LIRR Gap Issue Rears Its Ugly Head Again
The station gap issue that has been tormenting the Long Island Rail Road for almost 2 years now once again rears its ugly head. I had just finished talking about them in the previous entry especially relating to big gaps that I’ve seen. I had linked to an older entry I made about the huge gaps in the Syosset station. Wouldn’t you know, the very next story I came across on Newsday’s website was about a gap incident that occurred in the Syosset station. The story will be in today’s edition of the paper & here is the piece written by Steve Ritea:
An unidentified 63-year-old man suffered minor injuries after he tripped in a gap at the Syosset Long Island Rail Road station yesterday, a railroad spokesman said.
The man suffered lacerations to his right knee and complained of pain in his left knee after the incident, which occurred while he was boarding an eastbound train at 10:48 a.m. that had left Penn Station at 9:46 a.m. An LIRR crew member waited with him until an ambulance arrived, the spokesman said.
The man was taken to Syosset-North Shore Hospital, treated for minor injuries and released. A June report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said there were 214 claims filed last year for gap-related injuries suffered on the LIRR, but attributed the large number to increased awareness.
The railroad said it is planning to spend $46 million by 2012 on gap-shrinking techniques that include shifting platforms, installing metal plates at the base of train car doors and attaching boards to platforms.
Let us first wish the 63 year old man well. I know the debate will once again start between those who feel the gaps are not a serious issue & those who feel it is. I say to those on the side of feeling it is not an issue, you can’t keep saying that common sense would have prevented these incidents. I find it next to impossible for every single incident could have been avoided if common sense was used. The LIRR needs the potential funding to help fix these gaps as soon as possible!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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