In yours truly's ongoing efforts to find some sort of respectable employment, I have decided to take up Planetizen's challenge and write a summary on a recent New York Times article, "Could New York City Subways Survive Another Hurricane?" written by Robert Sullivan and published on October 23, 2013 (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/magazine/could-new-york-city-subways-survive-another-hurricane.html?_r=0). Let me elaborate. In my daily perusal of email, I came across an interesting job opening on Planetizen's online newsletter. The newsletter advertised an opening for an Associate Editor. In addition to sending a .pdf copy of my CV, they laid down the challenge of summarizing the afore mentioned article as a way to impress them. Far be it from me to let this one slide.
Natural or man-made disasters can often bring out the very best in people. It can also lead to short- and long-term policy and planning that can mitigate loss of life and property. The disastrous Hurricane Sandy struck New York on October 29, 2013, the super storm killed seventy-three people, flooded streets and subway tunnels, knocked out power to half the city, and caused about $65 billion of damage. Images of the areas affected by the Category 3 hurricane resembled cities destroyed in war. If one good thing came out of the trail of destruction and devastation, it planted the seeds for a more comprehensive and coherent disaster plan. What remains to be seen is how this experience will translate into inter-agency cooperation and effective policy. Can New York subways survive another hurricane? That depends on what New York State and City transit planners take away from Hurricane Sandy.
When news of the impending storm first reached New York City, a week before Sandy's arrival, the Metropolitan Transit Authority its began implementing own hurricane plans. Without waiting for the go ahead from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office, MTA workers began setting up emergency shelters, covering subway grates and covering the entrances of low-lying subway entrances with plywood and plastic sheets. As the storm gathered strength over the weekend before and Governor Andrew Cuomo declared that it was time to take action, crews were already at work shutting down the trains and taking steps to mitigate the water. Despite the patchwork quilt of upgrades, the New York City subway system survived, this time. What lessons can be drawn from this experience? What about the next time?
Lesson number one: take immediate action. MTA officials didn't wait until the Sunday before the storm hit and Governor Andrew Cuomo to declare the subways closed, the began immediate shut down procedures. The MTA's priority became do whatever was necessary to mitigate the flooding and get the trains running as soon as possible. Lesson number two: modern technology isn't always the answer. When inspectors went into the tunnels after the first surge they encountered eery silence. The dead calm was broken by the sound of pneumatic pumps, unaffected by Con Edison's power outage, draining the water out of the tunnels. The blackout shut down electricity in half the city. People needed to get back to work after the storm but could not. The outage cut the middles of five of the lines that travel through Manhattan. The railroad needed a terminal in which to turn around-i.e be guided off its downtown tracks, onto an uptown line. While Grand Central Station is a mighty station, it's only suitable for smaller commuter trains. The solution, create a makeshift terminal in Midtown to reroute the trains quickly onto tracks not intended to reroute trains. Temporary terminals were created at 34th Street and Herald Square use the Fastrack operation. Fastrack completely suspends on one line over a period of time while passengers are diverted to other lines. Lesson three: human capital. New Yorkers are resilient and tough. Everyone from maintenance workers bus drivers, the police, and so on pitched in to get the city back on its feet and lend a helping hand to passengers.
What about the next time? Perhaps there will be a stronger plastic replacement for plywood or a new type of vent and entrance cover. One thing that won't be present is futuristic gadget, New York Transit Authorities would like to strengthen the existing system, albeit piecemeal. Is this a good idea? In terms of cost-efficiency and time-efficiency, strengthening the existing system would probably cost less and take less time to repair. The drawback is finding manufacturers that still make the parts necessary or doing a replacement in kind. Transit officials are also considering long-term solutions such as tunnel plugs, dams, watertight doors. They are also looking at something called a "tiger dam." A "tiger dam" is a large bladder filled with water, anchored to the ground, and designed to temporarily block flooding. Officials are also studying transit systems around the world that have canopied entrances and retractable gates with ventilators and fans elevated on towers, like snorkels. While all of these ideas seem plausible, one thing that will be implemented the next time is the tried and true plywood and plastic solution. Why? Because it works and "if it aint broke, don't fix it." The key solution that will be evident the next time is experience.
Every disaster, natural or man-made, brings a new body of experiential knowledge. That knowledge sometimes translates into policy and planning. For example, after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, policy was introduced to identify concrete buildings that were vulnerable destruction in the event of the a seismic activity. While this initiative was voted down, it highlighted the fact that a long-term solution was necessary if the city and county of Los Angeles was going to mitigate damage and preserve human life. Thus, New York City and state transit planners must find a way to turn their experience with Hurricane Sandy into a long-term disaster mitigation policy. This would require multiple agencies coordinating efforts. This is possible, if officials are willing to set aside personal agendas and politics in order to devise a coherent, cohesive strategy. New York City was lucky this time because of the effective advanced planning by MTA authorities and the sheer will power of New Yorkers. Experience is a powerful teacher, let's hope everyone was paying attention.
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