Good afternoon! I’m Kara Gurl, Planning and Advocacy Manager at the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC).
First, we want to thank you and all transit employees for working overtime to ensure that riders could get where they needed to go safely through this weekend’s storm. Protecting our transit infrastructure from the risks of extreme weather will only become more and more important as the climate crisis continues to worsen.
Next month will mark fourteen years since Superstorm Sandy, and we’ve already grown accustomed to changes in weather patterns as we’ve all witnessed in recent summers: short periods of torrential downpour that lead to sewer blockage, flooding streets and stations. The MTA has also had to change its approach from focusing primarily on coastal resilience to looking at all areas where water can enter the system. We’re very optimistic about the MTA’s Climate Resilience Roadmap, which presents a forward-looking approach to addressing all of the potential impacts that Mother Nature may send our way.
We’re also very encouraged by the many accessibility projects in the works and recently completed! It’s great that the MTA is also conducting state of good repair work alongside accessibility upgrades to minimize the amount of time when riders are impacted by GOs and construction activities. As described in the Committee book, most of the Stations Program work is on track, but there are some risks of delay on the 7 line because high ridership and events can make GOs difficult to schedule. This is a good problem to have—riders want to take transit—but it’s also important that work gets done, and should be over-communicated as far in advance as possible. I must also mention the need for accessible Mets-Willets Point stations, highlighted every year during the US Open and Mets seasons!
Lastly, we had the honor of seeing some of the new Penn Station Access stations under construction in the Bronx last month. This project will be transformative for riders around the region, and it’s imperative that Amtrak and the federal government support the MTA’s work without further delays. Thank you.