The events in the northeast unfolded slowly as cities as far south as the Carolinas and up to Vermont braced for impact of Hurricane Irene (later renamed Tropical Storm Irene). In years past, politicians have borne the brunt of criticism for unpreparedness whether in recent events like Snowpocalypse 2010 or the far worse Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It’s no surprise then that officials have stronger reactions in advance of what some say are less extreme disasters. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg ordered the evacuation of over 300,000 residents (few of whom did so). Though it is unclear who made the call, the decision that really impacted all New Yorkers (whether they liked it or not) was the shutdown of MTA on Saturday at noon. But was it necessary?
The preemptive shutdown of the MTA (which includes NYC Subway, NYC Bus, Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Bus) was unprecedented. The effects of this shutdown rippled throughout the region: local travel was restricted as subways could not carry the 2.3 million passengers they typically do on Sundays; flights could not resume for fear of stranding passengers who land at the region’s airports; commuters will be met with lengthy delays for the start of the work-week on Monday as the system attempts to restart.
After watching many street interviews on the news, it was clear that residents were frustrated that the transit system had shut down before it was absolutely necessary. It seemed they felt that MTA should have attempted to operate as long as was safely possible. In shutting down early, however, crews had time to station trains in protected tunnels and yards, build water walls around tunnel entrances and cut electricity to the third rail for safety. And for anyone who thought it might not be necessary to shut down at all, they only need to look through MTA’s flickr page to see why it’s better to be prepared. For all the damage that occurred during the storm, there is virtually no scenario that would have been as safe or better to have had a transit vehicle operating until the moment it happened.
Temporary Tunnel Flood Wall in Action
So to answer the question, “Did we really need to shut down the MTA before the event or should the MTA have tried to go as long as it could?” It seems clear that the right choice was made. Trains didn’t derail. Passengers didn’t get stranded in trains without power. And nobody got trapped in a flooding tunnel. This may prove to be the ultimate inconvenience to the people, but the safety of the traveling public was maintained and the system’s infrastructure was as protected as it could be. Besides, the speedy return of the system to full capacity is probably worth more than the last few trips the MTA could have provided by sticking it out a little longer.
Best of luck to the New York region to get back on its feet for Monday’s commute…
(Kudos to the MTA for keeping the public informed through its website and flickr site regarding status and storm impacts. Excellent use of social media.)
I think shutting down the transit system was a good decision, if for no other reason than to keep those 2.3 million sunday riders in a safer place than they would have been otherwise. The storm was serious, and MTA deserves kudos for their response.
There were so many good reasons to do this. I think the safety of the workers who had to drive the trains was of utmost importance. Also, they certainly would not have had much revenue from ticket sales in the middle of a hurricane!
It is always easy to criticize after the storm has already passed and was not very severe. I think this was a case of a low probability event of great negative consequences. Being on the safe side is always preferable on these cases.