Rail Park
Juror summary: creatively proposes a model in Port Jefferson for adaptive reuse of surplus rail yards and train cars for new community and arts programs.
Long Island downtown centers such as Port Jefferson Station owe their existence to the rail line; their identity and fortunes are entwined with it. But the rail corridor is divisive and unattractive. It acts as a boundary and an impediment to the stimulus the town needs to be lively and have a growing economy. The character of rail operations in these urban centers must be re-evaluated, the impact objectively assessed, and interventions made so that the rail space itself becomes a positive catalyst for the area.
This proposal seeks to reclaim land currently given over to underutilized and disruptive track infrastructure, creating a linear activity armature that allows for recreation, art, and commerce centered on repurposed and re-imagined rail cars. This takes place in the corridor to the east of Main Street and is made possible by ending passenger rail service on the west side of Main Street. No longer subject to regular rail corridor traffic, Main Street activity can freely expand to the south. The new rail station, appropriately marking the railroad terminus, is the centerpiece of new transit-oriented development and incorporates multi-modal connections such as to the ferry service to the north. This development forms a new, denser core of mixed-use activity, elevating the town center to a higher level of use on the transect scale while invigorating the historic Main Street.
The new Rail Park corridor is animated by a rotating collection of rail cars re-purposed for a wide variety of programs. The rail cars move on two tracks left in place, while a landscaped trailway for pedestrian and bike traffic occupies the majority of the corridor. Platforms provide pedestrian access to the cars; docking buildings provide utility infrastructure. Passage along the corridor culminates at the former MTA storage yard, now a center where the community can interact with artists and engineers who adapt rail equipment for use and display in the Rail Park or anywhere in the country.
Key themes: cultural capital and the arts, transit-oriented development (TOD), landscape improvements, adaptive reuse
Collaborators: Mike Prattico, Tom Castelein, Jim Durfee, Bergmann Associates