Thou shalt not cross this line

Just to follow up on yesterday's post about Lakeview residents and their irrational hatred of all things public transit, here are some words of wisdom brought to us by the friendly neighbors who showed up last night to shout down RTA's proposal to build a much needed bus transfer station at the foot of Canal Boulevard.

Don't cross City Park Avenue and enter Canal Boulevard, the majority of those at the meeting said, referring to a lingering plan to replace the existing Canal streetcar terminal at Canal and City Park Avenue with a combined streetcar/bus terminal constructed on Canal Boulevard, north of City Park Avenue.

"Don't cross City Park Avenue!" or something really really bad will happen. Look, we're talking about extending the streetcar line a distance of just over 400 feet.



The extension of the line and addition of the transfer station would help clean up what is currently one of the city's stupidest and most dangerous intersections, not only for pedestrians transferring from the Canal line to the City Park and Canal Boulevard buses, but also for motorists who negotiate a confusing series of incongruous lights and stop signs around them.

But Lakeview residents are more worried about making it too easy for people who use public transit to access the semi-suburban paradise they've carved out of their corner of the city. If we let these people ride their dirty buses across City Park Avenue, then comes the disaster.

The buses will spew diesel fumes in the area, a woman said.

Buses should not come down Canal Boulevard at all, said another woman who warned that perhaps as many as 200 bodies would have to be moved during construction because the area used to be a cemetery.

Wow. That's quite a warning. Do not bring your stinking plebemobiles across our line or there will be zombies! Never mind that there are, in fact, already buses on Canal Boulevard. Never mind also that they're no greater threat to air quality there than the fact that the most convenient way to get anywhere in Lakeview is to drive there. Never mind, even, that moving bodies in order to affect construction or renovation in New Orleans is far from unusual.

The important thing to know is that building this one transfer station means certain catastrophe for Lakeview and the residents there are going to stop it from happening no matter how many zombies.. or maybe just pedestrians.. they have to kill to do it.