Special Fees Proposed For Lower 9th Ward Tours

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tour bus operators are a step closer to paying the city hundreds of dollars in fees to resume tours of the rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina under way in the Lower 9th Ward.

A package of ordinances that restricts the buses to major thoroughfares and requires the special fees was introduced Thursday at the City Council.

The neighborhood was devastated when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A 2006 law banned the tour buses from the area, but operators say many didn't know about the law until the city began enforcing it recently. They say the area is popular with visitors.

The proposed laws would permit tours to legally resume, but requires hundreds of dollars in fees per vehicle for buses of 33-feet in length or smaller.