MTA Commits to Make 95% of Subway Stations Accessible Over 40 Years

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials announced on June 23 a decades-long commitment to make 95% of NYC’s subway system accessible to users with disabilities, according to a report from Daily News. Just 126 — or about 27% — of the city’s 472 subway stations are currently wheelchair-accessible, and regular breakdowns of elevators make the system even more difficult to navigate for those with mobility issues. A commitment to build more ramps and elevators is the result of a settlement through a pair of lawsuits filed by disability advocates against the agency that claim officials continue to violate state and federal law by running a subway system that locks out wheelchair users. The agreement requires MTA to ink contracts to build ramps and elevators at 81 stations on the subway and Staten Island Railway by 2025; another 85 by 2035; 90 more by 2045 and another 90 by 2055. It’s unclear how long construction will take after contracts are issued. The current 2020-2024 capital plan commits US$5.2 billion to make 66 stations accessible.