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Oct 17, 2024

New Orleans has more than 400 traffic lights and only two employees set to fix them, DPW is looking for solutions

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. With more than 400 traffic signals there are only 2 employees to work on them. WDSU Investigates finds that number is way below

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

With more than 400 traffic signals there are only 2 employees to work on them.

WDSU Investigates finds that number is way below what the city should have.

When a traffic light goes out it can cause traffic issues or even an accident and in the past WDSU Investigates has found where it's taken weeks if not more than a month to repair lights here in the city.

Now it's a topic that is coming up in the latest budget hearings as the head of the Department of Public Works Joe Threat says "most of the problems, as you can see, are traffic related, traffic signals"."

It's a problem, Threat says they're looking at as the department is understaffed.

"Right now, one of our main challenges across my department is our folks are not paid enough we cannot compete," said Threat.

According to studies, most cities that have between 100 and 450 traffic signals have 21 employees for those traffic signals, and then 450 to 1000 traffic signals have 44 employees to help manage that.

The City of New Orleans only has two and the department is without an engineer.

"It's just like a revolving door we will train up get them certifications next thing we know they are gone, or they go to FEMA," said Threat.

Council members spoke about working on pay but one of the other things DPW is looking at is new tech.

"Got all six companies out there right now with the Smart Street light technology that the technology that can tell us when the streetlight is out through a platform." said Threat. "It can tell us when it's gunfire, tell us when it's cloud cover, tell us when the batteries are low. We've got six of those studies going on right now in the city."

DPW received more than $1.2 million dollars in ARPA funds for traffic signal improvements but have not spent any of that money yet. They say there has been a delay, and a project will be underway November. WDSU will continue to follow up.