New Orleans OIG report reveals failures within DPW traffic signal program

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A new report from the New Orleans Office of the Inspector General reveals failures within the Department of Public Works' traffic signal program.

The 23-page report suggests the city is far from industry standards while pointing out how frequent and prolonged traffic signal outages can cause congestion, pose a safety risk and adversely affect commerce. It also signals just how critical, effective, and efficient operations are within the DPW.

Inspector General Edward Michel said it can lead to "delaying deliveries, increasing operating costs, and many folks don't understand this, but it can also limit access to customers."

Fox 8 spoke with a bus driver in town from Georgia who was alarmed by the many blinking traffic signals.

"I take safety very seriously. It just was amazing to me that this many lights are out. There's not a single one working right here. It's got to be a head shaker," said Stephan Porter. "Take a serious look at the areas that they supposedly are monitoring, especially public works, and get out here and get this fixed. It's an absolute safety hazard."

The report released Wednesday (Oct. 16) shows that the DPW has not devoted enough staff and resources to get the job done in a timely manner. This prevents the city from performing day-to-day and preventative maintenance and instead focuses on malfunctions as they happen.

Based on a nationwide study conducted in 2029, the OIF found at the time of this report that the cities with a similar number of traffic signals dedicate nearly 96% more employees to this work than New Orleans—roughly 44 positions versus two.

According to the OIG, they've hired a few more staff, including four employees.

"It was very disconcerting," said Michel. "We were woefully understaffed."

The OIG also said the department failed to regularly update its online traffic signal data, which should be available to the public. This makes it impossible for them to compare the timeliness of repairs and best practices with other jurisdictions.

It also outlines the department's issues with qualified manpower, equipment, storage, finding a contractor to work with, and budget dollars that went unspent.

"In the case of the city, we have limited resources so it's important they protect the resources they that we have," Michel said.

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An OIG analysis of 311 data showed that, as of February, they found over 2,000 pending service requests for malfunctioning traffic signals, with the majority pending for over a year. However, the office believes a lot of those can be attributed to the lack of real-time data.

"You've seen it time and time again where you get to an intersection and all the lights are blinking," said Michel. "It is not surprising to drive down any street in the city to see traffic signals that are inoperable, malfunctioning or completely off."

The OIG recommends the department promptly conduct a study to address the issues in the report. The office also said public works should adopt a set of standard operating procedures and needs adequate funding from the city to help organize and manage assets.

"New Orleans is typically a top tourist destination, and we want to ensure that the residents and the visitors enjoy the city as best as they can," Michel said.

The report said the DPW accepted its recommendations and started addressing the issues.

Fox 8 requested comment from the city's Department of Public Works. At the time this story was first published, we hadn't received their response.