The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) recently held a ribbon cutting for its ADA-compliant streetcars along the agency's St. Charles route.
The three new streetcars are equipped with wheelchair lifts at the front and rear of each car to better accommodate riders with limited mobility and those who use wheelchairs and walkers. To help riders identify the ADA-compliant streetcars, the new cars are marked with the universal accessibility icon on the front and side indicating ADA accessibility.
"Today signifies an important milestone for the ADA community, RTA, and the city as a whole,” Flozell Daniels Jr., Chairman of the RTA Board of Commissioners, said in a statement. “The entrance into service of ADA-compliant streetcars highlights the importance of the RTA’s Board of Commissioner’s commitment to accessibility for all riders and building equitable transit system.”
The project also included modification of 12 St. Charles Streetcar Line stops, six inbound and six outbound. These stations were rebuilt to feature platforms wide enough for streetcar operators to safely deploy streetcars Limited Mobility (ADA) Ramps, installation of yellow tactile warning strips, installation of protective bollards, and re-grading stations to provide level ADA-compliant surfaces. The project was jointly funded by RTA and the City of New Orleans with $160,000 for engineering and construction administrative services and $400,000 for engineering costs.
Dating back to 1835, the St. Charles Streetcar Line is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the U.S., according to the RTA. The line travels from the edge of the French Quarter all the way down St. Charles Avenue terminating at Carrollton Avenue and S. Claiborne Avenue.
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SOURCE: New Orleans Regional Transit Authority
