Proposed law would force DOT to evaluate safety on Staten Island Railway

Staten Island Railway

Riders board the Staten Island Railway. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the number of incidents regarding residents on the tracks of the Staten Island Railway (SIR) remains high, one local lawmaker is looking to force the Department of Transportation (DOT) to evaluate possible solutions.

Earlier this year, Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) introduced a local law that would require the DOT to study safety measures on the city’s outdoor train platforms.

“There has been a frightening uptick in the number of people being struck by trains on the Staten Island Railroad and other above-ground tracks, and the City ought to take a very serious look at why," said Borelli.

The law would require the DOT to conduct a comprehensive study on outdoor train crashes and recommend potential safety solutions that can be implemented on outdoor train platforms.

The study would identify and analyze the common contributing factors to outdoor train strikes and study the cost and feasibility of possible safety measures, providing recommendations to the appropriate agencies.

The DOT would be given one year from the legislation’s enactment date to complete the study and report findings and recommendations to Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council.

“Last summer was a wake-up call about the security and accessibility of the tracks," Borelli said. "This legislation will mandate that the Department of Transportation provide options for protective measures which can be implemented to reduce these incidents in the future.”

RECENT STRING OF INCIDENTS

In 2018, nine people came into contact with an SIR car, six of which were on the tracks, with the other three on the platform, according to the MTA. Many of the train strikes in 2018 proved fatal, including three fatal strikes in a 44-day span from Sept. 5, 2018, to Oct. 19, 2018.

In total, there were 17 incidents of people trespassing on the Staten Island Railway tracks in 2018, according to the MTA.

In 2019, only one person has come into contact with an SIR car, according to the MTA.

The agency claims that only three incidents involving people trespassing on the Staten Island Railway tracks have occurred in 2019. However, the Advance has reported at least four incidents between Feb. 16 and April 19.

On Feb. 16, city firefighters responded to a call about an unconscious man on the train tracks at the SIR station in Prince’s Bay, an FDNY spokesman told the Advance.

On April 8, several SIR trains ran behind schedule during the morning rush hour due to a person walking on the tracks near the Arthur Kill station, MTA sources told the Advance.

On April 19, there were two separate rush hour incidents involving residents on the tracks of the SIR, MTA sources told the Advance.

MTA RESPONDS

In light of the recent string of incidents, the SIR and MTA Police Department are collaborating on a new track safety campaign, which will include advisory signage at stations and a new safety pamphlet that will be distributed to riders, according to the MTA.

The MTA advises any riders who drop something onto the tracks not to retrieve the item themselves. Riders are asked to use a nearby “Help Point” to alert personnel, who will send a staff member to safely retrieve the item.

“Our customers’ safety is paramount, and we remind customers not to enter the tracks for any reason. We will be posting signage soon at SIR stations, and we encourage customers to notify police or an MTA employee immediately if they see a person who is or may be in danger and need help," said MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan.

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