MARTA leaders share updated safety plans after escalator malfunction

Several people were injured at a MARTA train station this week when a stampede led to an escalator malfunction Now members of the MARTA board are updating crowd control measures to prevent future incidents The occurrence occurred Monday July at Vine City station as fans were leaving the Beyonc concert MARTA reports that a woman screamed after seeing a bug That created a panic leading to a rush on the escalator The escalator then sped up and abruptly stopped leading to several injuries Atlanta City Councilmember Marci Overstreet demanded a comprehensive inspection into what triggered the malfunction This event was a near catastrophe Overstreet commented Dozens could have been seriously hurt or worse We don t know the names of those hurt but I hope that at the least MARTA is checking in on these people One thing I do know our city must understand exactly what went wrong to ensure this never happens again The escalator at the Vine City station remains barricaded State Inspectors proven maintenance was performed most of of late last week MARTA Board members met Thursday to share an update They stated extra staff members were in place to manage the concert crowd entering the station but not at the escalators MARTA Interim CEO Rhonda Allen reported they will be more aggressive about staffing going forward Our escalators really we ask that we use when metering one person per step she disclosed And that is not what happened with the group of the people trying to come down the escalator The escalator was overloaded beyond its design maximum During major events MARTA pulls administrative staff out of headquarters into the stations to patronage riders and manage crowds In total trips were taken over the four-night Beyonc residency at Mercedes-Benz Stadium MARTA reports that s a increase from two years ago during her last visit The post MARTA leaders share updated safety plans after escalator malfunction appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta