It’s been eight months since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) initiated accessibility work slated under its 2025-2029 Capital Plan but just this October was when they decided it was time to poll the disability community once again on upcoming Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades.
The agency reached out to the community to join the Long Island Rail Road Program Support (RPS) team for on-site visits to potential locations where they plan to install new Help Point units. These units are blue-light emergency communications stations installed on platforms.
“This visit offers a valuable opportunity to meet with the project team, where you can ask questions and share feedback,” the email invitation from the MTA said. “This will give you a chance to see the units in place, review their functionality, and talk through any considerations for future installations.”
Led by MTA Senior Project Manager Fred Bauer and Assistant Project Manager in the Operational Support Group department, Jorge Jaramillo, the hour and a half journey started at the Deer Park Station on the Ronkonkoma-bound train on a rainy Wednesday morning.
Accessible transit advocates gathered around to listen and interact with one of the three newly installed Help Point units at this station as part of the pilot program.
The old 2023 system that prompted the upgrade did not have the Amber alert lightbulb on top and often malfunctioned due to water retention, LIRR officials said. The $68.4 billion dollar Capital Plan that aims to provide frequent and reliable service is the largest investment in accessibility in MTA history.
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the largest, busiest, and oldest continuously operating commuter railroad in the US, stretching nearly 120 miles. However, only 28% of the total amount in the capital plan will be invested in expansion projects that increase the comfort and safety of customers and employees.
A major concern raised by Christopher D. Greif, Community Outreach Officer of New York City Transit’s Advisory Committee on Transit Accessibility (ACTA), at the Deer Park site was that the positioning of the Amber alert lightbulb is still out of sight from the conductors. His suggestion, “extend that amber light towards the track.”
That’s why the agency plans on installing and replacing more than 80 Help Point units closer to the ramp and elevator platforms at 120 stations to make it easier on riders to call for help and on the drivers, since they already know the layout of the stops.
To combat climate change, the Capital Plan pledges to improve energy efficiency by investing in more efficient lighting, HVAC, and electrical systems at stations and reinforce locations impacted by stormwater floods like the one at the priority Wyandanch stop, which awaits five new Help Point units. Here, according to the RPS team, there have been delays in installation because the Help Point unit is sitting on a heated platform and they have to wait for the winter to shut the station down and drill.
Also at this location, Greif’s mother, Debbie, who maneuvered herself on a walker that day, noticed that although the old Help Point model is higher than the newer ones, “if you’re down in a wheelchair, how do you reach it? That other unit was still high.”
Farmingdale was the last stop of the morning trek where three Help Point units are pending and only one ramp locator sign was visible.
Currently, the units have built-in emergency call and information buttons. Looking ahead, all new models installed will be waterproof with morning assistance lights and additional considerations of implementing enhanced 24-hour information operators to share train updates and timetables, as well as language translations.
Investments in a range of station elements like communications and signals to improve customer experience and make 98% of stations fully accessible, is projected to cost $505 million.
“The infrastructure projects we do, we always have a starting point, and then a lot of the work we do is in a way repetitive over and over again, especially when it comes to stated good repair, platforms,” Bauer said, reassuring improvements for the disabled community. “So, these lessons learned helps us understand how we can make it better.”