Dear Editor:
Re: Relocate station turnstiles, Letters to the editor, The Record, March 23.
In contrast to Martha Szczepulski, I do not think that turnstiles at SkyTrain stations are a good idea.
Turnstiles were mandated by the province a number of years ago, over TransLink's objections.
Turnstiles are a waste of taxpayer money. According to TransLink's own studies, they will never pay for themselves. They are expected to cost upwards of $175 million to install. TransLink's repeated estimates of fare evasion are that it costs the system about $7 million per year.
This leads to a payback period for the turnstiles of over 25 years, assuming that the gates last this long, that no operators are hired to oversee them and that they require no maintenance.
In addition, turnstiles will not stop fare evasion; no system is evasion-proof. A more efficient way to stop fare evasion is to hire more staff and to do more random checks.
Turnstiles punish transit users. They add a layer of inconvenience, especially for those with bicycles, strollers or those with mobility problems.
Ms. Szczepulski has already noted the inconvenience that she will experience as a user of the space that is currently completely public.
Turnstiles do not add to public safety. They "trap" transit users behind a barrier. They create the false impression that transit users are largely dishonest and that there is "riff-raff" everywhere that needs to be excluded from the public space.
The money that will be spent on turnstiles would have been far better spent on real improvements to our cash-strapped system.
Reena Meijer Drees, New Westminster
