I'm sure it will look very nice

The illustrations of the new Canal Street ferry terminal seem to suggest it will look nice.

The new downtown ferry terminal has a final design in the can and a soft construction start date penciled for around the upcoming Mardi Gras season. But plans remain mostly up in the air for how its companion footbridge will look, according to architects and officials who gave a public update Tuesday night (Dec. 12).

The current 37-year-old terminal is expected to be demolished sometime before Mardi Gras 2018, according to Brian O-Reilly, an engineer with Royal Engineers and Consultants and the project manager for the terminal replacement. He estimated the project should take between 12 and 14 months to complete, depending on weather and the whims of the Mississippi River.

Here is what the new terminal won't do, though.  As has been the case for a few years now, it won't serve actual commuters anymore. That purpose was greatly deemphasized with the conversion to pedestrian-only boats. It also won't run 24 hours as West Bank commuters who work late in the French Quarter have been asking for years to no avail.  It won't be free for anyone in either direction. The fares were hiked up when RTA/Veolia took over operation from the state.  So, really, what we're talking about here is a boat ride that gets tourists across to special events in the Point from time to time. Still, it will look nice.

Also the bridge still won't have a roof. (Because Ryan Berni says he doesn't want to coddle the homeless.) It will have a $2 million video art board that promotes the Aquarium.  Most importantly we finally learned what that "iconic structure" Mitch promised us so long ago was going to be.  Turns out it's.. well.. it's the ferry terminal.

All these developments, Landrieu said in Friday's news release, should make for a "completely new riverfront experience in 2018, the 300th anniversary of our city's founding."

Likewise, O'Reilly said Tuesday that the terminal design squares with the holistic view of a more open riverfront.

“We’re providing what we like to say is a very iconic structure, as the foot of Canal Street deserves," he said. "It’s been a long time since that area had an update.”

Anyway tl;dr, RTA is once again spending money on doing everything except actually serving its ridership.  They're also passing some money around, of course, which is usually the point.  Here is a deep-divey thread on all that from Danil.