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Wassaic Woes: The Harlem Line’s Parking Problem
Posted by: Dan Shaw
Posted on: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Comments
Last winter I saw a scene that broke my heart. A couple who seemed to be in their 80s were travelling to New York with two huge suitcases. The husband had dropped the wife off at the curb with the suitcases while he looked for a parking spot that he could not find. So some good samaritans helped her get the luggage to the platform and onto the train and the husband headed to Dover Plains to park. The plan was that he would join her on the train there. Well, she was a nervous wreck and the kind conductor kept promising he would hold the train in Dover Plains to make sure he got on. Who knows if he was bluffing but he was being sweet to her. She was so anxious that he might not make it it in time. When he got on, you never saw two people so happy to see each other.
As an ‘end of the line’ station, Wassaic was ill thought out and both commuters, weekenders, and locals are being penalized for it.
The whole notion of taking mass transportation starts to pale when it is necessary to drive as far south as Dover Plains and still not find a spot. It’s along about Patterson that one makes the decision on whether to drive into the city or forget the trip.
Vicki,
I know exactly what you mean. I have driven all the way to Southeast and then gotten what seems like the next to last spot. I really wish there were a late night train that would take you all the way back to Wassaic (if you are lucky to be able to park there) so, theoretically, you could see a play in the city and come home the same night.
I know, I know ...the 9:54 pm doesn’t allow for even a leisurely dinner and return trip home. Other areas are provided this service.
For instance, you can take a train from Penn Station to Montauk at 12:30 a.m. It takes 3 1/2 hours but at least people have the option!
In another piece, maybe a rant about Metro North substituting buses that don’t run on schedule!
Can anyone tell me if there is plentifull parking at 10 Mile River? I got to Wassaic and saw the full lot and pulled into a “Permit Only” spot because I was short of gas and time. Amazingly, I did not get a ticket.
I have always found a space at Ten Mile River, though once it was the very last one. I am usually trying to catch the train that leaves about 10:30 AM.
Hope this helps.
Dan
I live in New York City and have a house in Lakeville, Connecticut.
With all the talk of global warming and taking mass transit and such I thought that I had a perfect situation going for me at Wassaic. I had a yearly 24 hour permit in which I would take the train up to my car at Wassaic every week or so and drive on to Lakeville. I even had a bicycle in a bicycle locker at Wassaic in which in the late spring, summer and early fall I would take the train up to Wassaic and ride my bicycle up the rail trail to Millerton and then on the local roads to Lakeville. That is until Metro North took away the 24 hour permits. Now I have abandoned all that was set up and only take the car back and forth to New York City now. I got beat up more or less on another post on the subject and was more or less told to get lost. So as it seems Metro North only wants daily commuters on that line for the revene and no one else, so all the talk about being green and taking Metro North instead of the car obviously rings hollow. So Iv’e turned from a train person back into a car person and from here on will push for and hope for the widening of Rt.22 south of Pawling to 4 lanes. So bring on the cars and curse the train.
Bruce New York City / Lakeville, Connecticut
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Full Article
The MTA senses our pain and frustration. After all, taking the train to and from Manhattan is supposed to be the stress-free (and eco-friendly) alternative to driving. But the parking situation at the Wassaic Station has made it an anxiety-provoking option. The metered spaces at the Wassaic parking lot (which opened eight summers ago) are often completely full by 8:30 AM on weekdays, leading to instances of Railroad Rage. Last winter, many people parked illegally in the permit spots (the fine is $12 for the first offense, but goes up for multiple offenders.) However, getting a yearly parking permit ($217) is not an option for many of us, because Allright Transit Services is selling only “16-hour permits” for the lots at Wassaic, Ten Mile River, and Harlem Valley-Wingdale, which are only useful for daily commuters. If you want a permit to park overnight, you can only get one currently for Dover Plains or Patterson.
As a first step to control the looming crisis, the MTA has posted new signs at Wassaic that instruct frustrated parkers to head to Dover Plains five miles south (bypassing the tiny lot at Ten Mile River), which made us wonder if the MTA has thought about expanding the Wassaic parking lot.“Yes, we are absolutely considering it!” Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker tells Rural Intelligence. “At the present time we are working on a master plan. We will present it to the Metro North Committee sometime in late summer. It will only be a plan. We are not even in the design stage. But, yes, we want to expand the parking lot and yes it’s on the table.”
Meanwhile, the MTA will resume its Friday night bus connection from Wassaic to Great Barrington—with stops in Millerton and Copake/Hillsdale-—on Friday, June 20. Last year, there were bus connections for the trains that arrived in Wassaic at 7:16 and 10:01 PM, with return service on Sundays with buses departing from Great Barrington at 4:45 and 7:00 PM. “We expect to do the same thing, but it won’t be official until it is posted on our website,” says Brucker.
