Upgraded Short Line parking lot filling up fast

MONROE — Thanks to a $125,000 grant secured by state Sen. William J. Larkin Jr., Short Line commuters now have an upgraded parking lot. The newly paved lot, located on Mill Pond Parkway, has 54 spaces and, according to Monroe Mayor James Purcell, is filling up fast. It free to all Short Line commuters, local and non-local. On weekends, the handicapped accessible lot will be open to anybody who wishes to shop in downtown Monroe as long as they have a bus receipt on their windshield or are a regular Short Line commuter. The mayor said village officials met with Larkin last spring and the grant was confirmed in the summer. The grant, part of a private sector agreement, went through a sequence from the Department of Transportation through Short Line. Purcell said the grant money cover everything from the work done by the village’s Department of Public Works to the materials. The final touches, including the landscaping, will be done in the spring. - Claudia Wysocki