Directly in front of our campus sits the St. Charles avenue streetcar line, the oldest continuously running streetcar line in the world.
This streetcar line has served our community since 1835, and has been a witness to the collegiate history of Uptown New Orleans and to the founding of our institution. It is a staple of transportation for Loyola and Tulane students.
Many of our students rely on the city’s streetcars to get around. Compared with climbing gasoline prices, the static cost of the streetcar ticket is a thrifty option for budgeting students. In addition to being a cheaper alternative, it gives environmentally conscious students a chance to reduce their carbon footprint.
Loyola itself also makes owning a car on campus difficult. With only 1,500 parking spaces on a campus of more than 3,000, forgoing personal transportation for public transit is a no brainer for many.
And yet, with many officials in charge of transportation funding and investment, there still seems to be a push towards expanding car-based infrastructure.
Over the past 50 years, the increase in car based infrastructure has led to massive issues. Highways have increasingly made us more and more dependent on cars despite the negative effects they have had on our environment and our society as a whole.These increases have also allowed cars to blast carbon emissions into the atmosphere and contribute to air pollution.
As politicians and planners continue to funnel money into highway development, the number of Americans who rely on public transit in their daily lives continues to grow. Whether people are in need of a cost-effective option, choose to be environmentally conscious, those who tire of constant maintenance on cars, or whatever reason they may have, public transportation should always be an option for everyone.
In order to enact positive change on our transportation systems, increased awareness of the positive effects of public transportation is incredibly necessary. Especially since many urban planners seem to think that adding another lane to large highways will solve traffic. This has never worked and only allowed for traffic jams to be one lane larger.
Rather than feeding into the system that promotes the pollution of our air and wasting our lives away in traffic, our city should instead work to improve and maintain the public services that have been a part of our cultural background. The St. Charles Avenue streetcar line is a testament to the idea that, in New Orleans, we value both our history and our public transit.
