MTA considers more frequent stops

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority held a hearing last week in Riverdale to gauge public interest in doubling the number of stops trains make at the Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale stations during off-peak and weekend hours.

Metro-North Railroad has proposed implementing half-hourly stops during those times at both stations, and, as a result, will add more Hudson Rail Link feeder buses — which shuttle commuters from the stations to local stops throughout the neighborhood — accordingly. Currently, trains and buses come once an hour during those times. 

Marjorie Anders, spokeswoman for the MTA, said the change stems from am increase in commuters the agency is seeing at both stations. With the addition of the Hudson Rail Link buses, she said, “those stations have really come to life.”

While most of the two dozen or so people who attended the Jan. 23 hearing, held at the Riverdale YM-YWHA, welcomed the increase in service, there were some concerns raised, according to Dan Padernacht, chairman of Community Board 8’s Traffic and Transportation Committee. Residents living close to the stations noted that noise is already a nuisance and some worried that vibrations caused by the additional stops could affect the foundations of nearby buildings.

At the Riverdale station, Mr. Padernacht urged the MTA to consider using smaller Hudson Rail Link buses to help alleviate some of the traffic and air quality concerns on West 254th Street, where hundreds of students attend school at nearby Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy. The larger buses, he explained, present a safety concern to those driving and walking on the sometimes-congested road.

MTA officials did not respond to concerns or requests at the meeting. The agency is required by state law to hold hearings before it increases or decreases service by 25 percent.

Ms. Anders said the new service is expected to begin in April.