(rshsdepot) Rensselaer, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Rail station on track so far Albany

CDTA doesn't have a date for a ribbon- cutting, but a celebration is in the
works

By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer

It's hard to plan a party when the date is a moving target, but the Capital
District Transportation Authority is giving it a try. CDTA officials are
adamant that the oft-delayed opening of the Rensselaer Rail Station will be
sometime in June. They just won't name the day."We want to open it, but it
has to be right,'' said CDTA Operations Committee Chairman Wayne Pratt.
"Everything has to be ready to go.''The project originally was slated to
open in early 2001, and the authority is loath to set a firmer date after
finally settling on a June 2002 opening months ago and sticking with it this
far."The problem is each time we set a date, if we don't hit it people say,
'They didn't hit it again.' It's very difficult,'' Pratt said.CDTA board
members also are still smarting from the furor over the cost, which soared
from $35 million when ground was broken June 1999 to $53.1 million.On
Wednesday, the board authorized the CDTA staff to work with event planners
from Media Logic, an advertising and marketing agency that does much of the
authority's regular publicity work, to help plan and carry out opening
celebration festivities."Although we're accustomed to organizing
ribbon-cuttings and some special events, this is a bit large for us,''
Executive Director Dennis Fitzgerald said.The board also authorized CDTA
staff to begin talks on a possible takeover of Saratoga County's privately
run commuter bus service.Board members Donald MacElroy and C. Michael
Ingersoll, both of Saratoga County, said county supervisors asked them to
broach the idea. "We've reached a crossroads with regard to the future of
the Park-and-Ride program and Upstate Transit's operation of that service,''
MacElroy said.Last month, Upstate Transit President Paul Kulls asked the
county to begin paying $80,000 a year toward operations."The county just
isn't in a position to subsidize the public transportation business, and
they want us to do that,'' Ingersoll said. Saratoga County residents already
receive some CDTA service and help support the authority with their mortgage
tax payments.

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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