Stand clear of platform edge. It’s more than just a good idea.
One down — literally; 467 more to go.
In the wake of the public outcry over the collapsing platform at Kings Highway, MTA New York City Transit President Howard Roberts ordered a complete inspection of every station platform in the New York City subway system. The review will begin today.
Teams comprising MTA workers from the System Safety, Maintenance of Way Engineering and Stations division will assemble to look for loose, damaged and missing pieces of the rubber or wooden boards in place on the platform edges. These bumpers act just like those on an automobile: They line platforms to prevent subway cars from coming into direct contact with and being damaged by platform edges.
Paul Fleuranges, vice president of corporate communications at NYCT, stressed the agency’s attention to safety. “If a platform edge rubbing board is found to be in disrepair, it is replaced. It’s that simple,” he said. “As a matter of fact, in 2007 our Station Maintenance Division replaced 9,599 linear feet of rubbing board along platform edges systemwide. Clearly it is an issue we take very seriously.”
Meanwhile, MTA officials continue to stress the dangers of getting too close to that platform edge. Besides the rare collapse — this is the first in recent memory — passengers too close to the edge run the risk of falling or getting brushed back by a train.
Personally, I paid more attention to the platform edge today and straphangers’ behavior around the edge. I noticed that for Avi Katz to fall in a platform collapse, he had to be very close to the edge. In fact, it was hard for me to even get that close to the edge, and I didn’t need to stand that close to the edge to peer down the tunnel in search of an oncoming train.
Ah, yes, the oncoming trains. That brings me to another point: Standing too close to the platform edge is an ingrained New York City Subway tradition. Much like people don’t “stand clear of the closing doors,” people don’t stand back from the platform edge, and they won’t for a long time — here’s the “unless” — unless the MTA gets around to installing those LCD screens that display when the next train is arriving.
Passengers stand too close to the edge because, for some reason, they just have to know where the train is. They have to be the first to see the approaching lights, and they have to believe that staring into dark tunnels makes the train come sooner. Putting up signs that say when the next train is coming would make people step back from the edge. They could relax far from the dangers of the rubber padding that, unbeknownst to most riders, overhangs nothing. While the ADA stripes are part of the physical platform, the last few inches of rubber are just hanging over the tracks.
But before those technologies arrive, stand clear of the platform edge. The MTA has plans to renovate many of those stations along the Q that have been the focus of the news stories this week, but until then, the train will arrive when it arrives, and no amount of peering into the tunnels can change that.
7 comments
You forgot to mention that the MTA has to figure out a way to make sure those train arrival screens, once they installed in all the stations sometime in 2150, are accurate. From what I hear the ones on the L are still a bit fickle.
One thing at a time, Scott. One thing at a time.
Are you trying to say that looking for the train doesn’t make it come any faster?
For this kid to fall off the edge of the platform like that, he would have to have been VERY far off the edge. While the MTA should keep track of its running boards as much as possible, this kid should have never gone out that far off the platform edge.
I am sure he is going to sue… considering the argument that the platform edge is still the platform. The MTA might argue (and fail) that he should have never been on the edge and they continue to warn people about doing that. Who will win?
As far as those “when is the train coming” signs, I am not sure why they do not work. The signs should be using the train location as an estimate of where it is but it would seem that it is using the predetermained schedule that is set already. So when problems arise, the display ends up being wrong.
I don’t know… I can find reasons why it doesn’t work, but even more reasons why it should. They know exactly where trains are for the most part so if the system is telling them where the train is and what interval it is, why are the arrival displays off?
And don’t get me started on the bus arrival displays. I have no idea why that would be difficult to implement other than cost.
I agree…the kid must’ve been putting a hell of a lot of weight onto the platform edge to take a tumble like that. When I lean over the platform, I try to maintain a stable position and keep most of my weight on the platform itself.
Hope and Kevin: I thought the same thing until last night. I was on the downtown R/W platform at City Hall. I stepped on the edge not to look for a train, but in the process of boarding one, and the wood completely collapsed.
I like the theme of your blog! Job well done