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View Baton Rouge Street Car Line in a larger map
Although I no longer live in Baton Rouge, I still think about ways to improve the city, so that eventually I can make a McArthur like return. One of things I love about New Orleans is that I can go weeks at a time without driving. I take the Street Card into the CBD and Taxi / Walk when I go out.
Baton Rouge has no mass transit system, or not one that is used a lot. Its taxi cab service is a joke. I remember one time waiting an hour for a Taxi Cab to pick us up from a bar. In New Orleans, I don’t think I have waited more then 5 minutes for a cab.
I was talking about mass transit with my friend John Bullock today and we came up with the ideal that Baton Rouge should mimic the St.Charles Street Car line. Since Baton Rouge franchises all of New Orleans restaurants, why don’t they franchise one of the most iconic images of New Orleans (Stella!!!). Replicate the New Orleans Street Car Line on St. Charles to Perkins Road.
Could you imagine bar hopping from Chelsea's, the Bull Dog, and Perkins Rowe without driving. You have to imagine, because in Baton Rouge, the states Capital, that is impossible. The original line would use a street car like the one below that ran from Park Ave to Perkins Rowe. We could look at expanding that based on the need.

Here is a model of the top of Car I would like. I went to White Lights on Government Street a couple of years ago and they ran similar cars. Run the stops on a 15 minute schedule to 3am.
I don’t know if this would be profitable or pay for itself, but at you look at the big picture, an act like this would positively improve the image of Baton Rouge a hundred fold and maybe convince some people it is time to move back home.