Commuter Rail for New Orleans?

From reportage in Today's New York Times, a brief passage (free content):

The commission report, several members said, will also advocate building a 53-mile light-rail system crisscrossing the city, connecting neighborhoods with the airport, downtown and other commercial centers. That system would be in addition to a separate heavy-rail system that would link New Orleans with Baton Rouge and the rest of the Gulf Coast

Here is the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/11/natio ... 1plan.html

While in all likelihood this "master plan' will meet a fate like that in New York for rebuilding Ground Zero, it nevertheless is interesting to note that rail transportation is (or at least at this time) a part of such.

Stay tuned.

I would suggest N.O. has more immediate problems to deal with. Yesterday's news suggested a lot of animosity of displaced residents and the city council vs. the mayor and a coalition of business leaders regarding a plan which would allow the city to seize private property for redevelopment. The surprising (on second thought, maybe not) thing is the property is mainly in the poor areas of the city, especially the ones whose homes were destroyed by breached levees. Given all the population lost in the city and surrounding areas, would light rail in addition to what's already there and a heavy rail commuter system make any sense?

From what I understand, the planners are painfully aware that New Orleans is going to be a smaller (i.e. less populated) city than it once was, and are trying to avail themselves of the opportunity to contract the city geographically as well, to add protection against future flooding. This is meeting opposition from residents who may be forced to relocate to nearby neighborhoods. I think it's a wise and farsighted plan, but I can see where the affected citizens will feel aggrieved.