New Orleans Uses AI To Improve Traffic Safety

A new platform uses technology to improve traffic flow and reduce the risk of collisions with streetcars.

1 minute read

September 20, 2023, 8:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Historic streetcar in middle of street in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana with palm trees and historic lampposts lining the street.

f11photo / Adobe Stock

Last week, New Orleans unveiled an AI-powered traffic monitoring platform designed to improve safety for pedestrians and drivers around the city’s historic streetcar lines.

According to an article in Biz New Orleans, “In partnership with NoTraffic, a mobility platform, Blackstar Diversified and [the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority] recently upgraded streetcar infrastructure by implementing NoTraffic’s unique technology that fuses an AI-powered platform with a software-defined SaaS platform for all kinds of transportation – cars, bicycles, buses, pedestrians and more – to optimize traffic flows in real-time and reduce CO2 emissions from idling vehicles as well as increased road safety.”

According to an article in Smart Cities Dive, streetcars were involved in 114 collisions in 2018 (the last year data was available).

Friday, September 15, 2023 in Biz New Orleans

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

3 hours ago - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

People boarding a bus on Maryland's Orange Route.

Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project

The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.

30 minutes ago - Mass Transit

A brick building with a circular sign with the Airbnb logo hanging off of it.

Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin

The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

One side of the image shows a Chicago bus stop without a bench, the second image shows the bus stop with a yellow and blue bench.

Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago

A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.

2 hours ago - Block Club Chicago

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.