Thursday morning, (June 5th) the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council will be on hand from 6 AM to 10 AM to listen to actual commuters about rail service Metro-North and CT DOT as well as Norwalk officials will be on hand. Maybe even some political flunkies, bloggers and media types. That is because also on hand with be the Norwalk Transit District officials (but only till (9 AM) to gather fedback on proposed changes to the SoNo train station. Multi-purpose feedback missions, at the actual point of usage, the right way to go about these things.
Now onto to the redesign. One would hope that by redesign they mean rethinking the purpose of a train station. For some reason, America has lost its way when it comes to train stations. They used to be multi purpose buildings that encouraged the idea that public space could be inviting and commercial even if you didn’t have anywhere to go. And they make great movie sets. But the modern incarnations seemed to become parking lots with rails. They became all about the car, and people and passengers were lost amongst the ramps.
So if they mean redesign, start with looking at how people, that is pedestrians access the station. Make it a destination for people to hang out and enjoy a café. Dare we say outdoor café? Have room for retail shops, on the scale that works for the newstands, flower shops, giftware, entertainment and other things that make sense for traveling people. Seating is good too. WIFI is really good, but how about some electrical outlets, and yeah you can charge for them, to recharge all those devices we carry? And most importantly, integrate the train station with the rest of SoNo instead of making it look like a fortress. Just a thought.
source: Advocate, Officials hear gripes at city train station, By Chris Gosier, 06/04/2008
