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New Subway Station to Provide Service to Mitchell Ellington Park

A new Merritt Island Subway Station will provide the next generation of youth soccer and Little League baseball players with a stop within walking distance of Mitchell Ellington Park, near Hall Road. The Thomas Wasdin Subway Station is the first major station addition between the State Road 528/Barge Canal Station and the Space Shirts Station and represents a major undertaking for the county, says Charles T. Harvey, executive director of the Merritt Island Subway Authority.

The delay in announcing the start of the project is due, in part, to a requirement for a high-speed escalator to bring passengers from the train, which runs an average of 75 feet below ground, to the street level, according to Harvey. Vendor delays resulting from a burgeoning number of orders for new condominium escalators and elevators are to blame. 

The entire subway system offers rapid service from the Pineda Causeway in South Merritt Island to the Kennedy Space Station in the north.

Mitchell Ellington Park, designated for a variety of sports, including youth soccer and Little League baseball, was part of a voter-approved referendum for a new park to be operated by the Brevard County Parks and Recreation Department.

Final approval by the Brevard County Commissioners was required to authorize the subway authority to proceed. The measure was approved by a vote of x to 1.

Speaking for the majority, Commissioner Sue Carlson praised the authority for getting the project under way. "With all the responsibilities families have these days it's important for children to be able to get themselves to and from soccer and baseball practices via subway, keeping excessive numbers of car poolers off the roads."
Commissioner Ron Pritchard, who cast the only no vote, is still skeptical about the plan. "Spending county money to finance cheap rides for kids whose parents are going to be driving up to the athletic fields anyway is, in my view, a poor use of taxpayers' money," he says.

Still, it is doubtful that today's soccer players will ever use the transfer station since it is not expected to be completed until 2010. The entire park is slated for completion by June 2007 with the baseball fields in summer 2006, just a little late for this year's baseball season.

The Merritt Island Subway Authority is looking forward to providing safe, low- cost and reliable transportation to the new park. The Merritt Island Subways System is managed and financed through fare revenue and station advertising by the Merritt Island Subway Authority (MISA). For additional information visit www.misubwayauth.org.

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The Small Print: You just knew we’d need to raise a little money to support our Subway System and keep fares low for riders. We’ve got inexpensive month-to-month opportunities for naming a station, adding a station, and transit advertising. E-mail the MISA at advertising@misubwayauth.org or click here to read about advertising.