NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Falling trees aren’t the only concern for residents. Lately, many runners along St. Charles Avenue have noticed leaning light poles that look like they could fall.
“I run up down here almost every day and these poles are dangerous. I get nervous every time I run by,” Hailey Roberti, a runner said.
Roberti likes to run along the streetcar tracks on St. Charles Avenue. Nowadays, she’s not only looking both ways for passing streetcars, but she’s extremely worried about falling light poles.
“They are pretty old. They are leaning over. They look like they are going to crash. I see a lot of withering away of the pole. It looks like this part is coming off and could collapse any second,” she said.
These rusty and leaning poles are located across from Tulane University and the entrance to Audubon Park. They are not only a concern for runners, but cars driving by, and even the streetcar could get hit if a pole falls.
“Someone could get really hurt by these poles,” Roberti said.
WGNO reached out to the City of New Orleans about the dangers with this pole problem.
“What I want to do is put my team on it. Get eyes on it,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
The city did in fact put eyes on it, sending Department of Public Works crews out and they found that two poles were hit by trucks and have foundational damage. City leaders say one pole will be replaced and the other needs repairing.
“Not a good standard for the city to have these poles around,” Roberti said.
City leaders say the best thing to do when you notice poles like this is to call 3-1-1 to report the problem.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.