(The Daily Herald posted the following story by Eric Peterson on its website on April 17.)
CHICAGO — For the first time, Barrington rail commuters Wednesday had rest rooms, an ATM and a larger, more attractive waiting area as they sipped coffee and read newspapers.
But the opening of the renovated Metra station in downtown Barrington elicited a mixed response from the regular users.
While most riders agreed that the $3.7 million project made the station look much better than before, some questioned whether the 14-month wait was justified.
“For the wait, it’s nothing spectacular,” said Michael Moses, an attorney from North Barrington who has commuted to Chicago from the Barrington stop for 17 years.
“The biggest thing that’s ticked off most of us is the time it took,” he added. “Underground Wacker (in Chicago) completed its renovation faster. This seemed to be a side job.”
Tim Block of Hawthorn Woods also questioned the delay.
“It seemed the work team left the project months ago,” Block said. “In Chicago, we build things at a much faster pace and in a much more complex environment. This whole thing could have been done in six months to a year.”
Metra spokesman Tom Miller said the reason for the delay was a contractual dispute between the Union Pacific railroad which owns the property and the village of Barrington that leases it.
But the delay affected only the starting time of the project, Miller said. Once the construction started, the contractors met all their deadlines.
The Barrington depot serves 1,725 riders daily; the ninth busiest of Metra’s 224 Chicago area stations. On the Northwest Line, only Arlington Heights and Palatine are busier.
Other passengers were much more satisfied with the finished product Wednesday morning.
Wynne Ferro of Carpentersville took advantage of the indoor waiting area in the chilly morning – a more pleasant environment than the stark trailer that was the waiting area for more than a year, she said.
Ferro also was among the first hundred customers to use the new Harris Bank ATM in the station – and received a pair of tickets to Barrington’s Catlow Theater.
Workers at the First Stop coffee stand were a day late in moving from their trailer space into the new station, but were happy the long vigil had ended.
First Stop employee Dawn Boyk said she has worked at the station for 14 years and felt sorry for the passengers – especially children – who often were looking for public rest rooms that weren’t there.
Some aspects of the project remain incomplete, including the installation of electronic fare boxes and the completion of landscaping, expected to be done next month.
Barrington will hold a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. June 4, when the project is expected to be entirely finished.