Funding delayed again for Claymont station

Rail commuters will likely wait several more years for restrooms, ticket sales and pedestrian improvements in Claymont, despite making up the largest SEPTA ridership in Delaware behind Wilmington.

Officials recently eliminated funds for Claymont's long-delayed train station from the seven-year budget for state transportation projects, but redevelopment of the shuttered Evraz Claymont Steel site next door could boost the station's prospects.

"It gives us a blank slate. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to redo that train station," said Brett Saddler, executive director of the Claymont Renaissance Development Corp.

"Right now, we have nothing more than a glorified bus shelter and a porta-potty."

Delaware Transit Corp. began preliminary talks this month with St. Louis, Missouri-based Commercial Development Company Inc., which expects to close on the 300-acre Evraz property by month's end.

"There might be some additional funding, and could be some level of public-private partnership with those developers to say, we could both benefit from some of these improvements, whether it's an exchange of land or some other stuff," said John Sisson, chief executive officer of DTC. "How we work it out, I'm not 100 percent sure yet."

Randall Jostes, Commercial Development's CEO, said he discussed the station concept with officials but hasn't seen any renderings or plans yet.

"We are supportive of the idea and look forward to seeing just what would be involved with an expansion," Jostes said Monday. "From a real estate development perspective, mass transportation in the vicinity is a plus."

Popular station

Efforts to upgrade the rail stop date to 1990. Fire destroyed the last train station in Claymont more than 25 years ago.

Located midway between Philly and Wilmington, Claymont averaged more than 1,120 riders a day last year, compared with 2,000 riders at Wilmington, according to SEPTA figures.

"People forget that Brandywine Hundred is actually the largest concentration of population in the state. There's many, many people here working in the Philadelphia metro area," New Castle County Councilman John Cartier said.

"Claymont rail stop is an enormous success. That's despite all its limitations and how inconvenient it is, especially if you're elderly or have mobility issues."

Some commuters drive from southern Pennsylvania or from Wilmington for Claymont's free parking (lots downtown and in Pennsylvania charge for parking).

The rail stop is bounded by I-495 on the west, the Delaware River to the east, and Fox Point State Park to the south. It's connected to the rest of Claymont by a single, two-lane road, Myrtle Avenue.

On weekdays, riders pack the 430-space lot, which serves as "overflow" parking for Wilmington's station. If the main lot is full, motorists must drive back out to Philadelphia Pike and seek street parking along Governor Printz Boulevard Extended. The secondary parking area connects to the main lot by an aging pedestrian bridge over I-495.

"If we had sidewalks and lighting as you walk from the pedestrian bridge to and from Philadelphia Pike, that would really be an improvement," said Jillian Waldman, a teacher at Archmere Academy who commutes from her home in North Philly.

"The path is trash covered and poorly lit. Then, a car crashed at the corner right there two weeks ago, and it's really made me nervous."

Commuters huddle beneath retrofitted bus shelters on the platform to escape storms. A narrow pedestrian tunnel to reach the northbound platform floods during storms, requiring a generator and heavy-duty pumps to make it passable. With no elevators, officials overhauled wheelchair lifts in the tunnel in 2013.

"The lifts are very slow," said Dave Gula, a senior planner with the Wilmington Area Planning Council. "It barely meets basic requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Platform relocation

New riders notice that trains arriving in Claymont lean at a disconcerting angle. That's because the tracks are canted due to the platforms' location along a curve in the railroad line, making for difficult boarding.

"The train leans toward you. It takes a little effort to get up on it because it's leaning so much," said Robert Cameron, who lives in the Ashburn Hills community and takes SEPTA two or three times a week to shop at Reading Terminal Market.

A 2010 study recommended a station building on the northbound side of the tracks, north of the curve.

"That would mean going into the Evraz steel grounds," said Cartier, who represents Claymont.

"When that sale eventually goes through, we could have the real possibility of relocating the rail stop on a straight part of the tracks. I requested of the developer that they make accommodations for relocation of the rail site."

The 2010 study, commissioned by WILMAPCO, also called for high-level platforms, weather-protected canopies on the inbound and outbound platforms, a ticket office, elevators, sidewalks and lighting for pedestrians in the lot and along Myrtle Avenue.

The overall project (without a parking garage) was estimated at $16 million, Gula said.

That estimate doesn't include an additional point of access for the station – potentially through the Evraz site – that would ease congestion along Myrtle and Philadelphia Pike during peak hours. That would be a relief to Pat Bennett and other frustrated neighbors.

"People fly down that road, throw their cars in park and race to catch the train. The scary part is the school kids have to stand there at the entrance to the station to get the school bus," Bennett said.

Station advocates are frustrated by the loss of state funding, but hope to convince officials to restore that support after securing a commitment from Jostes' team.

"That's probably the better approach," said Sisson of DTC. "You don't want to spend a ton of money, then turn around and say, 'Wow, if we'd waited two years, we could have done a better development here.' "

Saddler is optimistic, noting the county is launching a study of transportation in northern Claymont, including the Tri-State Mall area and the potential spin-off effects from an expansion of a former Sunoco Refinery in Marcus Hook.

"Sales at Darley Green [community] are strong. Young professionals are moving in, and we're seeing a ripple effect in other neighborhoods in Claymont," Saddler said. "Few focus areas in the county have the potential for this much growth in such a short period of time."

Officials attempted to apply for a $1.9 million federal grant to fund the station design and environmental studies last year, but technical difficulties delayed the application, said Gula of WILMAPCO, sponsor of the application.

While the project had state and local support, it lacked a financial commitment from New Castle County and, therefore, might not have been competitive nationally. "We sent endorsement letters in, but I don't think we pulled together the matching funds," Cartier said.

The project might be a grant candidate again this year but faces competition from a Wilmington transit project, Gula said.

"We've been so behind in our transportation infrastructure funding that there's a scarcity of capital for transportation projects," said state Sen. Harris B. McDowell III, D-North Wilmington.

"The Claymont station is a primary part of the transportation system in northern Delaware. It should get done."

Contact Melissa Nann Burke at (302) 324-2329, mburke@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @nannburke.

COMMUTER RAIL RIDERSHIP

SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line (R2) service in Delaware began operating to Wilmington in 1989, adding stops in Claymont in 1991, Newark in 1997 and Churchmans Crossing in 2000.

At Claymont, the most northern station stop in Delaware, fire destroyed the train station in the late 1980s. It was closed from 1982 to 1990, with service restored in 1991. Retrofitted bus shelters are in place on the platforms.

Weekday ridership averaged 1,120 last year. Claymont is the busiest train stop in Delaware, behind Wilmington.

Sources: DelDOT, Delaware Transit Corp., WILMAPCO and SEPTA