Expert panel to warn of ‘dangerously hot’ subways
Dana Rubinstein
Climate change doesn't just heighten the risks of subway system flooding, as Hurricane Sandy so neatly demonstrated. It also threatens to create "dangerously hot" conditions on subway platforms, according to a draft report from a panel convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo to help the M.T.A. prepare for the challenges of the 21st century.
"Flooding is not the only climate change risk to the system," according to a section of the draft report acquired by Capital. "Extreme temperatures, particularly rising temperatures in the summer months, can stress the M.T.A. system. At higher temperatures, expansion joints on bridges and highways are stressed, and the instance of rail track stresses and track buckling increases. Underground, subway platforms and stations could become dangerously hot for riders."
In May, following a couple of disastrous years for the region's sprawling mass transit system, Cuomo convened a star-studded panel of transit experts to think about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's future and recommend ways for it to prepare for the exigencies of global warming.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/09/8551763/expert-panel-warn-dangerously-hot-subways
