Red Hook Daily Catch: Ryan Calls On Amtrak To Preserve Rhinecliff Station Accessibility, Post Timeline Signage During Renovations

RED HOOK DAILY CATCH, VICTOR FELDMAN

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-18) issued a call to Amtrak today urging full accessibility to the Rhinecliff train station during planned renovations set to start next spring and in the months leading up to the start of construction. 

Ryan also urged that a written timeline of renovations be posted at the station for commuters.

Ryan’s letter to Amtrak chief executive Stephen Gardner, obtained by The Daily Catch today, comes after the newspaper reported last week that accessibility to the station has been at least temporarily hampered with the installation of two new mobile trailers to serve as a temporary ticket office, waiting room, and bathrooms while the station building undergoes renovations. 

“I applaud Amtrak for the welcome news that they will be implementing much-needed upgrades at the Rhinecliff train station, but that is no excuse for a lapse in customer service during the renovations,” Ryan states in the forthcoming press release.

The freshman congressman is also requesting that Amtrak clearly direct passengers to the appropriate parking and pickup areas, as the new station logistics have sown confusion among some commuters. For now, Amtrak appears to want dropoffs and pickups to launch from the short-term parking lot off Hutton Street. But there is a staircase to reach that lot from the station itself.

“Travelers show up to try to do their normal regular commute and all of a sudden everything is changed,” Ryan told The Daily Catch this morning. “It’s not clear where to park or what’s going on with the station so residents are confused.” 

With a shortage of three parking spaces absorbed by the mobile trailers, Ryan is also requesting Amtrak ensure short-term parking remains available for passengers with disabilities. Over the past month, Ryan said he has received over a dozen complaints about parking confusion and the accessibility of the station, which will close next Friday, Dec. 9, for renovations as Amtrak launches its multi-year project to renovate the station and raise the platform to train-door level (read our coverage). 

In anticipation of the station’s close, Amtrak two weeks ago set up two giant mobile trailers that will comprise the new temporary ticket office, waiting room, and restrooms at the Rhinecliff station. But the trailers have been erected in the passenger pick-up area,  reducing the space available to taxis and parkers waiting for passengers in front of the station. 

The changes have also caused confusion for passengers, as no staff or signs are present to redirect drivers from the usual short-term parking area as passengers and their friends adjust to the new logistics of the travel hub. 

A shortage of parking, exacerbated by the mobile trailers, has also posed a new challenge to those with disabilities. On Nov. 18, the day the mobile trailers were set up, Pat Johnson, a finance manager for the Bard College Conservatory, arrived at the station in the afternoon to pick up her friend, who is disabled, but was unable to park for a few minutes right at the station, and could only find a spot in the Hutton lot.

Johnson told The Daily Catch she worried about her friend’s ability to mount the stairs to the parking lot on Hutton Street, which appears to be the area where people are expected to park to meet new arrivals. “This is all quite confusing. Some signage would surely help,” she said (read our coverage).

In letters he’s received, “parking was a consistent concern among residents,” Ryan told The Daily Catch. “People want to know what the end goal of the renovations will be and how long it will take.”

Further details on when construction will commence and how passenger traffic will be choreographed during the two-year project will be shared with The Daily Catch before the new year, Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said on Nov 22. 

The station renovations, largely orchestrated by the office of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), are part of a larger plan to overhaul the entire Rhinecliff station. Construction crews are set to begin work on a long-awaited $28-million project to repair the hub’s aging infrastructure and bring the train platform into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (read our coverage).

The biggest change is that the train platform will be replaced with a new, raised platform for train boarding and disembarking that is level with train doors. Once completed, passengers will no longer have to use step stools to board, eliminating a major travel obstacle for the elderly and those with disabilities (read our coverage). 

In his letter, Ryan wrote that he is concerned that “while construction is ongoing over the next few years, passengers, especially those with disabilities or mobility issues, may struggle to use the station.”  

Ryan said the travel hub can remain fully accessible during the renovations and hopes his letter will signal to Amtrak that officials are closely monitoring Amtrak’s operation of the Rhinecliff station. “Accountability is core,” he said. “It is important to channel the concerns of residents directly to the CEO of Amtrak.” 

Jane Brophy, a manager for Amtrak’s company’s government affairs department, confirmed to The Daily Catch in late November that the busy travel hub itself will remain open during the renovations, with trains following their normal schedules.

Amtrak is working on the project with the Town of Rhinebeck and the New York State Department of Transportation, the rail company’s spokesperson, Jason Abrams, told The Daily Catch in April. Amtrak expects to complete the project in 2025.