(rshsdepot) Ossining, Scarborough and Philipse Manor, NY

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Journal News.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
Work to start at 3 stations along Hudson Line


By SEAN GORMAN
THE JOURNAL  NEWS


(Original publication: December 10, 2007)
 
OSSINING - Some commuters will have to alter their travel routines next month 
 when a southbound track at three Hudson-Line stations is shut down as part 
of a  $67 million project to renovate the rail hubs.  
The work will rebuild the platforms and canopies at the Ossining, Scarborough 
 and Philipse Manor train stations.  
The project is part of Metro-North's on-going plans to refurbish all its  
stations along the Hudson River.  
"We have been working on the Hudson-Line stations starting from the south  
working our way north. There are 13 stations completed," said Metro-North  
spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. "We have managed to maintain our on-time  performance, 
which is key. Nobody wants to be late."  
The Jan. 15 track shutdown, however, does mean commuters during peak morning  
travel times will board their Manhattan-bound trains from the northbound  
platforms, Anders said.  
Some commuters at the Ossining station this week seemed ready to deal with  
disruptions during the work.  
"It does need to be modernized. There's corrosion everywhere. The roofs  
leak," Ted Ciuzio, a 50-year-old Ossining resident and an account executive with  
The Associated Press, said before boarding a Manhattan-bound train. "I'm sure 
it  will be inconvenient. I just hope they'll be able to move along quickly 
... I  hope that people can see the big picture and deal with a little 
inconvenience."  
Anders said signs will be up at all three stations and there will be  
announcements over the public-address system informing commuters of the proper  
platform they should take to get into the city.  
The track is expected to be off-line for 18 months during the work on the  
southbound platforms. Then work on rebuilding the northbound platforms would  
begin, a project that's expected to take another 12 months, Anders said.  
During the construction, slated to finish in the fall of 2010, the  
Scarborough station will get a new overpass that will have elevators and  enclosed 
stairs, according to Metro-North. An existing overpass at Philipse  Manor will be 
rehabilitated.  
Over in Ossining, new elevators will be installed in old baggage elevator  
shafts. The plan will also tear down and rebuild seven staircases. The elevated  
walkway on the north side of the building will be rehabilitated and  
stained-glass windows will be installed in the walkway.  
"I'm pretty pleased about it. I think it will make the station much more  
user-friendly," said Ossining Trustee Catherine Borgia. "It looks to me like  
it's a very good, well-thought-out plan."  
Once renovations are complete, the look of the Ossining, Scarborough and  
Philipse Manor stations will be similar to the previously refurbished stations  
further south on the line that have gooseneck lighting and wire mesh seating,  
Anders said.  
The railroad is trying to minimize the impact on parking during construction, 
 but some parking spaces at all three stations would be lost during the 
project,  Anders said.  
To deal with the parking crunch during construction at the Scarborough  
station, Briarcliff Manor officials plan to start a valet service from 7:15 a.m.  
to 8 p.m, said Village Manager Michael Blau.  
The valets would park commuter cars in a stacked fashion that would create a  
net increase of 21 extra parking spaces during the project, Blau said.  
He said village officials are pleased the work is being done.  
"The Scarborough station is a very unattractive station," Blau said. "This is 
 definitely going to make it a more attractive location."  

 
Reach Sean Gorman at _sgorman_@_lohud.com_ (mailto:sgorman@lohud.com)  or 
914-666-6481. 





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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1642
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org