NEW YORK CITY ARCHIVES Sliding Platform Doors May Be in the Future for the L Train
by John Surico
We’re not sure if this is going to make 5 p.m. at First Avenue any more tolerable.
In the past few weeks, there have been two unfortunate yet much-talked-about subway deaths that involved people with mental health problems pushing passersby onto the tracks with a train just seconds away. As a result, the MTA began to toy around with the idea of sliding doors on the platforms; this recent addition to metro structure has been popping up around the world, most notably in China. However, it was soon labeled as too costly and, with the sheer size of the subway system in New York, too challenging.
But, according to the New York Post, the transit agency has not given up all hope for the project’s future. Thomas Pendergast, the guy whose stepping in for Joe Lhota as MTA chieftain, told the paper that the notorious L train could very well be a laboratory for the slidin- door experiment.
Even if the whole project would probably cost more than $1 billion . ..
But specifically the L train for several reasons. First, it’s a solo line, meaning it doesn’t share tracks with any other number or letter. Second, because of this, the L uses only one type of train. And, third, it goes without saying it’s one of the most overused lines in New York; if you’re going to experiment, why not do it on a line that too many people use?
As of now, the plan would be to raise the monies from outside parties. And that’s good, given the recent fare hike. However, it’s still uncertain whether the project will go through; raising $1 billion in a starved-for-cash environment with the starved-for-cash MTA seems to be a far cry.
Instead, the agency is leaning toward initiating a more encompassing information campaign about staying behind the yellow line and expanding “See something, say something” to “See person with mental illness, tell authorities immediately.”
Maybe the sliding doors isn’t such a bad idea.