<< (As reported in the Chronicle : ) the Caltrain Board voted not to
discontinue Caltrain's Paul Avenue stop. The stop/station is used by a
whopping 10-13 passengers per day. Speaking in favor of the station was
transit guru Amos Brown. The station is in need of $3,600,000* in
maintenance work, say officials, a rather incredible amount to maintain a
station described as '"a pair of rusty metal shelters beside the track at
the bottom of a litter filled ravine accessible only by a flight of 37
wooden steps."
Caltrain is trying to close stations at Atherton and Castro St Mtn View,
which serve more passengers than Paul Ave. >>
The reason the renovation is so expensive is that the station would have to be
brought up to full accessibility standards as required by the Americans With
Disabilies Act. If it's in the bottom of a ravine then we're talking
elevators, ramps, dedicated parking, barrier-free all the way, etc. It
doesn't matter if no one in a wheelchair uses it -- it has to meet the ADA
standard.
For the same reason a number of stations on the Long Island City branch of the
Long Island Rail Road in Queens were closed a while ago. Very light passenger
loads, and very expensive to bring them up to ADA requirements. Most were
little more than asphalt platforms.
Carleton MacDonald