New York –
Eleven days after a bus shelter collapse in Staten Island, approximately one third of the city’s bus shelters have been temporarily taken out of service and wrapped with yellow tape bearing the words “caution” and “cuidado” due to safety concerns.
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The Wall Street Journal (https://on.wsj.com/2yIZ4aB) reported that a corroded bolt caused the roof to collapse at a vacant shelter located at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Van Duzer Street on October 5th.
No injuries were reported in the incident which prompted JCDecaux, the French advertising company that operates the shelter, to launch a full inspection of the city’s 3,500 bus shelters.
JCDecaux examined 1,000 of the approximately 2,500 shelters that share the same design as the collapsed Staten Island shelter last week.
Approximately 30 of those shelters, which were constructed between 2006 and 2012, were found to have similar corrosion and have since been repaired and reopened. The final group of the same generation shelters was cordoned off on Monday, and according to AM NY (http://bit.ly/2yJkqEZ), includes 505 in Brooklyn, 478 in Manhattan, 423 in the Bronx, 19 in Staten Island and two in Queens. Inspections are expected to be completed by the end of the week, with any repairs needed to be finished by October 31st.
New York City Department of Transportation spokesperson Alana Morales said that the agency is keeping an eye on the inspections, which will also include the city’s latest model bus shelters that will be targeted next for safety checks.
“We will hold the contractor accountable for making these fixes expeditiously,” said Morales. “We agree with their current actions and will monitor to make sure the shelters are inspected and returned to operation in a safe manner.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said that JCDecaux has handled the incident well, responding efficiently and swiftly to the initial collapse.
“There has been no other incident, and no one has been hurt, and the company’s decision to cordon off shelters until they are inspected was designed to ensure that no one could be injured until the inspections and repairs are completed,” said de Blasio.
A bus shelter collapse can have devastating consequences, with a 24 year old Chicago dancer paralyzed when an O’Hare Airport bus shelter collapsed on her during an August 2015 storm, severing her spine.
ABC News (https://abc7.ws/2yRTgMj) reported that the city of Chicago was ordered to pay Tierney Darden $148 million for pain, suffering and medical costs in 2017, the largest personal injury award ever giving by a Cook County jury.
