This Is Your Subway Turnstile On Drugs

Man oh man, we truly are our own worst enemy. Turns out, subway turnstiles—affectionately nicknamed “iron maidens” for their resemblance to medieval torture devices—would turn subway stations into death chambers in case of emergency due to the fact that they prevent people from evacuating swiftly. [At a City Council hearing yesterday, council members called for the removal ][of these floor-to-ceiling revolving gates by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority because they allow only one person to exit at a time].

The iron maiden is the cheapest way to keep turnstile jumpers at bay, but of course lives are more important than dollars. Public Safety Committee chairman Peter Vallone suggested, you guessed it, security cameras instead! And he basically claimed that the current turnstiles violate every fire code known to civilized man (really, here’s the quote from the NY Sun: “violated every fire code since people got together in civilized society”). There are currently more than 500 of these bad boys at stations throughout the city and, despite the minor issue of saving lives, MTA officials said that they will continue with their plans to install 66 more in 15 stations over the next year and a half. The NY Sun reports that NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton says that the recent addition of panic bars on emergency exits allow a large number of passengers to exit at once, so there is no good reason to remove the iron maidens. Good to know.