New Orleans is a pretty perilous place to navigate on foot, according to a new report from the New Orleans Office of Inspector General.
Parsing the report, NOLA.com says countdown timers for pedestrians are only in place at less than 10 percent of the city's 463 signalized intersections.
The report says the city’s newest pedestrian signals don’t comply with a "transition plan" to make street crossing and sidewalks more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plan, approved in 2013, called for signals with push buttons, sound and vibrations for the visually impaired, and the newest signals lack these features.
The report also says the city has no plan in place to maintain the city’s crosswalks, aside from citizen complaints and observations from Department of Public Works employees.
NOLA.com points out that according to the Highway Safety Research Group at Louisiana State University, Orleans Parish has had the highest number of pedestrian deaths in the state for the past three years.