(The following article by Caren Halbfinger was posted on the White Plains Journal News website on May 17.)
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — 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.”