Jackie Dadakis recently submitted a letter to the editor at the Times-Picayune expressing Transport for NOLA’s support for the RTA’s new LED headlights and flashing lights (queue Kanye?) on the St. Charles streetcar line, which have improved the safety and visibility of the streetcars. The LED issue also drives to the heart of a larger issue that the RTA and Veolia are confronting: the tension between modernizing the St. Charles streetcars while abiding by the regulations placed on the streetcar as a result of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The Times-Picayune published the letter here.
Dear Sir:
In response to the letter concerning the LED lights on the St Charles Streetcars, I respectfully disagree with the author about maintaining the historic nature of the line. Landmarking the St. Charles line as an historic landmark was an innovative tool for preserving the transit system in an era when highways were king. It is not, however, an effective policy for guiding safety and operating decisions on the current line.
The new LED lights and the signs urging drivers to look both ways are steps the RTA took to reduce the number of vehicular, bike, and human accidents that occur on the line. The new features make the streetcars much more visible to the other traffic and they thus improve the safety and performance of the line. Since introducing these safety measures, the system has experienced a decline from 20 to 11 accidents/100,000 miles, a nearly 50% reduction.
To insist that the system remain static puts an undue operating burden on the transit system. Moreover, the insistence that we maintain the St. Charles Streetcar as is discriminates against disabled citizens, reduces the total capacity of the system by using smaller outdated cars, and affects on-time performance because the cars lack modern equipment like radios and defoggers.
I am proud that New Orleans is home to the longest running streetcar line in the world. To maintain that record, we must allow the system to embrace modern technology that improves safety and efficiency so the line can remain viable for another 100 years.
Jacquelyn Dadakis
Board Member
Transport for NOLA
