Cool New MTA Video For Infra Fans
The MTA has a new video on its YouTube channel showing work on the project connecting the Jay Street A/C/F station in Brooklyn with the nearby R/N station. The project(.pdf) has been going on for several years and should be completed in 2011. The clip interviews MTA employees on the job literally walking through the construction site, interspersed with renderings of what is to come.
Some might argue that in a time of service cutbacks, the MTA shouldn't spend a nickle on promotional video, but I think its money well spent. First, it gives the public some idea of why the streets above are torn up. Second, the only way to secure adequate funding for large public works is to engage the public and educate them as to both the purpose and complexity of such projects.
A citizen initiative to do that is InfrastructureUSA.org, created by television and documentary maker Steve Anderson. The website invites the public to post photos and video of their favorite infra, whether a new windmill or a dilapidated bridge. There's a blog, snap polls and links to other resources. Worth checking out.
