“Safety” was the word of the day at yesterday’s MTA board meeting.
MTA CEO and chair Tom Prendergast announced the creation of a chief safety officer, a safety committee on for the board and a position at Metro-North dedicated to safety.
“We need to be able to assure ourselves that the resources that [agency presidents] need are available,” Prendergast said of the new senior management safety post. “That’s what I’m going to ask of that person, as well as whatever support they can provide to them to make sure they’re doing the best in safety.”
Meanwhile, Metro-North’s current Chief Safety and Security Officer Anne Kirsch will solely be responsible for safety.
Joseph Giulietti, in his first MTA board meeting since taking over Metro-North, said this will “reinforce that safety has to be the top priority.”
