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Don't Leave City's Subway Stations Half-Staffed Newsday
Editorial Every so often, state transportation officials try to convince New Yorkers that closing some of the city subway token booths wouldn't compromise commuter safety. They're wrong, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ought to drop this nonsense once and for all. Understandably, the MTA needs to save money wherever possible. But closing 177 booths would also eliminate clerks whose presence adds a noticeable measure of security and comfort to stations that are often isolated and downright scary, even in the daytime. Under the MTA's proposal, booths at one end of the affected stations would be open at all times, leaving MetroCard machines to serve riders at the other end. But this isn't solely about convenience, and it doesn't take a John Jay College of Criminal Justice graduate to see that token booth clerks at both ends of a station deter bad guys more than a half-staffed station would. Roving police and station managers are supposed to pick up the slack, but the truth is that they wouldn't be in place enough to bring the same powers of observation. A court has already ruled that the changes would limit public access to the subways, which is why the MTA must conduct public hearings before proceeding with the plan. The meetings are scheduled for next month, and riders shouldn't miss the chance to voice their opposition, as explicitly as possible. Predictable opposition has already come from transit workers whose jobs could be affected by the closings, so their motives are partially self-serving. But there are others who fear that the closings would illegally impede subway access for the disabled. This will all continue to elude MTA officials until they acknowledge the obvious: that closing the token booths would come with serious safety risks. They should then ask if it's worth the $25 million in savings. We think not. Copyright (c) 2003, Newsday, Inc. -------------------- This article
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