Atlanta councilwoman calls for MARTA safety plan after incidents
New calls for MARTA safety protocols
An Atlanta city councilwoman wants MARTA to provide detailed safety protocols at its stations after recent shootings and a viral escalator malfunction.
ATLANTA - An Atlanta city councilwoman is introducing new legislation on MARTA's safety protocols after an escalator failure that left nearly a dozen people injured following a Beyoncé concert.
District 11 Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet is the vice chair of the City Council's Transportation Committee and wants to make sure the agency is doing everything it can to keep its riders safe.
MORE: MARTA finishes investigation into escalator failure after Beyonce concert
What we know:
Overstreet plans to introduce a resolution that formally requests MARTA officials come before the committee, and discuss how they plan to implement safety protocols at the transit agency's stations.
The councilwoman held a news conference to discuss the resolution on Sunday outside the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta.
Atlanta City Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet wants MARTA leaders to come before the council to explain what they're doing to keep their riders safe. (FOX 5)
Members of the city council will be asked to adopt the resolution at Monday's meeting.
MORE: Is MARTA prepared for next year's FIFA World Cup?
The backstory:
Overstreet first called for a probe after a malfunctioning escalator at the Vine City MARTA station injured multiple people following Beyoncé's final Cowboy Carter concert at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A witness told FOX 5 that the escalator sped up and then abruptly stopped working, which caused people to fall on top of each other, pinning them down.
Eleven people were injured. One person suffered a broken ankle, and seven others were hospitalized.
MARTA releases video of escalator failure
MARTA has released a new video of last week's escalator mishap. A massive number of people were waiting to get on the escalator before something happened and everyone rushes.
MARTA officials said the situation began when a person started screaming and running after seeing a bug, which caused the crowd to rush onto the escalator.
According to the report from a state inspection released on Friday, the "high volume of passengers" led the escalator to over-speed before stopping.
The escalator is now back in service at the station after multiple safety checks.
Dig deeper:
In her announcement of the resolution, Overstreet also mentioned the shooting of two MARTA police officers at the Five Points Station in early August.
The officers, Rayven Thomas and Carlos Williams, were reportedly shot while attempting to arrest a man for urinating near one of the platforms.
U.S. Marshals and deputies arrested the suspected gunman, identified as 26-year-old Christopher Daniels, into custody in Guntersville, Alabama after tracking his vehicle from Georgia.
What they're saying:
"My concern as vice chair of the City’s Transportation Committee is simply to make sure that everyone is safe: everyone who rides MARTA; the officers, and those who work at these stations are safe. Safe from malfunctions and safe from crime," Overstreet said in a statement announcing the resolution.
She said the concerns about safety are extremely important due to events coming in the city in the near future.
"We are about to host the World Cup, and we’ll have future Super Bowls and NCAA Final Fours, and other major international events in Atlanta," Overstreet said. "We cannot have successful events if people can’t get around safely and efficiently. So, we must have safety protocols in place not just downtown, but at all of our transit stations."
The other side:
While announcing the completion of its investigation and inspections on Friday, MARTA announced its plans for large events to ensure customer safety and control crowds.
The transit authority says it plans to have crowd metering measures at high ridership stations, including staff, barricades, and signs reminding customers to board escalators one at a time.
Rail support teams, police officers, and Load and Go teams will also be positioned around the stations and on platforms to prevent overcrowding.
MARTA police and support staff will be on call to deploy to key rail stations if medical attention is needed.
"MARTA, Schindler, and the state routinely inspect all escalators, and perform maintenance, repairs, and cleanings on a regular schedule," said MARTA Chief Safety & Quality Assurance Officer Ralph McKinney. "These units are safe to use, and we ask customers to follow staff and sign instructions and board them single file."
MARTA is currently in the process of refurbishing or replacing all 150 escalators at its 38 rail stations.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from a release and press conference by Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet and previous FOX 5 reporting.