‘A much-needed service’
Phone-charging kiosks could be coming to Norwalk train stations
NORWALK — City officials want to make sure railway passengers never have to step foot on a train again with a dead cellphone battery.
With ridership expected to grow in the coming months, the Norwalk Parking Authority is considering installing two free charging stations to power personal electronic devices at each of the city’s two train stations.
Jim Travers, the city’s director of Transportation, Mobility and Parking, called the charging stations “a much-needed service” that will make train travel more convenient for commuters and visitors. He urged the authority at a
meeting last week to approve the purchase of four charging kiosks.
“I think a phone charging station is an amenity that you’ve come to expect,” Travers said, noting that the kiosks are commonly found in airports and other large public facilities.
Metro-North Railroad ridership is still down more than 70 percent from pre-pandemic figures, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but recent data shows ridership has started to inch upward, particularly during the weekdays.
Installing the charging stations is “about emerging from the pandemic being better than what we were before and offering more services than what we had before,” Travers said.
The ridership uptick was reflected in a slight increase in parking transactions at the South Norwalk railroad station last month, according to Stathis Manousos, vice president of LAZ Parking, which manages parking garages on behalf of the city.
Still, more than half of the station’s available parking permits have not been sold. Meanwhile, parking transactions at the East Norwalk station have stayed level for the past few months.
If the charging stations are approved, one kiosk will be placed on each side of the tracks at the South Norwalk and East Norwalk stations. The charging stations will be free for the public.
Travers suggested multiple charging options to the authority, including a wall-mounted station. He recommended the board purchase free-standing
kiosks with digital screens that can display advertisements or messages. The kiosks cost $3,475 each.
In addition to having multiple outlets accesible from both sides of the free-standing station, the Wi-Fi-enabled kiosk has the benefit of being fairly narrow and compact.
“Real estate is pretty tight in the train stations, particularly when they’re going to be busy again,” Travers said.
The authority, which is responsible for managing the city’s 4,000 on- and off-street parking spaces, including parking at the railroad stations, signaled their support for the proposal at last week’s meeting.
Authority Chairman Mike Harden said he approved of the plan to buy four kiosks, but the authority did not settle on a specific charging station to purchase during the meeting. Authority
members are expected to narrow down their available options next month.