(rshsdepot) Metro-North budgets station renovations

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Metro-North budgets station renovations
By CAREN HALBFINGER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: May 17, 2004)

Metro-North Railroad is set to begin millions of dollars worth of
improvement projects at stations on the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines,
with much of the work intended to make commuters more comfortable while
waiting for trains.

The railroad will cover stairs and overpasses, which should keep puddles or
ice from forming. When winter storms cause delays, riders will be able to
take the chilly edge off in new heated platform shelters in several
stations.

Work also will improve conditions in areas adjacent to some stations, such
as a landscaped embankment at the White Plains station between the Mott
Street pedestrian tunnel and the Main Street bridge. In Mamaroneck, a
parking lot that now provides something akin to an off-road driving
experience will be repaved.

"It's great that they're doing it," said Robert Rifkin, 48, an estate and
retirement planner from Mamaroneck. "The conditions for the last two to
three years have been horrible. They shouldn't have let it get this way. The
road is crumbling, and having to deal with all the potholes on your way in
just creates more congestion and a dangerous situation."

However, Rifkin criticized the railroad's plan to start work there in the
fall instead of during the summer, when there are fewer commuters,
especially since the 40 parking spaces will be taken out of use while the
lot is repaved. Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the railroad
would try to minimize the inconvenience to riders by adding new spots before
taking others away.

"The railroad has been rebuilding itself since its creation in 1983," Anders
said. "We started with the track and we went on to signals, bridges and
equipment. It's now time to turn our attention to stations, which we've been
doing for the last couple of years. We only wish we could do them all at
once."

All told, new projects that will directly affect stations will be going on
at eight on the Harlem line, three on the Hudson, and two on the New Haven.
Most work will begin next month, while projects at Mamaroneck, Ardsley,
Hastings-on-Hudson and Dobbs Ferry will begin this fall.

In the next two months, a consultant will be hired to assess conditions at
all New Haven line stations in Westchester except Larchmont, where work
already is in progress. The $803,200 review should pave the way for future
station improvements at Mount Vernon East, Pelham, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck,
Harrison, Rye and Port Chester.

And later this month, a consultant will be hired to assess conditions at
five historic stations on the Harlem and Hudson lines and recommend
improvements.

In addition to the new projects, Metro-North also will continue working on
station projects totaling $35 million in Yonkers and $45 million at eight
other Hudson line stations. Those projects, which started in October 2001,
should be finished in February. In addition to restoring the 1910 Yonkers
station, the railroad has been improving waiting areas and adding access for
the disabled at the Ludlow, Greystone and Glenwood stations in Yonkers, and
five Bronx stations.

"So far, it's a big improvement,'' said Iyeisha Pogue, 24, a psychology
student from Tarrytown, who recently watched contractors build a platform at
the Yonkers station while she waited for her train home. "Before, it used to
be dirty and disgusting.''

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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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