-On my walk to work just yesterday, I was once again reminded of the perilous situations we as urban travelers are put in when confronted with the challenge of navigating public transportation in unpleasing weather conditions. Pictured above is a quick photo I snapped before carefully treading my way down the cement stairs of my local subway station, the descent itself similar to that of navigating one’s way down a waterfall. Saturated and flowing with water from the heavy rainfall, the steps pose a serious danger to any commuter walking up or down the unforgiving stairway. This exact issue is one that I am tackling with my Final Project group and the notion that a redesigned more porous form of bricks would prevent such severe flooding from congregating in vulnerable areas such as slippery sidewalks, stairs, and underground locations. With the use of raised Ebb tiles that surround the entrance of the subway station, all rain that falls around the perimeter of the staircase would be directed away into other area of the street or tiles made to absorb water, such as the porous rain tiles used in New Amsterdam that are the center of my group projects focus. This tile would make it so that the only water to reach the stairs would be the water falling directly onto their surface, and not the water spilling from the sidewalk and down into the station. The initiative is feasible, and if invested in by the NYC local government, could produce considerable results in reducing the level of rainfall that pools in vulnerable areas such as public staircases.
It is really incredible how daily tasks as simple as walking down the subway steps could be made into a dangerous activity during times of inclement weather. This reality really highlights the need for some sort of practical solution to this problem that is prevalent throughout New York City. As a result, it will be really interesting to see how your group presents the solution of raised Ebb tiles to this problem. Really great work Robert!