THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2009
NEWS
5
LAWRENCE
Moore to discuss future of Lawrence train depot
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
Congressman Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) will come to the Lawrence Amtrak depot June 29 to be debriefed about improvements to the depot, as well as the city's plans to take ownership of the station from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway company.
Moore will hear from Mayor Robert Chestnut, representatives from the volunteer group Depot Redux, which works to restore and preserve the historic station, and representatives from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway company, which currently owns the building.
Carey Maynard-Moody, chairwoman of Depot Redux, said her organization asked the city of Lawrence to take ownership of the station, 413 E. 7th St., to ensure its restoration and preservation. Maynard-Moody said city officials, including Chestnut, were reluc
tant to take ownership of the depot because the platform needed to be rebuilt to be wheelchair accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990.
But Chestnut agreed to support a transfer of ownership to the city just before Amtrak announced in March that it was giving the station $600,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus package, to build a new wheelchair-accessible platform for the station. City ownership will make it possible to list the 1955 building in the National Register of Historic Places, allowing the depot to also receive funds for preservation.
Maynard-Moody said Amtrak's investment in the new platform was the most expensive upgrade for the depot. As part of the stimulus package, Amtrak was given $13 billion earlier this year, she said. Maynard-Moody said Amtrak chose to invest
SEE AMTRAK ON PAGE 6
Ryan McGeenev/KANSAN
Tom Alexander, owner of the Americana Music Academy, jams with fellow Lawrence musicians at the Lawrence Amtrak station Saturday night. Musicians played from 11:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., greeting passengers. While some—hope to turn the depot into a popular hangout for performers, a group called Depot Redux is hoping to convince Amtrak to turn the depot over to the city and apply for federal funds to restore the station.
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