The Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently opened the new customer parking lot at the Metro-North Railroad Croton Falls station.
The new lot includes 450 spaces, along with 10 charging units for electric vehicles. As part of the project, sidewalks were constructed, and lighting was installed along Croton Falls Road to safely guide customers from the lot to the station.
The parking lot alleviates congestion around the station from customers parking along Croton Falls Road. According to stakeholders, during the planning stage of the project, there was close coordination with the New York State Department of Environmental Protection and Metro-North Environmental Compliance, as the parked vehicles were leaking fluid into a nearby watershed.
“This is a welcome addition for many of our Putnam County residents who rely on the Croton Falls train station in their daily commute,” said Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, R-Mahopac. “This long-awaited new parking area brings a strong regional benefit to both Putnam and our friends from Westchester, and we’re glad to see it finally completed… This will not only improve safety for commuters that no longer have to park on the street, but it will increase access and provide a quality-of-life boost for those who take a trip on Harlem Line.”
Metro-North’s upper Harlem Line between the Southeast and Goldens Bridge stations draws customers from overlapping geographies covering eastern Westchester County and southeastern Putnam due to an existing road network and limited railroad customer parking availability in the area. The 450-space lot is expected to help alleviate on-street parking concerns and provide parking for another 250 vehicles to accommodate current and future customers.
“This is part of our efforts to make the railroad more convenient for all to use,” said Metro-North Railroad President and LIRR Interim President Catherine Rinaldi. “The upper Harlem Line is unique in that stations attract customers from multiple municipalities. A brand new customer lot will make the Croton Falls station a more attractive connecting point to get to New York City.”
In the past, Metro-North has been able to address station access and parking shortfall issues on the Harlem Line through a systematic approach resulting in the construction of the North White Plains station garage and expansion of parking at the Goldens Bridge station. In keeping with this proactive approach, a detailed study of transportation conditions and parking utilization was undertaken by Metro-North to better understand the parking and pedestrian situation in the vicinity of Croton Falls.
“Access to modern parking facilities is essential if residents are to use Metro-North trains for their daily commute or for recreational purposes,” said State Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill. “In addition to convenience, trains have the potential of reducing thousands of tons of greenhouse gases by taking cars off the road that would otherwise be used for daily transportation.”
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