I was surprised when I saw that the elevator said open to the public…
Eliza Sánchez uses a cane and says she is happy that her Dyckman Street 1 subway station finally has an elevator that takes her to her appointments.
Eliza Sanchez, subway user:
“But what a blessing because all those stairs are not easy for me, I would have climbed sweaty and scared because one can also have an accident”
This elevator serves users on the north side of the platform, that is, towards uptown, since it already had one on the opposite side.
Francia López metro user:
“It has been very useful for me that they have also made the elevator on this side, because many times we have to carry carts and the stairs are very uncomfortable.”
We were able to capture many users going up or down the more than 32 steps because they were not aware of the new elevator or perhaps because the sign was in English.
“I am happy that there is finally an elevator, it will be a benefit for the community, but those with wheelchairs and canes cannot easily climb the stairs”, explains Carmen Flores.
The project is the result of an agreement reached with the MTA and disabled transit activists in June, agreeing to make 95% of non-compliant stations accessible by 2025.
Councilor Carmen de la Rosa explains:
“We understand that for our community to be able to take advantage of all the train lines, because we are rich in terms of transportation infrastructure, everyone has to have equal access”
The elevator has the possibility of communicating with the operators in case of emergency through voice or visually through a screen, which improves communication for users with hearing disabilities.
The project is funded through the 2020-2024 Capital Program, which allocates $5.2 billion to make a total of 67 stations accessible.
Following the opening of this elevator here at Dyckman, there are 31 accessible station projects under construction, with nine of them expected to be complete by the end of this year in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn according to the MTA.
2023-07-27 17:18:00
#effort #stations #accessible #continues
