New York City Infrastructure Fails Again

Two weeks ago steam pipes were blowing up; now the city's subways are closed, full of water from heavy rains. Subway stations were flooded, forcing commuters out onto the streets and into taxis and buses, and bringing traffic in many areas to a standstill. "Riders are stunned that the system is so vulnerable to rain," said Gene Russianoff, a spokesman for The Straphangers Campaign, a transit advocacy group. "It's not like we live in the Gobi Desert." He blamed the increase in weather-related subway service problems on the combination of increasingly extreme weather and a system hobbled by age.

"(The MTA) is dealing with more frequent harsh weather but the handwriting is on the wall," he said. "This is not going to go away. They're not blind to it, but they're sort of overwhelmed." That is why we need sustainable and sound infrastructure now. ::National Post