The Long Island Committee of the MTA Board today recommended the approval of a plan to repave Long Island Rail Road-owned parking lots parking lots at Little Neck station in Queens and Cedarhurst station and Gibson station in Nassau County at a cost of $1.33 million.

The proposal goes to the full MTA Board for a vote on Wednesday.

“These surface lots at Little Neck, Cedarhurst, and Gibson stations have reached the end of their useful life and require new asphalt surface, striping, site work, and signage, “ said LIRR President Patrick A. Nowakowski, who outlined the three projects as follows:

Little Neck Station (Estimated Cost: $763,000)

This LIRR-owned 111-space commuter lot, which is managed by a third-party parking operator, is located on the south side of the station.

Cedarhurst Station (Estimated Cost: $260,000)

This 47 space parking lot on the north side of the LIRR right-of-way, is owned by the LIRR and operated by the Village of Cedarhurst through a parking program agreement.

Gibson Station (Estimated Cost: $310,000)

A 44-space lot is located on the north side of the station, is owned by the LIRR and operated by the Village of Valley Stream through a parking program agreement.

“All three parking lots are fully utilized and we have received some customer complaints regarding conditions,” said Nowakowski. “Although we have made some temporary fixes, it is replacement time at all three sites.”

Nowakowski said the projects include milling, re-grading, repaving and restriping, and replacement of parking and signage in accordance with the latest requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

At Little Neck Station, the work will also include a new sidewalk around the station building, new curbing along the southern border of the lot, new signage and other enhancements (drainage, new guardrail, and installation of ballast between edge of platform and the north side of parking lot.) At Cedarhurst, two new parking spaces as well as new wheel stops, curbing, guardrail, signage and new sidewalk with two curb cuts for ADA access. At Gibson, the project will also include replacement of deteriorated guardrail, new bollards and modification of the existing concrete ADA ramp to meet code requirements.

Parking fees are not charged at Cedarhurst and Gibson and that will remain the case. At Little Neck, where there is a fee, no increase is anticipated.

Funding for these projects is from the MTA Capital Program via the New York State Transportation Bond Act of 2005 and will be implemented through MTA's Small Business Mentoring Program (SBMP), which allows MTA agencies to award smaller non-federally funded public works contracts to small business firms participating in the program.

In recent years, the LIRR has rebuilt parking lots at the following stations: Laurelton and Kew Gardens in Queens; Merillon Ave. and Lawrence in Nassau County; and Stony Brook, Ronkonkoma and Montauk in Suffolk County. Total Cost: $4 million. Additionally, the LIRR built a 920-space parking Wyandanch Parking Facility in Suffolk - part of the Wyandanch Rising community development for $29 million.

For Additional Information

Detailed information about parking at each of the LIRR’s stations is available on the MTA LIRR website at http://lirr42.mta.info/stations.php. Click on the station you want. On the station page, you will find a link to a PDF that features parking information. Help is also available from the LIRR’s Customer Service Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and saying: Long Island Rail Road. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, use your preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach the LIRR at 511.

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