"No pictures please"

New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority wants to ban photography on the city's buses and trains. This ban is intended to enhance security.

I suppose I can understand the thinking. Taking pictures can be part of an intelligence gathering operation for any prospective terrorist.

Unfortunately, taking pictures of subway platforms and trains is also a big part of a tourist's NYC experience. Every visitor, it seems, wants to be photographed in a setting made familiar by thousands of movies and television shows. It would be a real shame to stop that.

I think the MTA is mistaken for a couple of reasons:

• any terrorist can discreetly use the latest in miniaturized photography equipment to get what he wants without risk of detection;
• there is probably more chance of thwarting a terrorist attack by encouraging people to take pictures on the subways — what terrorist will not think twice if he's just found his face accidentally included in a family picture taken on a subway platform;

The MTA should reconsider. Perhaps some form of compromise, such as photograph friendly areas could be developed? Yes, we need to do all we can to be safe, but this change would be of minimal benefit and will only serve to further alienate the public.