New parking garage finally opens at Stamford train station

The garage located at 57 S. State St. has over 900 parking spaces, including environmentally friendly features like 92 electric vehicle charging stations and 50 e-bike charging stations.

John Craven

Feb 26, 2024, 5:40 PM

Updated 262 days ago

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More than 28,000 commuters use the Stamford train station every day – and after more than a decade of delays, they finally have a place to park.
On Monday, a long-awaited new parking garage opened with nearly 1,000 spots and additional space for cyclists.
“IT IS FALLING DOWN”
More than 80% of the existing parking garage, built in 1985, is unusable because it’s literally falling apart.
“I have a piece of concrete floor on my desk in Newington from the old garage, so it is falling down,” said state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “Certain floors are unusable because it’s structurally unsafe.”
That has left riders competing for only 200 spaces.
“There’s not many spots, and it's been being re-done since – jeez, my sophomore year in college?” said Brandon Tuccio, a traveler from Ridgefield.
NEW GARAGE
Monday morning, Gov. Ned Lamont cut the ribbon on a brand-new garage, located across Washington Boulevard from the Stamford Transportation Center. The two structures are connected by an indoor walkway, but for those who want direct access to their train, the garage empties right onto the New York-bound platform.
The garage features 914 parking spots; 92 of them have electric vehicle chargers. There are also 50 places to charge e-bikes and 150 traditional bicycle racks.
“We're adding on 600 additional spaces. It's part of a broader neighborhood expansion,” said Lamont. “You’re going to see the Stew McKinney train station totally upgraded over the next five years as well.”
Pricing will stay the same at the new garage: $1.00 per hour, $8.00 for up to 16 hours for or $10.00 for 24 hours.
YEARS OF DELAYS
The new garage took 11 years to build, mired in fights between the state Department of Transportation and the city of Stamford. During construction, the state ran into months of additional supply chain delays.
“It was a long slog to try and find a way forward – to find the funding to build something like this, where it should be built,” said Eucalitto.
The old garage will come down in March, but Eucalitto said the process could take six months. After that, DOT will solicit proposals to build Transit-Oriented Development apartments and businesses there.