Parking at Lancaster PA Station

Article in yesterdays newspaper for anyone interested.

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/609622_Train-riders-get-parking-deal.html

Color me confused.

First, the head of the local transit agency drives to the Amtrak station, then complains he can't find a place to park. Next, we find he's not even going there to catch a train...instead, he has a "meeting." If parking there is so notoriously bad, why schedule a meeting there? Or why not, I don't know, take a BUS?

But assuming he didn't gin up the story for the sake of his argument, let's examine the solution he proposes:

He wants commuters to pay more than $50 a month for the privilege of parking a mile away from the train station. Seriously? I mean, yeah there's a shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes during the morning rush, providing relatively easy connections to most of the morning Philly-bound trains. But good luck catching that shuttle back to the garage if your train gets back to Lancaster after 6 p.m, as most Philly commuters would do. So it's either a 10-block walk back to your car, or take a taxi. (None of the transit agency's other bus routes provide a logical connection.) Plus, that shuttle is only free to monthly pass-holders, so the whole arrangement has little appeal to occasional riders.

Anyhow, I know it's not the transit agency's responsibility to find a solution to Amtrak's parking problems, but this arrangement stretches credibility to the point that it's at risk of scaring away train riders. ("Didja hear parking there is so bad you have to park a mile away from the station?")

What you want him to take a bus? Are you kidding me....."Do as I say and not as I do".

I think parking has gotten better at the station since they did some work there. Before the work there would be zero available parking spots. About two weeks ago I was able to get a parking spot in mid morning and there were actually about a dozen empty. Still I think they need to increase parking, maybe with aquiring additional property or building a parking structure there.

Parking is one of the biggest issues that I think affects Amtrak.

This thread brings to attention the poor and/or expensive parking conditions that exist at or near most Amtrak stations. Sure you can park near NYP, at PHL, or WAS but on LD trips that require long term parking, you'll end up paying through the nose for it. Fees of $25/day are not uncommon. At other stations like ALX parking spaces are extremely limited and spaces mostly sold to monthly commuters. At Atlanta station there is NO parking. People close by can take a cab but where can people that travel a far distance park?

When we travel we often journey down the line sometimes for 100 miles or more to locate a station that offers parking at a reasonable price. As Amtrak continues to grow it will become more important for them to post all available parking options at each station on their website. Very little is currently listed there and that has to negatively affect new ridership.

Lancaster is probably a good example of a prime tourist denstination where the parking is bad, there is no rental cars close to the station, and the public transportation is poor.

I was at LNC on Tuesday... Didn't see the parking lot.. Not to mention where in the world do you have a meeting there?? Is there a ton of places Riders don't see?? Cause it's not that big of a station for passengers.. Couldn't tell you as far as employees goes.

But seriously?? Park a mile away for $55 a year... You don't know when the money is pulled... Didn't see that in the article.. But who in there right mind would want to walk a mile to get to there train?? I know I would IF I had to.. This is something I'd do once or twice a year.. Not often though.. If I did this I'm likely to grab my bike to the station

I am sure there are some back of house offices where there may be a conference room. Maybe it was just a one on one meeting in somebody's office.

A solution would be the hotel behind the station is closed and it is going to be torn down. If they extend the waiting down after it gets over the track it would open right up into that property. Build additional parking there with a new hotel and a car rental place, that would solve many problems with this destination.

dlagrua said:

At Atlanta station there is NO parking.

Click to expand...

$9/day in covered parking only a block away is "NO parking"? It's a shorter walk than at the airport!

Post on this site

me_little_me said:

dlagrua said:

At Atlanta station there is NO parking.

Click to expand...

$9/day in covered parking only a block away is "NO parking"? It's a shorter walk than at the airport!

Post on this site

Click to expand...

This only goes to show how poor the dissemination of parking information is between Amtrak and the rail passenger. Most recently I've started using a website called parkopedia.com to find parking. Its ridiculous; you want to take a rail trip and you struggle to find affordable and available parking.

dlagrua said:

me_little_me said:

dlagrua said:

At Atlanta station there is NO parking.

Click to expand...

$9/day in covered parking only a block away is "NO parking"? It's a shorter walk than at the airport!

Post on this site

Click to expand...

This only goes to show how poor the dissemination of parking information is between Amtrak and the rail passenger. Most recently I've started using a website called parkopedia.com to find parking. Its ridiculous; you want to take a rail trip and you struggle to find affordable and available parking.

Click to expand...

Agree. Amtrak tells you at any station how many short term and long term spots there are. They need to elaborate on this more with costs and a statement on how full a particular stations lot gets. For example at Lancaster, PA they could say somethink like: "Parking typically is near capacity on weekdays from 8-5. Also, they should have backup locations to park and how far it is from the station. It is difficult to find information on parking at any station.

In addition they should have information on other transit options. For example: Taxi service is typically available at station, local bus or other public transit options, and the readibility of rental cars. Any service close to the station should be listed on Amtrak's website.

The chief problem at the Lancaster Amtrak station is not just a lack of parking (which is really a common problem at commuter train stations nationally). The chief problem is a lack of additional stations. Lots of Philly-bound passengers would be better served by a station east of the city, and there's no shortage of logical places to put it. Unfortunately the last attempt at putting a station in the vicinity of Leaman Place got bogged down in bureaucracy. A station east of the city would siphon off some of the pressure on Lancaster station as well as providing options for new riders. Meanwhile to the west of Lancaster, the nearest station is Mount Joy which has virtually no commuter parking, IIRC.

I beleive Mount Joy has a few parking spots but not many. Mount Joy is about 12 miles west of Lancaster. Then with fairly short distances you have Elizabethtown and Middletown.

East of Lancaster is Parksburg which is about 25 miles from Lancaster. This is the longest stretch on the Keystone with no stations. Having the a station in this area would benifit both commuters to Harrisburg and Philadelphia as well as the Amish that use the train. Lehman Place was chosen so it could have a connection with Strasburg Railroad which would essentially make a passenger connection to Strasburg for tourism to the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. I think it would have been a great idea but I think they need to look at another location in that area for a station.