By Danny Teigman
Zambutto said that two train door locations on the Eastbound 2B platform are at least 10 inches wide and will be narrowed with "platform edge board," a wooden extension already in use at other stations. The station is among 32 others that were cited in a February report issued by the rail road for having gaps that were greater than 10 inches. Follow-up measurements will be made to determine the exact width of the two gaps and the extension is expected to be completed sometime between April and June. Project costs he said, would not be known until the secondary measurements are taken.
"Safety on the Long Island Rail Road is a number one priority," Zambutto said. "And we are working hard to reduce the gap at stations where its required." Zambutto added that the wooden extensions are just as safe as the standard concrete platforms, and are planned as permanent solutions.
But for all its recent publicity, passengers said they had mixed opinions on whether such repairs were necessary in the first place.
"They shouldn't be focusing on it," said Tom Piderit, an LIRR commuter who uses the Lynbrook station once a week. "It's not clear to me whether this is, relative to other threats to people's safety, how critical this is."
Dan Gillmor, a Hicksville resident stated his opinion even more bluntly. "If you're stupid enough to fall [through the gap] - then fall."
The system-wide upgrades follow an accident that occurred on Aug. 5, 2006, where a visiting woman fell through the nearly eight inch gap at the Woodside station in Queens. She was hit by an oncoming train while trying to climb back onto the adjacent platform. A report issued by the New York State Public Transportation Board last November said that while alcohol may have impaired the woman's judgment, the gap's width also needed to be addressed.
Lynbrook Mayor Brian Curran stressed however, that commuter safety is a prime concern of his administration. "The Village of Lynbrook will work and collaborate with the Long Island Railroad to ensure that this safety project is completed swiftly," he said. "And [we hope to do so] with the least inconvenience to the hundreds of Lynbrook residents who rely on the LIRR everyday."
When asked if he thought Lynbrook's platform gaps needed adjusting, Paul Casavecchia, who comes into Lynbrook from Manhattan eight to 10 times a month to visit his family said "sure, why not?" "I don't see any downside to getting it fixed," he said. "I think certain stations have wide gaps."
Comments about this story? DTeigman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
