With the latest rash of subway accidents, ideas on how to make platforms safer for straphangers are all the rage. Earlier this month came word that the MTA was mulling the idea of installing sliding doors in stations, but why stop there? District 65 Assemblyman Marcos Crespo thinks we should have trains come to a full stop before entering stations. Seriously. Don't worry, we thought it was a joke when we first read it too.
And yet when we caught up with Crespo on the phone he told us the proposal was totally serious. "Over the last three years there have been an average of 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries because of trains," he said. "I've taken the subway, I know how they operate. They come into stations full speed and I'm concerned about that."
The idea Crespo is proposing is to have trains come to a full stop before entering a station at a much slower speed (like 5 MPH). According to an engineer the News found, this idea would slow trains down by about minute per station. And what most New Yorkers really want is an even slower mass transit system, right?
It all comes down to money though. Crespo makes the valid point that the MTA is spending millions each year dealing with accidents, and "with the capital and economic situation we are in, installing those sliding panels [to prevent accidents] is going to be very hard."
Though Crespo started his brief conversation with us by telling us the idea was real, he backtracked a little a few moments later. "This is a conversation starter," he said. "If coming to a full stop is too much, I'm willing to address the issue."
Which is good, since while there is a serious discussion to be had about preventing subway accidents (share your ideas in the comments), bringing the subway to a standstill is probably not the best solution.
