Enhanced Station Initiative to Hit Metro-North

[Lance]

Design Improvements Coming to Five Stations Under Enhanced Stations Initiative Program

Safer, cleaner, brighter and easier to navigate stations are on their way for MTA Metro-North Railroad customers using the White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale stations as part of the Enhance Stations Initiative Program.

The MTA Board has approved a $91.5 million design-build contract to the firm Halmar International to make state-of-the-art enhancements to five stations, setting the stage for similar improvements to other Metro-North stations in the future. Construction gets underway in early 2018.

The general scope of the work includes new signage, platforms, energy efficient LED lighting, benches with USB chargers, station dashboards and totems to provide convenient access to information, improvements to customer restrooms, not to mention Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. Upgrades at White Plains include improved station entrances, as well as new interior wall panels, floor tiles, ceiling tiles and fixtures.

For the station enhancement project, the MTA worked with consultants Grimshaw Architects to study and revise existing design guidelines for stations and facilities, bringing world class standards to Metro-North stations. These revised guidelines will establish a new look for Metro-North stations, influencing station design long after improvements to White Plains, Harlem-125th Street, Crestwood, Port Chester and Riverdale are complete.

Safety is a top priority at the MTA, and as part of the station enhancement project, Metro-North upgraded its electrical and communications system, adding closed-circuit security cameras inside and outside the stations.

Bringing more beauty to the commute, MTA Arts and Design has issued an open call for artists to create site specific installations at White Plains, Harlem 125th Street, Crestwood and Port Chester. Dennis Oppenheim’s low-relief, brightly painted metal sculpture in the shape of four houses was installed at the Riverdale station in 2006.

“The Enhanced Stations Initiative raises the bar for station aesthetics, safety and amenities,” said Cathy Rinaldi, Acting President of Metro-North. “Customers can anticipate a better environment at our stations, and all with minimal disruption to their commute. These improvements bring the stations into the 21st century and help enhance the quality of life of the communities they serve.”

At the direction of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Metro-North issued a design-build contract to expedite the project. Design-build contracts call for a team of designers and contractors to be responsible for both designing and building an entire project in order to ensure that coordination is seamless, and that work is completed in the shortest possible time frame. The project is funded by MTA’s 2015-2019 Capital Program.

Courtesy: MTA Press Release

[R68OnBroadway]

Most MNR and LIRR stations are relatively clean due to them being outdoors, so why direct money to them when it can be given to the subways?

I think that this shows one of the spending problems with MTA: Commuter rail makes up nearly half of the budget, but is far less used and is in need of less repair than the subways (minus Penn Station which needs repairs).

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 hours ago, R68OnBroadway said:

Most MNR and LIRR stations are relatively clean due to them being outdoors, so why direct money to them when it can be given to the subways?

I think that this shows one of the spending problems with MTA: Commuter rail makes up nearly half of the budget, but is far less used and is in need of less repair than the subways (minus Penn Station which needs repairs).

You make it sound as if MNRR and LIRR riders have it so grand. Since most of the stations are outdoors, there isn't that much to rehab when re-doing the stations. Set up some platforms with a climate control room and a small waiting area and that's usually sufficient. It takes a lot more money to rehab subway stations. Even commuter rail users in the city... We pay almost four times the fare, so we should expect something in return for that.

[Around the Horn]

They're not closing these stations like the subway ones right?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

38 minutes ago, Around the Horn said:

They're not closing these stations like the subway ones right?

No.  If they had to close the Riverdale station, that would mean everyone would have to pack on at the other Riverdale station (Spuyten Duyvil).  You would have all of the people from North Riverdale coming down to South Riverdale, which would cause a traffic nightmare.  What they may do at the Riverdale station is close one platform and use another track and have people use those "bridges" that the put up to get to and from.  They're annoying and slow down the commute, but it is what it is.

---

I agree with the need to refurbish the Riverdale station. The outside looks fine with wonderful views of the Palisades and the Hudson River, but the inside stinks and looks drab.  I usually use the Spuyten Duyvil station moreso.  Outside of that station, the 125th street station definitely needs it. It is one of the most depressing MNRR stations and I can only hope that they can drive those druggies away entirely.  The block the entrance and sleep everywhere stinking up the station, both inside and out.

[R42N]

This is ridiculous, did they pick these stations out of thin air? 

Crestwood, for example, is already on of the nicest stations on the Harlem Line, with elevators, new displays, newly painted benches, green trash bins, black & green paint scheme, and everything else that most stations, like Fleetwood or Mount Vernon, do not have. 

 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

43 minutes ago, R42N said:

This is ridiculous, did they pick these stations out of thin air? 

Crestwood, for example, is already on of the nicest stations on the Harlem Line, with elevators, new displays, newly painted benches, green trash bins, black & green paint scheme, and everything else that most stations, like Fleetwood or Mount Vernon, do not have. 

 

Metro-North's job is to attract ridership and cater to the stations that see the most ridership or have the most potential to grow.  Crestwood IMO could definitely use some sprucing up (e.g. better lighting and some other things), and the Harlem-125th street station definition needs a rehab.  These are important stations and ones that will continue to see increased ridership, so you have to go to where the money is.  There are some stations that could definitely see upgrades on the Harlem line (e.g. Williams Bridge, Wakefield and Mount Veron West come to mind), but the first two stations really don't see crazy usage, and probably wouldn't even with more service and upgrades. You have to know your ridership demographic in terms of income and where you can get more riders from and people in Williamsbridge are too busy trying to get the subway to worry about Metro-North. It's just the way it is.  I would increase the frequency to stations like Woodlawn though. A lot of residents in Woodlawn elect Metro-North since the subway requires a bus ride, and the BxM4 express bus to Midtown can be slow.

[Lance]

It's a bit of a catch-22 in my opinion. Stations like Williamsbridge and Mt. Vernon West don't have high ridership numbers partly because the stations are so decrepit. Naturally, the MTA won't put any effort into sprucing up the stations because there's no ridership. I think the five stations picked here for Metro-North were done so for similar reasons the first few ESI stations were chosen for the subway, which is to be a showcase for the new design standards without actually having to do much outside of a cosmetic renovation.

On a side note, I wish they'd put some money into fixing up the northern passage in Grand Central. There are so many missing or discolored ceiling tiles from either ongoing maintenance work or a lack of work. Also, at last count, about a third of the gate indicator displays for the passageway are out of service. I get that it isn't the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, but those passageways do receive a significant amount of patronage, way too much in fact for it to look so dingy.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

29 minutes ago, Lance said:

It's a bit of a catch-22 in my opinion. Stations like Williamsbridge and Mt. Vernon West don't have high ridership numbers partly because the stations are so decrepit. Naturally, the MTA won't put any effort into sprucing up the stations because there's no ridership. I think the five stations picked here for Metro-North were done so for similar reasons the first few ESI stations were chosen for the subway, which is to be a showcase for the new design standards without actually having to do much outside of a cosmetic renovation.

On a side note, I wish they'd put some money into fixing up the northern passage in Grand Central. There are so many missing or discolored ceiling tiles from either ongoing maintenance work or a lack of work. Also, at last count, about a third of the gate indicator displays for the passageway are out of service. I get that it isn't the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, but those passageways do receive a significant amount of patronage, way too much in fact for it to look so dingy.

Listen, I've used the Williams Bridge station, and I've passed by the Mt. Vernon West station as well on my way to the Fleetwood station (the Mount Vernon East station is actually ok), and out of the two, I think the Williams Bridge station is the worst, but let's not kid ourselves.  The location of the station is not in the best area, and the subway or even the BxM11 express bus is easier to reach (and safer, not that that really means anything given that general area).  I personally didn't like using the station late at night because it felt so desolate, and the decrepit nature just added to the desolate feeling, so I would usually opt to take it back to Manhattan only when it was light out and more people out and about on Gun Hill Road.  You also have to realize that Metro-North is not going to sink money into stations that vandals are likely going to destroy (the University Heights station - the entrance is rather disgusting - reeks of piss).  Come to think of it, just about all of the Metro-North stations I use are desolate, but I never feel unsafe at the Spuyten Duyvil station, and I've used that one late at night numerous times and often walk home too using shortcuts that I know.

Regarding Grand Central, I think they need to do some serious renovations, starting with the sultry Metro-North platforms and then the passageways leading to them.  I can't believe how run down they've become. They even had garbage pals for water buckets throughout the passageway at one point because the ceiling was leaking everywhere.  I don't know which platform you use daily, but if you're by platform 41 (near Madison and 43rd), the platforms and the general area really leave a lot to the imagination, and it's embarrassing and insulting to charge what they are and to have the platforms looking that way.  In the summertime, it's like walking into the pits of hell.  No HVAC system in 2017...  

[Lance]

That's why I said in part. I'm aware that the area in question is not the greatest. However, that's no excuse for a station like Williamsbridge to look about the same as it did in the pre-Metro-North days.

On the subject of Grand Central, you won't get any arguments from me on that one. In the few years I've travelled through the station in my commute, I have noticed the deteriorating conditions around. While I don't usually use the western platforms, mainly because those are usually Harlem and Hudson tracks and I use the New Haven Line, I am familiar with the conditions of the area. I walk through the passageway in question on a regular basis, usually when I'm not using the GC North passageways, and can attest to the various leaks and "containment measures" used here. It's kind of said really.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

37 minutes ago, Lance said:

That's why I said in part. I'm aware that the area in question is not the greatest. However, that's no excuse for a station like Williamsbridge to look about the same as it did in the pre-Metro-North days.

On the subject of Grand Central, you won't get any arguments from me on that one. In the few years I've travelled through the station in my commute, I have noticed the deteriorating conditions around. While I don't usually use the western platforms, mainly because those are usually Harlem and Hudson tracks and I use the New Haven Line, I am familiar with the conditions of the area. I walk through the passageway in question on a regular basis, usually when I'm not using the GC North passageways, and can attest to the various leaks and "containment measures" used here. It's kind of said really.

Any beautification project to the WIlliams Bridge station would have to require some sort of joint venture perhaps with the community board or funds coming from the borough president's office because I think you would need to beautify the area similar to what is being proposed for the Parkchester MNRR station.  There is really no commerce along that entire stretch of Gun Hill Road (the infrastructure limits that as well), but still. It looks really dirty and run down (another reason I hated using that station).

[MNR Beacon Line]

They're going to miss their f**king PTC deadline. End of story.

 

MNR and LIRR don't have the time or the money for this.

[Italianstallion]

I don't see the need to renovate the Riverdale station. 

It was completely rebuilt in 2006. It is brand new! I am semi-regular user, and it looks great to me.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 hours ago, Italianstallion said:

I don't see the need to renovate the Riverdale station. 

It was completely rebuilt in 2006. It is brand new! I am semi-regular user, and it looks great to me.

How is being 12 years old "brand new"?  The platform area looks okay, but the waiting room is drab and smells. I live in between the Riverdale and the Spuyten Duyvil stations in Central Riverdale, so I can walk to either, but I usually prefer the Spuyten Duyvil station. The Riverdale station is beautiful in the winter with the huge ships and the Palisades. The Spuyten Duyvil station is also quite beautiful with Inwood Park just across the water.

[Italianstallion]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

How is being 12 years old "brand new"?  The platform area looks okay, but the waiting room is drab and smells. I live in between the Riverdale and the Spuyten Duyvil stations in Central Riverdale, so I can walk to either, but I usually prefer the Spuyten Duyvil station. The Riverdale station is beautiful in the winter with the huge ships and the Palisades. The Spuyten Duyvil station is also quite beautiful with Inwood Park just across the water.

2017 - 2006 = 11, not 12. Compared to many other stations, it's pristine. The waiting room (actually overpass) is fine. If it smells, it needs to be cleaned. The money would be better spent on an elevator at S. Duyvil.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

8 hours ago, Italianstallion said:

2017 - 2006 = 11, not 12. Compared to many other stations, it's pristine. The waiting room (actually overpass) is fine. If it smells, it needs to be cleaned. The money would be better spent on an elevator at S. Duyvil.

2018 is around the corner, so it's 12 in my mind, but fine, 11... Still doesn't change what I said, and cleaning it doesn't solve the drab factor. You are not the targeted demographic that will be riding in future years, millennials are like myself, and Metro-North knows this. You also don't know if these upgrades are part of a bigger plan. The bulk of the ridership in Riverdale goes down to the Spuyten Duyvil station, which I always thought was stupid. The Riverdale station has a much longer platform going towards NYC that would allow for easier boarding and could accommodate larger crowds. At Spuyten Duyvil, going towards NYC it would be more complicated to extend the platform with the turn right there, but the Spuyten Duyvil station is forced to take on riders from the densest parts of Riverdale (particularly Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale and Central/Downtown Riverdale). Nevertheless the Riverdale station doesn't see as much ridership compared to Spuyten Duyvil. The Spuyten Duyvil station sees riders as far north as Fieldston, and quite frankly, I always thought that people where I live in Central Riverdale and Fieldston should be taken to the Riverdale station. Depending on which route you take on the shuttle bus to the Spuyten Duyvil station, it could involve some meandering. From say 239th and Henry Hudson near to where I live, it's quite fast to reach 254th and then make your way to the station.

Something that has been discussed for a while now is Riverdale getting West Side access on Metro-North to Penn Station via Amtrak. In order for that to happen, it would mean shuttling ALL riders in Riverdale (even those in Spuyten Duyvil) to the Riverdale station, since Amtrak runs over the Spuyten Duyvil bridge just north of said station. This is something that is apparently being studied as a future option for Riverdale, and I would be all for it. It would also give Riverdalians more service similar to how we have with the BxM1 and BxM2 to switch between if one is messing up. 

There are times when the BxM2 is severely delayed, and I'm on the Upper West Side, and wait because it's too much of a hassle making my way over to Metro-North and even a bigger hassle dealing with the train and not knowing what the Bx7 and Bx10 will be like once we reach 231st. 

[Italianstallion]

1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

2018 is around the corner, so it's 12 in my mind, but fine, 11... Still doesn't change what I said, and cleaning it doesn't solve the drab factor. You are not the targeted demographic that will be riding in future years, millennials are like myself, and Metro-North knows this. You also don't know if these upgrades are part of a bigger plan. The bulk of the ridership in Riverdale goes down to the Spuyten Duyvil station, which I always thought was stupid. The Riverdale station has a much longer platform going towards NYC that would allow for easier boarding and could accommodate larger crowds. At Spuyten Duyvil, going towards NYC it would be more complicated to extend the platform with the turn right there, but the Spuyten Duyvil station is forced to take on riders from the densest parts of Riverdale (particularly Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale and Central/Downtown Riverdale). Nevertheless the Riverdale station doesn't see as much ridership compared to Spuyten Duyvil. The Spuyten Duyvil station sees riders as far north as Fieldston, and quite frankly, I always thought that people where I live in Central Riverdale and Fieldston should be taken to the Riverdale station. Depending on which route you take on the shuttle bus to the Spuyten Duyvil station, it could involve some meandering. From say 239th and Henry Hudson near to where I live, it's quite fast to reach 254th and then make your way to the station.

Something that has been discussed for a while now is Riverdale getting West Side access on Metro-North to Penn Station via Amtrak. In order for that to happen, it would mean shuttling ALL riders in Riverdale (even those in Spuyten Duyvil) to the Riverdale station, since Amtrak runs over the Spuyten Duyvil bridge just north of said station. This is something that is apparently being studied as a future option for Riverdale, and I would be all for it. It would also give Riverdalians more service similar to how we have with the BxM1 and BxM2 to switch between if one is messing up. 

There are times when the BxM2 is severely delayed, and I'm on the Upper West Side, and wait because it's too much of a hassle making my way over to Metro-North and even a bigger hassle dealing with the train and not knowing what the Bx7 and Bx10 will be like once we reach 231st. 

If there is such a plan, it would be nice. I agree with you that more people should be shuttled to Riverdale station. The shuttle from 246 should go to Riverdale, not S. Duyvil. I live in north Fieldston. The only good way other than driving for me to get to the Riverdale station is to walk to 254 and Riverdale Ave., which is a pain, to get the shuttle bus.

[RtrainBlues]

I could care less if the Metro-North stations are to be paved in silver or gold.  That's why these Enhanced Station Initiatives are such a waste of time.  Are they going to add the ridiculous "standing benches" to Metro-North like they now have at 53rd St Brooklyn on the R line?   I use the Bee-Line if possible (if going to Tarrytown or points south, etc) since it's free with my Unlimited Metrocard.  Or if I'm going further north or Connecticut, I'll have no choice but to take Metro-North, so I'll take the subway to Yankee Stadium/Fordham/Riverdale to cut my Metro-North fare in half.

Think of all the money wasted on the new PATH station at WTC.  If PATH wanted my ridership, they would have accepted the NYC Unlimited Metrocard.  The old WTC station was fine to me and I didn't mind the orange bucket seats on the older trains. 

If they want to attract more discretionary riders like me, they'll lower the intermediate fares (everything except Grand Central and 125th) even further to compete with Bee-Line bus.  Many more riders (but at a lower fare) would result in more money taken in.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

7 hours ago, RtrainBlues said:

I could care less if the Metro-North stations are to be paved in silver or gold.  That's why these Enhanced Station Initiatives are such a waste of time.  Are they going to add the ridiculous "standing benches" to Metro-North like they now have at 53rd St Brooklyn on the R line?   I use the Bee-Line if possible (if going to Tarrytown or points south, etc) since it's free with my Unlimited Metrocard.  Or if I'm going further north or Connecticut, I'll have no choice but to take Metro-North, so I'll take the subway to Yankee Stadium/Fordham/Riverdale to cut my Metro-North fare in half.

Think of all the money wasted on the new PATH station at WTC.  If PATH wanted my ridership, they would have accepted the NYC Unlimited Metrocard.  The old WTC station was fine to me and I didn't mind the orange bucket seats on the older trains. 

If they want to attract more discretionary riders like me, they'll lower the intermediate fares (everything except Grand Central and 125th) even further to compete with Bee-Line bus.  Many more riders (but at a lower fare) would result in more money taken in.

Oh please. MNRR doesn't need your money per se. Besides the riders from Grand Central, they actually charge dirt cheap intermediate fares from the Bronx and from Riverdale to parts of Westchester. $3.00 is a steal. I personally would like them to increase it, as it is too low. You pay $9.25 peak and $6.50 off-peak from Riverdale to Manhattan, basically double and triple what intermediate riders pay.

[bobtehpanda]

On 1/31/2018 at 4:03 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Oh please. MNRR doesn't need your money per se. Besides the riders from Grand Central, they actually charge dirt cheap intermediate fares from the Bronx and from Riverdale to parts of Westchester. $3.00 is a steal. I personally would like them to increase it, as it is too low. You pay $9.25 peak and $6.50 off-peak from Riverdale to Manhattan, basically double and triple what intermediate riders pay.

That's because the cost of providing one extra trip into Grand Central at peak times is very high, and the cost of intermediate rides in the reverse-peak is very low (those trains would be running anyways, so filling those seats with low-cost riders doesn't actually cost all that much).

Plus, Westchester's economy depends on these reverse peak riders, since Westchester basically doesn't allow new housing for low-income people.

[Truckie]

What they are not telling you is the impact the "improvements" are going to have on train service during the renovations....  Stay tuned.