Add these yellow elephants to the needless billions spent by the MTA.
The transit agency refuses to disclose the results — or costs — of a pilot project that had yellow safety rails installed not on the edge, but in the middle, of the platform at three subway stations – part of a wider initiative to prevent falls, shoves and jumps on the tracks.
The agency had the structures installed at 57th Street stop on the F, the Bedford Street stop on the L, and the Crescent Street stop on the J, back in 2023.
Two years later, it refuses to say if they’re working, or what they cost taxpayers. The MTA has been stonewalling The Post’s questions for three weeks.
The initiative came after the January 2022 death of Michelle Go, who was shoved onto the tracks at Times Square.
“We’re looking at opportunities to make the platform safer, and this is one of them,” Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development, said at a March 2023 board meeting.
“It’s an opportunity for customers to stand in a location and feel safe. We’re evaluating how that works – whether there are other versions of this that can work more effectively.”
But during rush hour this week at the West 57th Street stop, The Post observed few commuters actually using the structure for its intended purpose.
One of the rails was covered in graffiti, while another was used as a coat rack for a homeless man, and later by a tired commuter as a stretching and exercise pole.
“Useless,” ripped New Yorker Charles Sprawls, 59, who noted that homeless people also regularly use the structure to rest against at night.
“I think it’s weird,” added Eduardo Lopez, 28.
“On the L train, they have them by the edge and that makes sense, but this is a waste of space.”
Over the last year, the MTA has been rolling out other designs – more appropriately located at the edge of the platforms, though New Yorkers weren’t much more impressed.
So far about 20 stations have gotten safety barriers at the edge of the platforms, according to the MTA, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said in January she would provide the funding to install platform edge barriers at more than 100 additional stations by the end of 2025.
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