As grand openings go, a parking lot usually isn’t much to crow about. But the new 345-space lot opening Wednesday at Tri-Rail’s Cypress Creek station is different.

For starters, it’s next to the west side of the platform and a much shorter walk for people who carpool or drive to the station.

Before Wednesday, passengers had to park in the I-95 park-and-ride lot on the east side of Andrews Avenue, then cross six lanes of traffic to get to the trains.

“This will be of tremendous benefit to our passengers who drive to the station to catch the train,” said Joseph Giulietti, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail.

Drivers can get to the new lot via Northwest Sixth Way off Cypress Creek Road, the first intersection west of the tracks. There is a separate entrance/exit off northbound Powerline Road, just south of Cypress Creek Road.

There are designated areas for shuttles, taxis and for cars dropping off passengers and a 235-foot pedestrian canopy leading to the station.

Tri-Rail’s free shuttles will now load from the new parking lot.

But Broward County Transit buses will continue to pick up passengers in the park-and-ride lot east of Andrews Avenue. That’s because the bus agency hasn’t been able to obtain permission for its larger buses to use the private drives that lead to the new parking lot, said Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold.

Tri-Rail has been making progress in the last year to boost parking at stations, despite a drop in ridership from previous years when gas prices topped $4 a gallon. Officials think parking demand will continue to grow as ridership rebounds.

In October, Tri-Rail opened its first garage at the Fort Lauderdale Airport station in Dania Beach. A new 30-space lot was recently completed on the west side of the tracks at the Pompano Beach Station.

A parking study in December 2008 found that most of the Tri-Rail stations had reached or exceeded parking capacity. Of the 18 stations, 12 were overcapacity, the study found.

Michael Turnbell can be reached at or 954-356-4155. Follow him on Twitter @MikeTurnpike or Facebook at