More than 3 million people ride New York City’s subway each day. For some of them, including individuals who are physically impaired, pushing strollers or carrying large items, access can be difficult. Reaching the system typically involves going up stairs if the trains are on elevated structures or downstairs if the platforms are underground.

As part of its commitment to accessibility, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has undertaken a comprehensive modernization program – the ADA Accessibility Upgrade and Station Improvements project – that is working towards ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act systemwide.

The MTA chose a design-build model, which is compressing the schedule of this large and time-extensive project by allowing construction to progress as design work continues.

HNTB began work in 2021 as MTA’s project management consultant, providing design and construction compliance oversight under two contracts on 13 ADA-accessibility station upgrades. Those strategically selected stations in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx and Queens are receiving new or replacement elevators that are accessible from the street level. The project also encompasses state-of-good-repair work, platform reconstruction, advanced communication systems, electrical system upgrades, installation of digital displays and new fire alarm systems. A distinctive aspect of the project involves a long-term elevator maintenance contract, which secures the sustained reliability of newly installed elevators.

All-inclusive compliance

Because the ADA addresses people with all kinds of disabilities, including those whose hearing and vision is impaired, the modernization project also will install tactile means of communication, like warning strips on the floor that designate the platform edge for someone who is blind and using a cane. In its design review role, HNTB also considers the ADA path of travel to ensure that walkways within each station can be navigated safely.

Understanding that the subway system provides crucial transportation for the 60 million tourists who visit New York City annually and who may have trouble climbing stairs with bags in tow, the MTA has broadened its accessibility considerations to include this group as well. Where track geometry permits it, station platforms are being rebuilt to narrow the gap between the platform edge and the train’s door. When the platform cannot be rebuilt, the edge is replaced to even the elevation between the platform and the train. Both modifications allow tourists with wheeled suitcases or people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers or shopping carts to board more easily.

“We also are upgrading most of the staircases, changing the riser heights to make them ADA-compliant. There is even a component of ADA upgrades at the agent booths where people buy Metrocards,” said Kemar Wynter, HNTB deputy senior project manager. “New, lower trays are being installed for easier money exchange for someone in a wheelchair. An enhanced intercom system assists with communication for someone who is hearing impaired. These represent the kinds of small, but important, details the MTA is delivering.”

“When our program is complete, passengers will enjoy seamless, aesthetically pleasing MTA facilities packed with accessibility features, including signs with larger fonts and high-contrast displays, decals on subway platforms that indicate accessible boarding areas, tactile subway line maps and high-visibility information train screens,” said Quemuel Arroyo, MTA’s chief accessibility officer. “And, coming soon, the MTA will be the first U.S. transit system to add sign language into its digital display systems.”

Committed to solution-finding

“From a design perspective, finding a place in an existing station and under existing roadways to plant an elevator is very difficult geometrically,” said Mohamed ElWakil, senior project manager for package 4. “During the design phase, we flag all the challenges with existing facilities. New York City has a spaghetti bowl of utilities — gas, electric, water, solar, communications. We work to mitigate the conflicts between the elevator foundations and these utilities.”

In one case, by relocating an elevator from its original planned location, HNTB eliminated the need to move an entire city block of electrical and gas utility lines. That change alone reduced project costs by a million dollars and condensed the station modernization schedule by more than six months.

Outside the elevators, the HNTB team reviews crosswalks and roads at each location, following nearby pedestrian paths to ensure they permit ADA-compliant access to each station.

“As a public entity, the MTA wants to serve people in place,” said Tarek Hatab, senior project manager for the package 2 contract. “New York City is extremely reliant on the subway, and if people aren’t able to catch the trains, their quality of life is affected. This project is more than just meeting federal ADA regulations. It is really about modernizing the 119-year-old system so anyone who needs or wants to use the subway has access.”

A public-centric approach

The MTA decides which stations to prioritize for accessibility upgrades in accordance with the ADA and in consultation with riders and advocates. Participants in public meetings shared input on local preferences and priority destinations — such as schools, parks, shopping, cultural hubs and medical facilities — served by subway stations in their communities. Other factors included reviewing data on the populations of seniors and people with disabilities and the socioeconomic status of neighborhoods around each station to determine which accessibility investments would reach communities with the greatest need.

MTA’s goal is that no rider will ever be more than two stops from an accessible station.

“From a public service perspective, this approach makes perfect sense,” Hatab said. “Rather than clustering the 13 stations we’re working on into a single area, for instance, MTA is spreading out the benefits of these modernized stations by locating the upgrades in multiple boroughs. More people who need accessibility will have a station that is closer to them.”

Ongoing public outreach keeps stakeholders engaged and apprised of progress. In its project management role, HNTB is responsible for making presentations to community boards and elected officials and for advising the public when accessibility work at a station requires stairway closures or creates other impacts.