Remember how the L train will probably be shut down for repairs and improvements in 2017? Remember how that shutdown will prevent us from accessing all our favorite stuff off the L line?
Well, DNAInfo just reported on some of those improvements.
The MTA is planning to test a program that will install screen doors at subway stations to prevent passengers from falling onto the subway tracks.
They're currently in the process of working on a pilot program to install the screens at one station.
"We'll have more information on that in the near future," said MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz.
The 2010-2014 capital plan, the design for the pilot program was planned for the Sixth Avenue station off the L line.
The project description stated the purpose of the screen doors was to "improve customers and crew safety as well as reduce trash and debris accumulation on the trackway."
[anad]
We're all for that. We hate when people throw trash on the tracks when the trash can is. Right. There. We digress...
Ortiz made it clear that "the location of the pilot may change," and that it's not set in stone for the 6th Avenue L train. Okay, Ortiz.
The Daily News reported on the exact numbers of people who were killed by being struck by trains in 2013.
Suffice it to say, the numbers are bleak. That year, 151 people were hit by subway trains, which resulted in 53 deaths. In 2012, 51 people were hit and killed by subway trains.
rituljalja Can you see the #rainbow 🌈? #airport #airtrain #myPhotography #bestshot #photooftheday #beautiful #sanfrancisco #california #rain #rainingeveryday
In the years between 2001 and 2012, an average of 134 people were hit by subway trains, and an average of 41 were killed each year.
Still, the MTA has repeatedly said that the cost of installing the sliding doors at their antique stations would be very, very pricey.
In Queens, the AirTrain stations have these platform screen doors, and they're great. We're all about the AirTrain.
If the MTA could prevent that average of 41 deaths a year, they should do it at any cost, shouldn't they? After all, human life is priceless.
Check out L Train Closure Could Happen in 2018, End of the World to Follow.
[via DNAinfo] [Feature Image Courtesy New York Daily News]