(rshsdepot) Schenectady, NY

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Times Union.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Designer picked for train station
February 24 2006

By CATHY WOODRUFF 
 
Philadelphia firm selected to develop plan for Schenectady depot
 
A Philadelphia firm has been selected to design a revamped train station  for 
Schenectady. Advertisement The Capital District Transportation Authority,  
which is managing a federally funded project to examine and oversee upgrades to  
the 1970s-vintage station owned by Amtrak, approved the proposal submitted by 
 Kise, Straw & Kolodner for engineering and architectural work on a station  
plan. 
 
The Pennsylvania company is teaming up with local technicians from  Creighton 
Manning Engineering Associates on the $200,000 contract. 
 
The funding is part of a $1.1 million federal grant secured by U.S. Rep.  
Michael McNulty, D-Green Island. Another $844,000 from the grant is budgeted for  
immediate station repairs and $54,000 is allocated to cover costs for  
administration. 
 
A regional transportation improvement plan calls for as much as $6.8  
million, including state and federal funding, to be spent on Schenectady rail  
station improvements in 2008 and 2009. 
 
The CDTA board of directors approved the engineering and architectural  
contract on Wednesday, and Kise, Straw & Kolodner`s proposal was among five  
submitted to CDTA for consideration. 
 
The firm`s work is slated to begin this spring and is expected to take  eight 
months, said CDTA Chief of Staff Carm Basile. 
 
Basile said the engineers and architects will examine the current station  
and surroundings near the intersection of Erie Boulevard and State Street. The  
recommendations could range from minor upgrades to an extensive redesign and  
expansion of the station, he said. 
 
According to officials with Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority,  the 
study will focus both on improvements to the existing station and ways to  
link the station to CDTA bus service downtown. 
 
CDTA, which built and owns the Rensselaer train station and handled the  $5.9 
million overhaul and expansion of the Saratoga Springs station, is the lead  
agency for the project. 
 
The current Amtrak station was built on the site of the city`s former  
historic Union Station, which was torn down. 
 
``Proud Schenectadians know that Union Station should have never been torn  
down,`` Mayor Brian Stratton said in a statement, but he also called a $30  
million station plan advanced by previous city officials ``pie in the sky.`` 
 
The Kise, Straw & Kolodner proposal calls for extensive community input  as 
part of the planning process, officials said. 

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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1307
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org