If you are a frequent rider of the PATH system between New Jersey and New York City you may have noticed big brother communicating overhead reminding you that there is no eating or drinking on the PATH. I have been commuting into New York City for three years now and I absolutely understand their point – due to the high volume of people, even if every third person was eating a sandwich the amount of trash left all over the train would be amazing. But only the other day after I had read my complimentary Metro newspaper, dropped it into a puddle of who-the-hell-knows-what, I realized that there are absolutely no trash cans inside of any of the station terminals!
This was a moment I actually had to double take. I looked around the World Trade Center terminal searching for a trash can and I was only able to find some construction worker’s trash bin which should absolutely not need to be used to throw out newspaper. So I walked out of the terminal in search of a trash can on my normal commute on the Lexington avenue line. It was not until the corner of Broadway and Vesey had I actually found a trash can! That is roughly a quarter mile away from the terminal entrance! As you can clearly see below the distance from the World Trade Center, which is not even accurately depicted due to the ongoing construction, is quite surprising. You would think that someone, anyone, might have decided to stick a trash can on one of the busiest commuter walked areas in the city.
I understand the need to enforce physiologically the fact that you do not want trash inside of the terminals. But should you absolutely remove trash cans completely, even outside of the turn stiles before you even get inside of the terminal? Some people are standing around drinking (or eating) the remnants of their breakfast/lunch/dinner before they decide to step through the gates. Although, I have to say, it seems to be working – the PATH commute is by far the less smelly of any of the lines that I have to take. Just some food for thought.
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