MTA looking at subway platform barriers
The MTA is launching a pilot program to install platform doors at three subway stations to prevent more riders from slipping off the tracks.
New York – Rising crime and fatal accidents in the New York City subway system, such as the death last month of Michelle Guo when she was pushed onto train tracks in a Times Square subway station by a mentally homeless man, the MTA has put new safety measures in place.
The MTA is looking to install platform barriers between the platform and the tracks to prevent people from falling or being pushed onto the tracks. This technology has been around for a long time and is already in use on the JFK Air Train.
The pilot program will be launched at three stations: the Times Square 7 line, the Third Avenue L line, and the Sutphin Boulevard JFK Airport E line.
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The MTA says the engineering at those stations is already in place to make the program work.
It comes as the city works to stamp out crime in its subway system, and while Mayor Eric Adams’ subway safety plan is being rolled out.
Teams of social workers and doctors are combined with police officers to go to subway stations to reach the homeless and offer them alternatives. They focus on six lines, lines A and E 1, 2, 3, N, R and 7.
CEO and President of the MTA, Janu Lieber, told FOX 5’s Good day New York That the NYPD was enforcing the RTA’s code of conduct and says it’s already starting to see results.
While New York City’s efforts to make the subway safer are now well underway, it appears the crime that has plagued the transportation system hasn’t stopped.
On Wednesday, a man in his 20s was hit by a metal tube after a dispute over a northbound J train at Delancey Street station in the Lower East Side, all in the middle of the evening rush hour.
The victim has been taken to Bellevue Hospital and is expected to recover.
Authorities say the suspect, who was last seen wearing a blue jacket, was dislocated.
Video released by NYPD Crimestoppers shows four robbery suspects running through the turnstiles at Times Square Station.
The four men allegedly approached and punched a 23-year-old and then stole his iPhone from his pants pocket.
NYPD Homeless Off Subway Trains, MTA Says
MTA President Jano Lieber said he sees the city dealing with the homeless problem on the subway and sidewalks.