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Neighborhoodsby Fern Shen3:15 pmOct 9, 20150

BREW UPDATE: A tale of two train stations

Some definite improvements for passengers, but rusted-out steps in West Baltimore and long-stalled repairs at Penn Station

Above: Steps leading up to the southbound platform at the West Baltimore MARC station.

A severely dilapidated stairway at the West Baltimore MARC train station – so rusted-out you could see daylight through it in places – was the subject of an October 2013 story in Baltimore Brew.

We contrasted the potentially unsafe conditions at this station, located in one of the city’s poorest communities, with the $1 million restoration Amtrak was undertaking at Penn Station near Baltimore’s downtown.

So how do things look two years later? In both places, much improved, but with some lingering problems.

The rust-riddled metal staircase we spotlighted on the east side of the tracks facing the West Baltimore station’s parking lot has been repaired, and a new sturdy-looking wooden one was added.

But the step risers on the west side of the tracks, out of sight of the commuter lot, are rusted-out and see-through, we noticed on our visit there this week.

Meanwhile, improvements are clearly evident at the Beaux Arts Penn Station – there were the renovated restrooms and other new features as well, including an ADA compliant sign showing real-time train status, a video-enabled welcome sign, bike racks, blooming begonias, outside seating and more.

And yet for months, the station’s west entrance, facing Charles Street, has been obstructed by concrete planters blocking off a seemingly-stalled project to repair four steps.

Passengers are directed to walk around and use the front entrance.

Stairway repairs on the Charles Street side of  Penn Station has forced commuters to go around to the front entrance. (Photo by Fern Shen)

This sign on Charles Street directs commuters to the front entrance of Penn Station. (Photo by Fern Shen)

A commuter alerted us to the longstanding nature of the problem.

“The western steps leading to Charles Street from Penn Station have broken for years – rusting and bending when you walk on them – and are the responsibility of the city,” he said.

“A contractor showed up in July – July 4, I’m told – and built a frame for rebuilding the steps. Another contractor was supposed to follow a few weeks later, but according to an Amtrak employee he couldn’t find Penn Station,” he wrote us, adding:

“The stairs are still blocked off three months later, forcing hundreds of passengers a day to detour around them.”

Penn Station Follow-up

Thinking the tipster had it wrong, we contacted the Maryland Transit Administration.

But no, MTA spokesman Paul Shepard told us, responsibility did not belong to the state. “It’s a Baltimore City project,” he said.

From there, it was on to the municipal Department of Transportation, where spokeswoman Adrienne D. Barnes disavowed departmental involvement.

“Not quite understanding why you thought this project belonged to us when it is clearly on private property,” Barnes wrote back.

How the steps leading down from Charles  Street to Penn Station looked earlier this week. (Photo by Fern Shen)

How the steps leading down from Charles Street to Penn Station looked earlier this week. (Photo by Fern Shen)

Finally our inquiry with Amtrak pointed us in the right direction: spokeswoman Chelsea Kopta said the project is the responsibility of the Parking Authority of Baltimore City (PABC).

Turns out back in 2013 Amtrak entered into a Joint Maintenance Agreement with PABC, which operates the basement parking garage. According to the terms of the agreement, this city agency is in charge of on-going upkeep at Penn Station plaza, including the part outside the west entrance.

“We didn’t have responsibility for any of that years ago,” said Tiffany James, PABC’s communications manager. “We thought because it’s affecting our garage we would take it on.”

“Hung-up” by Red Tape

Asked about the west entrance steps, James acknowledged they were in poor condition (“They needed to be replaced for a couple of years.”) and also that PABC’s project to repair them had gotten stalled for months.

“It just got hung up in some red tape in the city with procurement and with Amtrak,” she said.

Asked about the report about a contractor not knowing how to find the train station back in July, thereby stalling the project, she said, “I don’t now anything about that.”

James talked about her agency’s role in the multi-million dollar public investment in upgrading Baltimore’s main train station.

“We’ve done a lot to beautify the outside, we added tables and chairs, there’s programming with Station North,” she said.

Work on the steps will resume this Tuesday, she said, and be completed by the end of the week. She said $15,000 to $30,000 had been budgeted for the project.

West Baltimore Follow-up

As for the West Baltimore station, the MTA’s Shepard had some answers. Asked about the dilapidated steps used by passengers accessing the southbound platform, he said repairing them is “on our list of projects.”

“The MARC maintenance contract was approved at the last Board of Public Works meeting,” Shepard said. “We expect to begin repairs this spring.”

MARC commuters heading south from the West Baltimore station climb these steps. (Photo by Fern Shen)

MARC commuters heading to Washington climb up these rusty steps at the West Baltimore station. (Photo by Fern Shen)

Meanwhile, he described the $500,000 worth of work done in West Baltimore since The Brew’s October 15, 2013 story.

In addition to the repairs to the northbound stairway and addition of the second, wooden stairway there, they replaced broken or damaged areas on both northbound and southbound platforms, he said.

East-facing steps that had been severely rusted-out have been repaired or replaced. (Photo by Fern Shen)

Steps that had been heavily corroded two years ago have been repaired or replaced. (Photo by Fern Shen)

They also updated the lighting with LED fixtures on both platforms, replaced damaged shelters and benches, and installed new signage.

Shepard said MARC in Penn Station has about 3,800 daily riders, with about 800 using the West Baltimore station.

His email didn’t address the fixes they made to another problem highlighted in the original Brew story: A small set of steps leading from the parking lot to Franklin Street appeared to have been eroded underneath to the point where water had opened up a channel below them.

Here’s a photo of the rock and wire mesh fix they have used in that spot.

Franklin Street steps leading down from West Baltimore MARC station. (Photo by Fern Shen)

The Franklin Street steps leading from the West Baltimore station have been much improved. (Photo by Fern Shen)

Another thing we noticed this week that needs some fixing – the wall that supports part of the embankment on Franklin Street used by MARC passengers to access the southbound platform.

The wood timbers are rotting. A couple of them have fallen to the sidewalk. Overall, the wall appears none-too-sturdy as the season of ice and snow approaches.

On the north side of the station, slumping embankment facing Franklin Street. (Photo by Fern Shen)

But a few yards away, this battered wall sits next to the station’s southbound entrance. (Photo by Fern Shen)

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