Tri-Rail’s burgeoning ridership puts pinch on parking
July 20th, 2008
By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR
Officials at the South Florida Regional Transit Authority – operator of Tri-Rail trains – are watching with big smiles as ridership takes a dramatic upward turn.
But the higher numbers also have a down side. Parking at the stations along the 72-mile rail route from Mangonia Park to Miami is being stretched – to and sometimes beyond the limit, said SFRTA Marking Director Bonnie Arnold.
“We’ve got some overcapacity” at some lots, she said. The West Palm Beach train station – served by Tri-Rail, Amtrak and Greyhound Bus – fills up fast.
With fuel prices going through the ceiling, Tri-Rail is experiencing some of the highest ridership figures in its history. Arnold said the number of people hopping trains is now exceeding 15,000 a day.
“This is the middle of summer,” she said. “We don’t have school children riding. But the fall, we anticipate 16,000 to 17,000 riders a day.”
Among parking lots in South County, Arnold said, the Boca Raton station on Yamato Road “is doing OK,” she said. The Delray Beach depot “is quite full.”
She said Tri-Rail has reopened an 80-space lot at the Lake Worth station – one that had been closed due to construction.
The authority is also considering putting a new lot on a grassy area west of the West Palm Beach station. That, she said, could hold about 70 cars.
Even with the growing numbers of people opting for the trains, she said the stations in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach normally have spaces available. Still, other parking areas are so full that Tri-Rail is thinking about putting up garages.
“There’s a possibility we could put one up in Mangonia Park,” said Arnold. “We are putting a new lot in Pompano Beach,” on the west side of Tri-Rail headquarters.
What to do about parking has become a priority item, she said. “It comes up at every board member.”
In the meantime, officials watch ridership climb. The number of passengers in June, Arnold said, “was up 43 percent over last year.”
“People are finally realizing they can ride for a month for $60 – if a company has a discount program,” she said. “I can barely fill up my gas tank for that.”
Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com.
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