=Meg |title=BREAKING LIVE VIDEO LIVE @ 11:30 AM: Update on Canal St mass shooting from NOPD LOCAL Cab companies: City regulations will force us to close |url=https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/cab-companies-city-regulations-will-force-us-to-close/289-593532684 |access-date=December 2, 2019 |work=4WWL TV |date=September 12, 2018}}</ref> It has operated 365 days a year since its establishment in 1938, with the exception of the month after [[Hurricane Katrina]], in which operations were temporarily shut down due to disruptions in radio service.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Robert |date=March 10, 2016 |title=Danae Columbus: United Cab says business down 50 percent since arrival of Uber, and now Lyft |url=http://uptownmessenger.com/2016/03/danae-columbus-united-cab-says-business-down-50-percent-since-arrival-of-uber-and-now-lyft/ |newspaper=Uptown Messenger |access-date=April 21, 2016 |archive-date=November 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191125092246/http://uptownmessenger.com/2016/03/danae-columbus-united-cab-says-business-down-50-percent-since-arrival-of-uber-and-now-lyft/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> United Cab's fleet was once larger than 450 cabs, but has been reduced in recent years due to competition from services like [[Uber]] and [[Lyft]], according to owner Syed Kazmi.<ref name="4WWL"/> In January 2016, New Orleans-based sweet shop Sucré approached United Cab with to deliver its [[king cake]]s locally on-demand. Sucré saw this partnership as a way to alleviate some of the financial pressure being placed on taxi services due to Uber's presence in the city.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Richard |date=January 15, 2016 |title=King cake maker, cab company team up on deliveries in Uber era |url=http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/14585605-148/king-cake-maker-cab-company-team-up-on-deliveries-in-uber-era |newspaper=The Advocate |access-date=April 21, 2016 |archive-date=April 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424224316/http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/14585605-148/king-cake-maker-cab-company-team-up-on-deliveries-in-uber-era |url-status=dead}}</ref> ===Airports=== The metropolitan area is served by the [[Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport]], located in the suburb of [[Kenner, Louisiana|Kenner]]. Regional airports include the [[New Orleans Lakefront Airport|Lakefront Airport]], [[Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans]] (Callender Field) in the suburb of Belle Chasse and [[Southern Seaplane Airport]], also located in Belle Chasse. Southern Seaplane has a {{convert|3200|ft|m|-1|adj=on}} runway for wheeled planes and a {{convert|5000|ft|m|-2|adj=on}} water runway for seaplanes. Armstrong International is the busiest airport in Louisiana and the only to handle scheduled international passenger flights. As of 2018, more than 13 million passengers passed through Armstrong, on nonstops flights from more than 57 destinations, including foreign nonstops from the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. ===Rail=== The city is served by [[Amtrak]]. The [[New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal]] is the central rail depot and is served by the ''[[Crescent (Amtrak)|Crescent]]'', operating between New Orleans and New York City; the ''[[City of New Orleans (train)|City of New Orleans]]'', operating between New Orleans and Chicago and the ''[[Sunset Limited]]'', operating between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Up until August 2005 (when [[Hurricane Katrina]] struck), the ''Sunset Limited's'' route continued east to Orlando. With the strategic benefits of both the port and its double-track Mississippi River crossings, the city attracted all six of the [[Class I railroad]]s in North America: [[Union Pacific Railroad]], [[BNSF Railway]], [[Norfolk Southern Railway]], [[Canadian Pacific Kansas City]], [[CSX Transportation]] and [[Canadian National Railway]]. The [[New Orleans Public Belt Railroad]] provides interchange services between the railroads. ===Modal characteristics=== According to the 2016 [[American Community Survey]], 67.4% of working city of New Orleans residents commuted by driving alone, 9.7% carpooled, 7.3% used public transportation, and 4.9% walked. About 5% used all other forms of transportation, including taxicab, motorcycle, and bicycle. About 5.7% of working New Orleans residents worked at home.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Census Reporter |access-date=May 19, 2018 |title=Means of Transportation to Work by Age |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B08101&geo_ids=16000US2255000&primary_geo_id=16000US2255000}}</ref> Many city of New Orleans households own no personal automobiles. In 2015, 18.8% of New Orleans households were without a car, which increased to 20.2% in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. New Orleans averaged 1.26 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Car Ownership in U.S. Cities Data and Map |journal=Governing |date=December 9, 2014 |url=http://www.governing.com/gov-data/car-ownership-numbers-of-vehicles-by-city-map.html |access-date=May 19, 2018}}</ref> New Orleans ranks high among cities in terms of the percentage of working residents who commute by walking or bicycling. In 2013, 5% of working people from New Orleans commuted by walking and 2.8% commuted by cycling. During the same period, New Orleans ranked thirteenth for percentage of workers who commuted by walking or biking among cities not included within the fifty most populous cities. Only nine of the most fifty most populous cities had a higher percentage of commuters who walked or biked than did New Orleans in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bicycling & Walking in the United States: 2016 Benchmarking Report |page=140 |publisher=The Alliance for Biking & Walking}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page