Internal audit notes:
• A “leadership vacuum”
• Understaffing and fatigue as a factor in three “adverse events” of the streetcar system.
• 120 of 227 audit line items of “non-compliance”
Go to myAJC.com to see a video of a person of interest in the vandalism.
Go to myAJC.com to see a video of a person of interest in the vandalism.
The vandalism of multiple Atlanta Streetcars Monday night, inside a gated and locked city facility, is raising new questions about the system’s security at a time an internal audit reveals deficiencies in its management and safety operations.
The audit, which was conducted in July and released to the city council this week by Mayor Kasim Reed’s office, found that neither the previous manager nor current director of streetcar services had read its system safety program plan. The manager, who has since left the project, also hadn’t read the system’s security and emergency preparedness plan.
What’s more, the director of streetcar services “denied any active management responsibilities for the system, even though the auditors cited the passages describing the tasks and responsibilities directly from the relevant documentation,” states the executive summary, prepared by Kensington Consulting.
The city and MARTA, along with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, are partners in the project and share responsibilities: Atlanta owns and operates the streetcar, and MARTA provides oversight. Under the complicated structure, the director of streetcar services works for a private engineering firm hired by MARTA, and the manager is hired by the city. The roles are separate from the streetcar executive director, a position filled by interim leaders since previous streetcar head Tim Borchers left last spring.
Melissa Mullinax, a senior adviser to Reed, said the city is acting quickly to beef up security in the wake of the vandalism, which left three of the city’s four royal blue streetcars awash with intricate graffiti lettering. The guard that was supposed to monitor the streetcar’s vehicle maintenance facility, as well as his supervisor, have been placed on leave, she said. No one has been arrested in the incident.
But Mullinax believes the graffiti incident is unrelated to concerns raised in the audit, noting: “There was a security lapse last night; there’s not a big picture security problem with the streetcar.”
The city began addressing issues raised in the audit last month, she said, following a meeting with the Federal Transit Administration. The audit also describes a “vacuum of leadership”; staffing deficiencies that led to long hours and fatigue, which “has been cited as a factor in at least three” adverse events, and “significant lack of documentation of safety- and security-critical activities.”
But since mid-August, “Every preventive maintenance and safety check has occurred every day, every shift. And there has been a change in leadership, change in staff, and insistence on proper record-keeping,” Mullinax said. “I’m confident that we have the right systems in place and that we have the right people in place right now.”
Despite the myriad concerns raised about the streetcar services director in the audit, a MARTA spokeswoman said the agency believes he is “performing his duties as outlined” in its agreement with the city. MARTA, Saba Long said, is “committed to working with the City of Atlanta on the long-term success of the Atlanta Streetcar.”
Tuesday’s vandalism and the audit, while separate incidents, are the latest setbacks for the nascent streetcar project. The $98 million system began operations in December after several delays and has seen several staffing changes since.
Councilwoman Felicia Moore, who heads the council’s transportation committee, said she was still reviewing the audit when news of the graffiti incident emerged Tuesday morning.
Atlanta police believe the perpetrator climbed over the fence of the locked vehicle maintenance facility near the Downtown Connector between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 2:50 a.m. Tuesday, and spent nearly 20 minutes spray-painting three of the city’s new streetcars. The damage was discovered by a supervisor who reported to work at 3 a.m.
“For them to have that type of access for that length of time and not have been challenged is of real concern,” Moore said.
The security protocol called for two officers to patrol the area, Mullinax said, but only one reported to work Monday night. The other forgot his access badge, and therefore patrolled the area from his car outside the gate. The city has suspended its contract with the guards, who are retired APD officers.
Mullinax said there was no structural damage to the cars and that service wasn’t disrupted due to the incident. APD is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspected vandal.
Moore, for her part, is perplexed by the mounting concerns and questions over streetcar safety and security. She’s hoping to get answers at an upcoming transportation meeting about just who is responsible when it comes to oversight.
“When there is deficiency, nobody wants to take responsibility,” she said.
A.J. Robinson, president of the downtown improvement district, has confidence in the system.
“It’s carrying a whole lot of people and it’s having a great economic impact, and we’ve just got to get our operations straight, which we are doing on a daily basis.”
Ridership on the system has exceeded 587,000 since its opening last December, according to Reed’s office. Rides on the streetcar are free through 2015 as the city and MARTA develop a payment program.
District 2 Councilman Kwanza Hall said graffiti isn’t the main issue. “Trains don’t stop running in New York, D.C. or Chicago because of tagging. The security piece is a much bigger concern.”
Tim Connors, who manages a bar on Edgewood Avenue, laughed off the graffiti incident, but paused to consider a worst-case scenario.
“I think there’s a bigger concern than paint on the cars,” Connors said, referring to acts of sabotage. “I’m by no means a fear-monger, but you can’t have security on public transportation be lax.”
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