After years of pressure and sometimes stiff resistance, the MTA said it will test doors on subway platforms at three stations to keep people off the tracks and prevent accidents.
The idea isn’t new: Such doors are common in cities like London, and were considered in New York in 2012 and again in 2016, both times amid a surge in deaths of people on train tracks.
However, the idea took on renewed urgency in January this year after that Michelle Go was pushed in front of a train at the Times Square station and dieda case that sparked national outrage over violence against the Asian community, safety in the transit system, and handling of people with mental health conditions.
On the other hand, there has also been an increase in people walking on subway tracks and tunnels this year, a situation that often ends in fatal accidents, such as an incident that occurred early Tuesday in the Bronx.
That being the case, MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday that the agency would test the doors on train platforms at three stations: Times Square, the Third Avenue L and the station Sutphin Boulevard and Queens.
“It’s going to take a while. We’re going to get the money together, which is a bit tricky. But our goal is to test these technologies, at different places in the system, including three stations,” Lieber told NY1 in an interview.
Lieber noted that the MTA would also test thermal and laser technologies to try to detect when people were on train tracks or in tunnels.
MTA leaders met Tuesday to map out a security plan.
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