By JOSEPH KELLARD
The Long Island Rail Road has unveiled three designs for the proposed new Valley Stream station, and, in an unprecedented move, will seek residents' input on its final decision. LIRR president James Dermody, State Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), Assemblyman Bob Barra (R-Lynbrook), Hempstead Town Councilman Jim Darcey and Valley Stream Mayor Edward Cahill jointly announced the plan at Village Hall Aug. 23.
The three glossy poster-board designs will be on display at Village Hall for about six weeks, accompanied by comment cards on which residents can offer their opinions on the $4.3 million project. "We welcome their input," Cahill said.
Residents may also cast votes on Skelos's Web site, according to Tom Dunham, the senator's spokesman.
"This offers the community an opportunity to choose the proposal it likes," Dunham said. "It's the first time the LIRR is doing this, and we're allowing residents to vote for the project on the senator's Web site."
Among the new station's proposed features are a 2,000-square-foot waiting room, an improved platform, a ticket office, public restrooms, pay telephones, various equipment rooms, and public address and passenger display systems. The station will comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The project also includes expanding parking lot No. 19 from 106 spaces to 306, and adding such amenities as new ornamental lighting and brick paving.
Funding for the project will come out of the LIRR's share of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Capital Funds Program, and Skelos has teamed with Barra and village officials, including Cahill, to obtain funds from the state. Skelos sits on the MTA's four-person capital program review board, and is the only Long Island representative on the board.
The LIRR decided that to tear down the existing station on Sunrise Highway and build a new one would be cheaper than to make renovations, and construction will take approximately a year, Dermody said.
"The Valley Stream station is long over due for a refurbishing," Cahill said. "I'm sure there'll be a big improvement to what is there now. What they're doing should be great for the residents and other people that use the station."
The LIRR and Skelos publicly announced plans for the new station last October. Commuters the Herald spoke with last fall approved of the planned improvements. "It's a good idea, because they need a better capacity in the waiting room," said Ngierot Edward-Smith, 18, a Far Rockaway resident who works at a mortgage bank in Valley Stream. "It will make my experience here more comfortable."
Angela McDonald, who takes the train to her job in Valley Stream, hoped that the waiting room would be opened year-round. "Sometimes during the summer they'll close the waiting room, and I don't want to get stuck outside on a windy or rainy day," she said.
The Valley Stream station serves more than 2,100 commuters per day during morning rush hour, according to LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto. Trains stopping at the station are predominately from the Far Rockaway and Long Beach lines, but trains from the West Hempstead and Babylon lines make occasional stops there as well, Zambuto said.
Comments about it? VSeditor@liherald.com or (516)569-4000 x208.
The three station renderings will appear in detail on the Herald's website as soon as they become available. Please visit www.liherald.com to view them.
