LIRR Reopens Rebuilt Flushing Station
Earlier today, the MTA Long Island Rail Road held a ceremony to honor the opening of the rebuilt Flushing-Main Street station on the LIRR’s Port Washington line. Here is more about the reopening via the press release the agency sent me:
MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phil Eng today joined Queens elected officials, advocates and community members to open the newly rebuilt and reconfigured Flushing-Main Street station. The new station features two new elevators, one each to the eastbound and westbound platforms, a new street-level ticket office, and a prominent new set of entranceways connecting the platforms directly to the community hub of Flushing at Main Street. Construction on the project began in 2016 and cost $24.6 million.
“We are pleased to be able to make this station fully accessible to all our customers, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, thanks to the addition of two new elevators,” Eng said. “We are also pleased that our station will now be easier to reach from the heart of the Flushing community. We hope our improvements will transform a station that was inaccessible and mostly hidden from public view into an inviting and prominent community landmark. We are continuously working to make the LIRR accessible to all, and this is an important achievement in that campaign.”
Under the previous configuration of the station, which was completed in 1913 and renovated in 1958, the westbound platform was accessible only via a narrow stairway in an alley between buildings, around the corner from the main commercial hub of the region on Main Street. The eastbound platform led to Main Street but was narrow and, like the westbound platform, did not have an elevator.
A deteriorated one-story ticket office located at the eastbound entrance, which was not in conformity with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, was demolished as part of this project. The new station includes a new ticket office adjacent to the primary westbound entrance, an open plaza for future retail kiosks, new staircases, platform shelters, railings, LED lighting, new signage, USB charge ports, an upgraded public-address system with clearer audio quality, and yellow tactile platform edge strips.
More than 2,200 people use the Flushing-Main Street station on an average weekday, making the station the 50th busiest of the LIRR’s 124 stations, and the ninth busiest in Queens.
The project to renew the station earned the LIRR the Women in Transportation Service (WTS) 2018 annual Innovative Transportation Solutions Award, which recognized the vastly improved accessibility to the station as well as improved station environment and enhanced presence on Main Street.
More information about the station renewal project is available at AModernLI.com, at this link: http://www.amodernli.com/project/flushing-main-street-station/
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng said: “Today is a great day for Flushing! In 2016, I stood here to unveil new platform railings and signs which were the first phase of this project. And today, I cannot be happier to celebrate the completion of the station’s overhaul. The rehabilitation of the Flushing-Main Street station is a project for which I’ve strongly advocated since it was first announced many years ago, back when I was a member of the New York State Assembly.These long-awaited upgrades will finally modernize this facility and bring it into the 21st century. It will improve passenger safety, enhance the appearance of the station, and make it handicap accessible. The renovations will also help meet the needs of the growing population of Flushing and bring more visitors to the area. I thank LIRR President Phillip Eng and the many LIRR professionals I worked with to make this a reality. I thank them for investing in this important station, and I look forward to these improvements benefiting Flushing for many years to come.”
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said: “Today’s grand re-opening of the LIRR Flushing-Main Street Station is a major milestone for Flushing and for all of Queens. This critical transportation center is now accessible to everyone who travels to and from Flushing, a vibrant and fast-growing community that will benefit from the upgrade to a first-class, fully accessible rail station. The station’s new entryway will also enhance the traveling experience of LIRR riders and will be an attractive and welcome addition to the neighborhood.”
Senator Toby Stavisky said: “For the past fifteen years I have advocated for modernization of the Flushing Main Street LIRR station. We have urged upgrade for safer railings, ADA accessibility, improved signage and an elevator. Today we can celebrate the completion of this long-awaited project. Flushing Main Street is a major commercial hub and deserves a state-of-the-art transportation terminus.”
Assembly Member Ron Kim said: “The much-needed modernization and upgrading of the Flushing LIRR station represents a turning point for our community. Even in the midst of the MTA’s other pressing challenges, it is heartening to know that our community’s transportation infrastructure, and our commuters’ needs, have not been forgotten.
I thank all of the workers, staff, and directors at the MTA who made today possible, and look forward to working with them in the future to better meet the travel needs of all New Yorkers. I know that many residents of Flushing and Queens, including my own family, look forward to our first trip at this new station.”
Council Member Peter Koo said: “At long last, the downtown Flushing community is very excited to cut the ribbon on this new entrance to the Main Street LIRR. Coupled with our recently widened sidewalks and new street vending restrictions, this new entryway will give a contemporary face to one of our community’s most essential transportation options. Thank you to our community elected officials and advocates for pushing for these improvements over the years.”
From the pictures I saw, the rebuilt looks like it was a success. I will try & head out there in the very near future to snap some photos & share them with my readers. Perhaps it will help lead to the relaunching of Eye On Transit which featured the blog Through The Eyes On Transit which happens to be what lead to this very site being created 11 years ago!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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