FULLERTON : Amtrak Protests Removal of Benches

Amtrak has protested a City Council decision to remove planters, canopied benches and trees from the city’s train platform, which is used by 330,000 passengers yearly.

In a letter received by the city Monday, an Amtrak official asked for immediate reconsideration of last week’s decision.

The council voted to remove the planters and other structures after a three-hour meeting during which residents argued that the historic Santa Fe Depot should be showcased, not hidden behind what Councilman Chris Norby called an “urban forest.”

Ron Scolaro, the Amtrak administrator who wrote the letter of protest, said he thinks passengers will be robbed of shade and a place to sit.

But Norby, who argued for many of the changes, said Amtrak’s protest is flawed. “Those planters, they block access to the rail line,” he said. “If you’re a rider on the train, you don’t want to negotiate an obstacle course.”

The council in 1990 approved a $750,000 project to renovate the north platform at the Santa Fe Depot. The final design included two planters both more than 50 feet long, palm trees and canopied benches.

One planter was built, but the city halted construction of the second while the council debated the remodeling.

Norby and others said the planters would occupy too much space, and, along with the trees, would obscure the depot.

According to the city staff, the changes approved last week will cost the Redevelopment Agency $85,400.

Norby, however, argued that the city will save money by not having to take care of the trees and will be able to add flower vendors, shoe-shine booths and other businesses to the platform.

Councilman Don Bankhead said he would like to work with Amtrak, but does not know whether the council will reconsider its vote.

Mayor Molly McClanahan cast the only dissenting vote at the council’s meeting last week. She said the platform will be bare and unappealing without the shelters and two large planters.

Only a council member who had voted in favor of the changes can request a reconsideration, McClanahan said.