New Orleans — The historic St. Charles streetcar line of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is expected to receive a spark in additional improvements in its ADA compliance and handicapped accessibility. This will be possible with over $5 million in funding from a recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, recently announced by Congressman Troy Carter on X (formally Twitter).
According to the May 23, 2024, post: “@NewOrleansRTA is getting $5,492,524 to make the St. Charles streetcar line #ADA compliant. This is vital to make public transportation accessible to everyone. I’m proud to have championed the #BipartisanInfrastructureLaw which made this possible.”
Beginning as a horse-drawn operation in 1835, electrified by the late 19th Century, the St. Charles line is cherished as New Orleans’ oldest streetcar route in addition to being named a National Historic Landmark. It’s one of five lines in RTA’s network to use vintage equipment while providing public transportation between downtown and the nearby tourist destinations. Significant improvements since 2019 [See “Service curtailed as New Orleans streetcar…” Trains News Wire, Aug. 26, 2019] introduced the St. Charles line to three ADA-accessible streetcars and 12 rebuilt stops to accommodate wheelchair lifts.
Ya’ll. HONESTLY.
1. The photo caption SAYS what it’s showing you.
2. The Rampart line restarted on May 19. Yes, it was closed for far too long, but the pandemic and then a shortage of operators meant it took forever. There is also ugly ongoing litigation (should be criminal charges in my opinion) over the hotel collapse.
3. SF Muni’s F-Market line is ADA compliant. There are ramps at stops and operators pull out an aluminum bridge to allow wheelchairs to access the cars.
4. That is NOT A TROLLEY. It’s a streetcar. If you say “trolley” in NOLA people will give you a dirty look.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Would have been nice if the announcement mentioned what actual steps will be taken for the ADA compliance. New equipment on the cars such as lifts or added steps, equipment on the ground at selected main stops, like ramps or lifts, new cars containing built-in DA mechanisms, or various other solutions? How much time will the new ADA entry and departure movements take? Can that affect schedules? What have other streetcar systems in cities done and how well did their solutions work?
I hope to see future bulletins following up on this story describing what progress has been made.
Wonder how long this will take.
When the Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction and Collapsed (October 2019) it took down a number of poles (probably 7-10 in all) and a few hundred feet of catenary were taken down on the Rampart Street/St. Claude branch. I understand NOT replacing it while the remaining portion of building was being demolished but 4 1/2 years. They originally said it would be Spring of 2021. Then they said late 2022 because of pandemic and supply issues. Then they pushed that back because of Hurricane Ida in late August 2021. Next date was late 2023. Said they had to replace a major water line. RTA finely got started in February this year. Within the last week they completed the restoration of the line.
Blue city politics at it’s finest. Will probably take 5 or so years to retrofit all the street cars and bring them to ADA standards.
First, the red trolley in the photo is NOT one of the historic Perley Thomas streetcars that was used on the St. Charles line.
ADA compliance is complicated as it includes hearing and visual impairment as well as mobility impairment. Let’s try mobility impairment. If the disabled person uses a wheelchair, or cannot climb stairs, you need to get the person level with the floor of the vehicle to be able to get on and off without climbing over anything.
Exactly how DOES one make a streetcar ADA compliant???