Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters, Volume 3: Literature Review and Case Studies (2017) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 372-379
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B‐76 New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) Case Study: Serving Orleans Parish and Kenner, Louisiana Highlights: Over the past 10 years, the RTA has been aggressively rebuilding its entire system (facilities, vehicles, equipment, track, catenary, electrical substations)
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B‐77 Key Lessons Learned Resiliency is a management and operational mandate post‐Katrina. The unthinkable can happen. Be prepared for the worst.
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B‐78 Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center. Their plight was broadcast across the country for countless days as the death and destruction in New Orleans became clearer. The RTA used buses to transport people to the Louisiana Superdome, the city's designated "shelter of last refuge." Flooding occurred at all of RTA's facilities except the Willow Street streetcar barn. Damages included: 85% of its fleet was destroyed or rendered useless and inoperative; 146 buses were visible outdoors (and under water) at the RTA's 2817 Canal Street facility, while only 22 were at 3900 Desire Parkway. The flooded buses were basically written off. Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in US history (estimated at $108 billion by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
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B‐79 streetcar expansion project which has not been well‐integrated into the existing network of bus routes and has worsened commutes for some bus riders by forcing them to transfer to the new streetcar to complete their trip." (6) Policy and Administration Relative to RTA's post‐Katrina efforts, they "sought as many external sources of revenue as possible, securing over $320 million in federal funding. Countless hours were expended to provide the exhaustive detail necessary to complete the extensive paperwork and submit proposals to secure each funding source. Examples of the secured funds include: A $45 million grant from the TIGER stimulus program $17.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal stimulus program $7 million to replace the cross‐ties on the St. Charles streetcar line Forgiveness of a $47 million community disaster loan $130 million in FEMA funds to restore facilities, streetcar electrical wires and track infrastructure and to purchase new bus, streetcar and paratransit vehicles The above actions, plus the ongoing rigorous management of finances, budgets, and costs have improved the RTA's credit rating and its financial stability. With careful management, the RTA has recovered financially from the many challenges presented by Hurricane Katrina" (1)
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B‐80 Lil Easy demand response vehicles provided service to neighborhoods "slowly repopulating" including Gentilly, Lakeview and the Lower Ninth Ward. Tools: Used a variety of federal, state and city funds for disaster recovery and reconstruction as well as bond monies Operative policy of resiliency adopted post‐Katrina for all reconstruction and new capital projects Successes: Substantially rebuilt system and facilities after Katrina Active participation in the CAEP which was used successfully during Hurricane Gustav Lessons Learned: Previous policies and procedures applied during Hurricane Katrina were abandoned. New policies and procedures were adopted that changed the foundations of disaster evacuation in New Orleans.
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B‐81 Post‐Katrina Evacuation Policies Rethought: The City‐Assisted Evacuation Plan The City's evacuation plan for hurricane events include some significant changes from their pre‐Katrina policies: no vertical evacuations are allowed; no "shelter of last resort" is used in disaster evacuations; proactive partnership with the RTA to pick‐up carless evacuees by public transit at 17 designated pick‐up points throughout the city; uses the New Orleans Union Passenger Station (used by Amtrak, Greyhound and Mega‐Bus) as a staging area for evacuation out of the city to "safe havens" at state or federal shelters. The City's Office of Homeland Protection and Emergency Preparedness in association with Evacuteer, a local not‐for‐profit (dedicated to the safe evacuation of the city's carless population both residents and tourists)
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B‐82 A New Emphasis on Streetcar Line Expansions Special mention must be made for the streetcar vehicle replacement and expansion program. According to RTA "Of what was left of (our) infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the streetcars were in the best position to be quickly repaired and restored to service. Streetcar line reconstruction was made possible by federal funds, which by law could only be used to restore streetcar track, electrical systems, and the red (Riverfront line)
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B‐83 References 1. RTA Board and Transdev Executive Staff, "Rebuilding for Tomorrow: Our Progress and Vision for the Future", August 2015. 2.
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