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Gulf Coast Megaregion and BRNO Super Region


Mr. Burnham

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That is dependent on two things:

1. LSU actually getting lightrail

2. People actually using it

Trying to get a stop for BTR on this rail line is a much better bet than waiting and hoping on a lightrail line that may or may not happen.

The Nicholson line is probably going to be built, there's political support and neighborhood support. It will work fantastic during LSU football season and during class. Gentrification is already creeping into OSBR from the investment downtown and around the Northgates.

Trying to get a stop for an underutilized airport in a state already hesitant to public transit doesn't seem like much more of a hassle than building a separate system to that same airport. Funding and plans for the commuter rail have never included BTR as far as I know and it won't be included anytime soon. I say take the plan as is a run with it, expansion can happen later.

Airport Shuttle is probably BTR only option at this point because that's what is planned for the New Orleans Airport in Kenner. Since the commuter rail is not happening anytime soon options may be different depend on what type of rail it will.

Plank Rd already have BRT system planned and one on Scenic Hwy that will pass by Southern.                        jpeg

BRT is nice but I wonder how well people would accept the stigma of riding a bus.

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BRT is nice but I wonder how well people would accept the stigma of riding a bus.

BRT system is not your typical bus it is 2 bus in one and it ride in bus only lanes. Its basically light rail on wheels I think its upgrade base on where we currently at.

Edited by greg225
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  • 2 weeks later...

Baton Rouge, New Orleans to eventually join together as one metro statistical area, economic development leaders predict    

The Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro areas will eventually become a single metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, which will be a boon for economic development, predicts GNO Inc. President Michael Hecht, who joined Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp in an address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today on the rise of the Baton Rouge-New Orleans Super Region.

“We are going to become a single entity along the river,” Hecht said. “That is going to make us bigger, and that is going to make us stronger. … That is going to be the secret of our success.”

After centuries of competition and rivalry, the business leadership of the state’s two largest cities began working together after Hurricane Katrina and have since forged a relationship with an unprecedented level of cooperation, Knapp said.

“We got to know each other in those years, and it was the start of a conversation that built trust that we rely upon to this day,” Knapp said.  

In 2009, BRAC and GNO Inc. officially created the Super Region Committee, which comprises leadership from both cities, as well as the bayou region between the two, and meets regularly to discuss projects and issues of importance to both cities.

Not that they have had much choice. Cities like Houston have grown exponentially over the past 30 years, eclipsing all of south Louisiana. Unless Baton Rouge and New Orleans work jointly to promote the entire Super Region, there’s no hope of competing on a national scale, Hecht said.

“Houston is our biggest competitor,” he said. “They took the energy industry from us. They took tremendous human capital from us. We are only undermining ourselves if we don’t present ourselves to the world as a single super region that can compete with Houston.”

The Super Region, which includes the nine-parish Baton Rouge and 10-parish New Orleans region as well as the bayou region, accounts for more than 54% of the state’s total population and 59% of all the jobs in the state, said Knapp, explaining why a regional partnership of the area is something of a no-brainer—even though it would have been unimaginable just a decade ago.

Both Hecht and Knapp predict the growth of the Super Region will intensify when passenger rail service connecting the two cities becomes a reality. The Super Region Committee has been lobbying state and federal lawmakers to bring the long-discussed rail service to fruition. Hecht said he believes it will happen; it’s just a question of when.

“Nothing drives economic development like interconnectivity, and that train is going to happen,” he said.     https://www.businessreport.com/article/baton-rouge-new-orleans-eventually-join-together-one-metropolitan-statistical-area-economic-development-leaders-predict

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Baton Rouge, New Orleans to eventually join together as one metro statistical area, economic development leaders predict    

The Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro areas will eventually become a single metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, which will be a boon for economic development, predicts GNO Inc. President Michael Hecht, who joined Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp in an address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today on the rise of the Baton Rouge-New Orleans Super Region.

“We are going to become a single entity along the river,” Hecht said. “That is going to make us bigger, and that is going to make us stronger. … That is going to be the secret of our success.”

After centuries of competition and rivalry, the business leadership of the state’s two largest cities began working together after Hurricane Katrina and have since forged a relationship with an unprecedented level of cooperation, Knapp said.

“We got to know each other in those years, and it was the start of a conversation that built trust that we rely upon to this day,” Knapp said.  

In 2009, BRAC and GNO Inc. officially created the Super Region Committee, which comprises leadership from both cities, as well as the bayou region between the two, and meets regularly to discuss projects and issues of importance to both cities.

Not that they have had much choice. Cities like Houston have grown exponentially over the past 30 years, eclipsing all of south Louisiana. Unless Baton Rouge and New Orleans work jointly to promote the entire Super Region, there’s no hope of competing on a national scale, Hecht said.

“Houston is our biggest competitor,” he said. “They took the energy industry from us. They took tremendous human capital from us. We are only undermining ourselves if we don’t present ourselves to the world as a single super region that can compete with Houston.”

The Super Region, which includes the nine-parish Baton Rouge and 10-parish New Orleans region as well as the bayou region, accounts for more than 54% of the state’s total population and 59% of all the jobs in the state, said Knapp, explaining why a regional partnership of the area is something of a no-brainer—even though it would have been unimaginable just a decade ago.

Both Hecht and Knapp predict the growth of the Super Region will intensify when passenger rail service connecting the two cities becomes a reality. The Super Region Committee has been lobbying state and federal lawmakers to bring the long-discussed rail service to fruition. Hecht said he believes it will happen; it’s just a question of when.

“Nothing drives economic development like interconnectivity, and that train is going to happen,” he said.     https://www.businessreport.com/article/baton-rouge-new-orleans-eventually-join-together-one-metropolitan-statistical-area-economic-development-leaders-predict

This is all bullcrap. 

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It was going to happen anyway. The amount of traffic on I-10 going to a from New Orleans is getting heavier and heavier. The I-12 corridor is already starting to look like one homogeneous population center, I think the distinction of being one entity is not positive for Baton Rouge though. Soon enough Gonzales will have a much higher population and that will continue through Sorrento and along Airline as the more work comes online near the river. With having Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Hammond/northshore, I think it's a very unique situation that we have to work together on. Keeping the status quo of "screw New Orleans" and "I hate BR!" has done 0 for us as a state. 

Looking forward to it.

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It was going to happen anyway. The amount of traffic on I-10 going to a from New Orleans is getting heavier and heavier. The I-12 corridor is already starting to look like one homogeneous population center, I think the distinction of being one entity is not positive for Baton Rouge though. Soon enough Gonzales will have a much higher population and that will continue through Sorrento and along Airline as the more work comes online near the river. With having Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Hammond/northshore, I think it's a very unique situation that we have to work together on. Keeping the status quo of "screw New Orleans" and "I hate BR!" has done 0 for us as a state. 

Looking forward to it.

Baton Rouge may grow closer to New Orleans, but New Orleans is not growing closer to BR. If any type of region is created, Baton Rouge must be on top...rather than being the 'lesser city'

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It was going to happen anyway. The amount of traffic on I-10 going to a from New Orleans is getting heavier and heavier. The I-12 corridor is already starting to look like one homogeneous population center, I think the distinction of being one entity is not positive for Baton Rouge though. Soon enough Gonzales will have a much higher population and that will continue through Sorrento and along Airline as the more work comes online near the river. With having Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Hammond/northshore, I think it's a very unique situation that we have to work together on. Keeping the status quo of "screw New Orleans" and "I hate BR!" has done 0 for us as a state. 

Looking forward to it.

Hammond and Northshore not included at least not yet Houma  and Thibodaux is the only other metro area included in BR/ NO Superregion . They need to be add so another commuter rail can be add from Baton Rouge to Hammond.

Edited by greg225
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Baton Rouge may grow closer to New Orleans, but New Orleans is not growing closer to BR. If any type of region is created, Baton Rouge must be on top...rather than being the 'lesser city'

Why would should either be "on top" of the other? Why do you think that New Orleans wants to be the 'lesser city'? 

New Orleans can't grow closer to Baton Rouge, there's a swamp there. Both are growing and it will be inevitable. You don't need to be next door neighbors in order to build a strong economic and cultural relationship between two urban areas, and especially not in 10-20 years. 

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Baton Rouge may grow closer to New Orleans, but New Orleans is not growing closer to BR. If any type of region is created, Baton Rouge must be on top...rather than being the 'lesser city'

Whoever have the most economic growth will be on top right now that's Baton Rouge.  

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Based on Baton Rouge being rank 1 in Louisiana for more created jobs.

And how long has Baton Rouge held that title? Most of the job growth comes from the petrochemical industry, once the price of oil drops (now), those turnarounds slow down and those huge projects lose their practicality.  

The problem I have is that New Orleans is adding people at a much faster rate than Baton Rouge or EBR and it doesn't look like Baton Rouge will be a national draw anytime soon. New Orleans is drawing people everyday who want to live there, Baton Rouge does not have that yet. All in all, this idea that Baton Rouge is more important or significant than New Orleans isn't based on fact, just the hunch.

 

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And how long has Baton Rouge held that title? Most of the job growth comes from the petrochemical industry, once the price of oil drops (now), those turnarounds slow down and those huge projects lose their practicality.  

The problem I have is that New Orleans is adding people at a much faster rate than Baton Rouge or EBR and it doesn't look like Baton Rouge will be a national draw anytime soon. New Orleans is drawing people everyday who want to live there, Baton Rouge does not have that yet. All in all, this idea that Baton Rouge is more important or significant than New Orleans isn't based on fact, just the hunch.

 

Baton Rouge has held that title since 2013 and will continue to hold into 2018...and most likely into 2020. 

EBR is the most populated parish in the state and has been so since 2010 and will probably continue into 2020 as well. Baton Rouge can become a national draw with the right amount of focus, and a lot better to work on building our city up than just giving up and calling it a quits. 

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Baton Rouge has held that title since 2013 and will continue to hold into 2018...and most likely into 2020. 

EBR is the most populated parish in the state and has been so since 2010 and will probably continue into 2020 as well. Baton Rouge can become a national draw with the right amount of focus, and a lot better to work on building our city up than just giving up and calling it a quits. 

You can't predict that, it's not factual at all.

East Baton Rouge Parish is the most populated only because of Katrina driving people out of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. Orleans Parish (synomonous with New Orleans) lost over 100,000 people, and Jefferson Parish lost roughly 20,000 (which seems very low) and many of those people found themselves in East Baton Rouge Parish. East Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish are very close in population EBR and a 446k estimate versus 435k. Once the growth prices itself out of New Orleans' gentrifying neighborhoods, Jefferson Parish should see a steady rise in population. 

So my idea that Baton Rouge is not superior to New Orleans means that we should give up and quit? No, it just means that I recognize reality of the situation and that in no part of the near future will Baton Rouge be more significant to Louisiana's culture, GDP, international draw, etc than New Orleans. We are in the same state and this childish back-and-forth between the cities is embarrassing. 

Let's make this as good as possible because it's inevitable. 

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And how long has Baton Rouge held that title? Most of the job growth comes from the petrochemical industry, once the price of oil drops (now), those turnarounds slow down and those huge projects lose their practicality.  

The problem I have is that New Orleans is adding people at a much faster rate than Baton Rouge or EBR and it doesn't look like Baton Rouge will be a national draw anytime soon. New Orleans is drawing people everyday who want to live there, Baton Rouge does not have that yet. All in all, this idea that Baton Rouge is more important or significant than New Orleans isn't based on fact, just the hunch.

 

 Baton Rouge 2016, 2017 will have more job growth then anywhere else in this state and its not all oil and gas. IBM will do most of its new hiring in 2016 and tourism has grown a lot in Baton Rouge as well. All New Orleans have is tourism that's it with high unemployment rates. 

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And how long has Baton Rouge held that title? Most of the job growth comes from the petrochemical industry, once the price of oil drops (now), those turnarounds slow down and those huge projects lose their practicality.  

The problem I have is that New Orleans is adding people at a much faster rate than Baton Rouge or EBR and it doesn't look like Baton Rouge will be a national draw anytime soon. New Orleans is drawing people everyday who want to live there, Baton Rouge does not have that yet. All in all, this idea that Baton Rouge is more important or significant than New Orleans isn't based on fact, just the hunch.

 

News alert: Baton Rouge metro area forecast to add 15,100 jobs over next two years   

Plummeting oil prices over the past year have taken a toll on the state’s employment numbers and negatively affected the economic outlook for 2016-17, according to economists Loren Scott and James Richardson, who are delivering their annual Louisiana Economic Outlook at Business Report’s Top 100 Luncheon this afternoon.

“When energy prices are strong, the state prospers,” the report by Scott and Richardson says. “When oil prices are declining it is tough … this has been one of those bad years, and it reflected in 2015 employment numbers and the prospects for 2016.”

Oil-producing regions of the state, namely the Lafayette and Houma areas, have been particularly hard hit, while Baton Rouge and New Orleans have seen very modest growth.  Among the highlights of the report:

  • The nine-parish Baton Rouge metro area is poised to see job growth of 2.2% in 2016 and 1.5% in 2017. Total job growth in 2016 is expected to be at 8,900, while the area is forecast to add another 6,200 jobs the following year. The area has about $8 billion in industrial projects under construction currently.
  • New Orleans is projected to show meager growth of 0.5% in 2016, or 2,900 jobs, and a slightly better growth rate of 0.8% in 2017, or 5,100 jobs.
  • The state overall is expected to see a slight increase in job growth of around 0.8% in 2016 and 1% in 2017. Total job additions are expected to be around 15,400 in 2016 and 19,600 the following year.
  • About half of the $125.1 billion in announced industrial projects are under construction now.
  • Oil prices should rebound to $55 per barrel in 2016 and $60 per barrel in 2017, though enormous uncertainty surrounds those projections and prices could actually fluctuate from between $30 and $90 per barrel.

The Top 100 Luncheon wraps up the Louisiana Business Symposium, which is presented by Business Report and is taking place at the Crowne Plaza today. The symposium kicked off with the Best Places to Work Awards Breakfast this morning, at which the area’s top employers were honored and executives from a few of the firms participated in a panel discussion on what employers can do to foster employee engagement. Read Daily Report PM for full coverage on the 2016-17 economic outlook.  https://www.businessreport.com/article/news-alert-baton-rouge-metro-area-forecast-add-15100-jobs-next-two-years

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 Baton Rouge 2016, 2017 will have more job growth then anywhere else in this state and its not all oil and gas. IBM will do most of its new hiring in 2016 and tourism has grown a lot in Baton Rouge as well. All New Orleans have is tourism that's it with high unemployment rates. 

The New University Hospital is open and employs 2000 people, indirectly employing hundreds more new jobs to support the huge complex. The hopstial is responsible for the revitalization of Tulane Ave. http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2015/06/look_inside_the_new_1_billion.html

The Loyola streetcar was just finished a few years ago and the Rampart St streetcar is under construction. The South Market District is a well built "neighborhood" of shops and apartments that brings much needed life into the CBD. Something that Baton Rouge is much better at but does not compete with. http://southmarketdistrict.com/ That says alot for drawing the types of people that Baton Rouge desires. http://www.nola.com/news/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2015/03/census_new_orleans_baton_rouge.html

The tech industry has held on well, fairing better than Baton Rouge as far as start-ups go. http://www.nola.com/futureofneworleans/2015/10/tech_jobs_future_new_orleans.html

 

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The New University Hospital is open and employs 2000 people, indirectly employing hundreds more new jobs to support the huge complex. The hopstial is responsible for the revitalization of Tulane Ave. http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2015/06/look_inside_the_new_1_billion.html

The Loyola streetcar was just finished a few years ago and the Rampart St streetcar is under construction. The South Market District is a well built "neighborhood" of shops and apartments that brings much needed life into the CBD. Something that Baton Rouge is much better at but does not compete with. http://southmarketdistrict.com/ That says alot for drawing the types of people that Baton Rouge desires. http://www.nola.com/news/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2015/03/census_new_orleans_baton_rouge.html

The tech industry has held on well, fairing better than Baton Rouge as far as start-ups go. http://www.nola.com/futureofneworleans/2015/10/tech_jobs_future_new_orleans.html

 

Baton Rouge is still adding more jobs to its market than New Orleans, the Medical District is expanding and developing further which will most likely lead to even more jobs along the line. Baton Rouge tech is still developing and growing, and it's not as if New Orleans is much better...oh yeah...and the Water Campus.

If anything this argument proves is that Baton Rouge and New Orleans are nearly even with one another, with Baton Rouge very very slightly on top. My guess is Baton Rouge will come out on top.

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Baton Rouge is still adding more jobs to its market than New Orleans, the Medical District is expanding and developing further which will most likely lead to even more jobs along the line. Baton Rouge tech is still developing and growing, and it's not as if New Orleans is much better...oh yeah...and the Water Campus.

If anything this argument proves is that Baton Rouge and New Orleans are nearly even with one another, with Baton Rouge very very slightly on top. My guess is Baton Rouge will come out on top.

But Baton Rouge isn't drawing millennials at even half the rate New Orleans is. The Medical District is a dream at this point, it doesn't really exist. No plan has been adopted yet and there's only the Children's Hospital that's been announced. I'm confident that if the best plan is chosen that South Medical District will have a huge impact on the economy and will be very comparable to University Hospital and TMC (in design) in Houston. New Orleans tech is much much better when it comes to start ups. They open up all the time, a large one opening up on Oak St in a few weeks. Baton Rouge should try to connect LSU with the industry as best as possible and keep feeding it. That Water Campus will be fantastic once it comes online. It's very similar to the UMC where it takes a once thriving neighborhood and puts it back into commerce through mass investment, it will be interesting to see how development goes from there. But as of now, New Orleans has theirs built, and it's larger. 

If Baton Rouge can get it's schools in check and match the urban investment that New Orleans' is seeing then I'd say it'll be close but as long as we keep the status quo then no. Nobody dreams of moving to Baton Rouge. 

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2016 Super Region Canvas trip will take south Louisiana leaders to Panama next year           

Though specifics are still scant at the moment, the Super Region Canvas trip is going international for the first time next year.

The annual joint trip for community leaders and business professionals, which is organized by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Greater New Orleans Inc., is headed to Panama City, Panama, next September.

“We are still pulling together all of the info on the exact dates of the trip and the cost,” says BRAC Director of Marketing Operations Lauren Songy Hatcher.

Also to be determined yet are details on how many participants will be able to travel to Panama, which will depend on interest, as well as flight and hotel availability, Hatcher says.

The Canvas trips are meant to give participants greater perspective on how peer cities handle critical issues. They have taken place about every other year since 2003. BRAC formerly organized the trips on its own, but in 2013 it began partnering with regional economic development group Greater New Orleans Inc. to increase regional cooperation among south Louisiana’s business communities, including the Houma-Thibodaux region.

In April, the Super Region Canvas trip was held in Arizona’s “Sun Corridor,” which includes the Phoenix and Tucson areas. The cost to attend this year’s trip was $2,200, which included the flight and hotel accommodations, as well as workshop registration. The 2013 Super Region Canvas trip took leaders to the Tampa-Orlando, Florida area.

Until further details on the 2016 trip are available, Hatcher says those interested in participating can submit their contact details at the Super Region Canvas website     https://www.businessreport.com/article/2016-super-region-canvas-trip-will-take-south-louisiana-leaders-panama-next-year

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But Baton Rouge isn't drawing millennials at even half the rate New Orleans is. The Medical District is a dream at this point, it doesn't really exist. No plan has been adopted yet and there's only the Children's Hospital that's been announced. I'm confident that if the best plan is chosen that South Medical District will have a huge impact on the economy and will be very comparable to University Hospital and TMC (in design) in Houston. New Orleans tech is much much better when it comes to start ups. They open up all the time, a large one opening up on Oak St in a few weeks. Baton Rouge should try to connect LSU with the industry as best as possible and keep feeding it. That Water Campus will be fantastic once it comes online. It's very similar to the UMC where it takes a once thriving neighborhood and puts it back into commerce through mass investment, it will be interesting to see how development goes from there. But as of now, New Orleans has theirs built, and it's larger. 

If Baton Rouge can get it's schools in check and match the urban investment that New Orleans' is seeing then I'd say it'll be close but as long as we keep the status quo then no. Nobody dreams of moving to Baton Rouge. 

I completely agree, but I believe Baton Rouge is ready and willing to address these issues. And, I don't think that New Orleans is anywhere near where they should be in terms of start ups...then again I personally believe tech start ups are over-hyped and too much focus on them will just subscribe a city of region to the rust-belt that will eventually be Silicon Valley. 

I think New Orleans has done some good things, but Baton Rouge and New Orleans are too close right now for BR to simply hand over sovereignty to New Orleans in a Super-Region.

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I completely agree, but I believe Baton Rouge is ready and willing to address these issues. And, I don't think that New Orleans is anywhere near where they should be in terms of start ups...then again I personally believe tech start ups are over-hyped and too much focus on them will just subscribe a city of region to the rust-belt that will eventually be Silicon Valley. 

I think New Orleans has done some good things, but Baton Rouge and New Orleans are too close right now for BR to simply hand over sovereignty to New Orleans in a Super-Region.

What leads you to believe that? I don't see that same interest from people in the metro area nor the leadership. 

So, Silicon Valley will be like the rust belt huh... well they sure have a housing bubble issue there. It will pop one day.

I don't understand this last part and why you are so stuck on it. New Orleans is bigger, it makes more money, it's world famous. Yes it will get more attention and state dollars. Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana. State level decisions in New Orleans go through us. New Orleans has 0 say in what we do. 

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