NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The MTA is testing new ways to prevent further tragedy in the wake of 88 deaths on city subway and rail tracks in 2022. These new methods range from surveillance cameras and artificial intelligence to calming blue lights.
An “uptick” in the number of people entering tracks in winter 2021 was cited as a reason to launch the pilot, according to the MTA’s chief customer officer Shanifah Rieara.
“We know most incidents begin with people voluntarily getting on the tracks — whether that’s to pick up a dropped object, to cross to a different platform, to access an encampment in the tunnel or without any apparent reason,” Rieara said Wednesday.
One in five incidents is attributed to mental illness, according to first responders. Accidental falls or medical emergencies accounted for 15% of cases, and suicides accounted for less than 10%.
According to Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA’s head of construction and development, the agency has been piloting a program to add artificial intelligence video analysis to the closed-circuit camera system already in place on the transit system.
He said the tech will help predict and alert officials of erratic behavior on platforms.
“AI can help us understand where there is crowding on a platform that is unexpected and may lead to a certain incident,” Torres-Springer said.
He said that the MTA is also working on additional long-term solutions to monitoring trespassing, including sensors that can detect people moving onto the tracks.
Other projects to be implemented include the installation of blue lights that are intended to create a calming effect for people experiencing mental distress.
“Studies have found that blue lighting can reduce the incidence of suicide or attempts at suicide by providing a calming psychological effect,” Torres-Springer said.
He added that these blue lights will be installed at the platform edge of Metro-North and subway platforms this year in addition to the 26 LIRR stations where they have already been installed.
“It’s very important that we do everything we can to provide security, provide messaging, provide an environment that will reduce the impulsivity that drives the act,” Dr. Charles Marmar, chair of psychiatry at NYU Langone, told the MTA board Wednesday.
In addition to the blue lights, suicide prevention hotline posters are going up within stations, according to MTA officials.
Torres-Springer said that the MTA still plans on testing station safety gates, although he holds mixed feelings on the plan.
“We will be piloting platform screen doors,” he said, although he added, “This is not the solution for the NYC subway system given its age and condition.”
Support for the plan to install sets of doors at the platform’s edge arose after the January 2022 killing of subway rider Michelle Go. Torres-Springer said that this plan is hindered by the system’s narrow platforms, as well as the different door spacing of different subway trains.
Later this spring, the MTA will issue requests for proposals for the installation of the barriers.
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