Last winter, subway riders were stuck on a New York City train overnight. Now some have filed a lawsuit against the MTA for its poor handling of the situation, highlighting the need for emergency planning in public transit agencies.
The riders are suing for their poor treatment and the lax response of the MTA, hoping to help prevent similar problems from happening in the future.
According to Kate Hings of Transportation Nation: "Twenty-two stranded straphangers are named as plaintiffs in the suit, which was to be filed on Tuesday in Queens County Supreme Court. They were left without heat, food or water when the train got stuck in several feet of snow in Queens, near JFK Airport, the day after Christmas in 2010."
Eric Jaffe in The Atlantic Cities writes: "At about 8 a.m. the next morning the train began to move, but any hopes of a swift ride into the city were dashed when the passengers were told to get off at the next station - also an outdoor station. They waited for another train on a platform covered in several feet of snow. The M.T.A. had sent no blankets or emergency medical supplies to the station despite a full night to deliberate on what measures to take to address the situation. Two trains filled with passengers passed the group before a third stopped to pick them up, roughly 45 minutes after they had been unloaded onto the platform."
The lawsuit alleges that despite knowing many of these details the M.T.A. "'refused to agree to develop a policy to prevent this disaster from happening again.' Instead, when the passengers subsequently told the M.T.A. what happened, the agency 'insisted that it did nothing wrong and that the passengers being trapped was an act of god outside the defendant's control.' Finally, earlier this month, a city transit official admitted that the agency up and 'forgot about that train.'"
The lawsuit, (PDF) which contains some shocking details, is available from Transportation Nation.
Thanks to Nate Berg
FULL STORY: Transportation Nation: Stranded A Train Passengers Sue New York MTA

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont