Algiers Ferry Terminal to be renovated by end of 2025

The latest: RTA officials will soon release updated Algiers Ferry Terminal design drafts after spending months gathering community feedback on its initial plans, RTA transportation planner Joanna Farley tells Axios New Orleans.

• The updates will incorporate that feedback, possibly including more specific ideas around how the space gets used.

Zoom in: The initial federally funded designs would replace the Algiers Ferry Terminal's front steps with a zigzagging ramp for universal, ADA-compliant access, plus add improved parking areas for cars and bikes.

• The plans would also solve existing pain points, many of which stem from the ferry previously being used for cars: There's no bathroom nor is there a covered area for people waiting to board, and there's general confusion around how to board and buy tickets.
• The renovated terminal would be air-conditioned, and there's a proposal to add a cafe or small concession stand, plus office space and a community conference room on the second floor.

State of play: Community feedback on the early plans has been overall positive, Farley said, with particular excitement around the redesigned facade.

• The proposed "open plaza with benches and landscaping is meant to be inviting," Farley said, which has "generated a lot of excitement about how that plaza can be activated, like with farmers markets."

By the numbers: Canal-Algiers Ferry ridership is trending up, according to the RTA's 2023 annual report.

• In 2022, the ferry served about 395,000 riders.
• But in 2023, it had already surpassed that number by Oct. 31, the report says.

Go deeper: See the full schematic designs from RTA.