Amenities, please

Wednesday’s 50 year celebration of Amtrak’s Illinois Zephyr was another reminder that Quincy needs some serious upgrades to its station at 30th and Wismann Lane.

Some improvements have been made. There’s more parking, better lighting and wider sidewalks as you approach the train, but it still needs some other features.

Quincy Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Holly Cain and her staff provided coffee and cookies this morning as people boarded the train. Cain said she would’ve loved to have had a marching band there, but thought it was a little early for the kids. With them having to had been there by 5:30 am., that was probably a good call. The other stops on the line had better logistics to celebrate the occasion.

But coffee should be there EVERY morning, not saying that Holly Cain needs to be the one serving it at 5:45 a.m. daily.

If some entrepreneur doesn’t want to try a coffee, donut, bagel cart out there, how about a coffee machine? Better than nothing.

The grassy southeast corner of the 30th and Wismann intersection, which is owned by GatesAir, would be a great place for a C-store, although Niemann’s does have a Haymakers at 24th and Locust and there is a Casey’s at North 24th. Those aren’t that far.

Oh, and restrooms…especially after all that coffee.

These are certainly much more feasible than the wish list item of a downtown train station, especially with all of the other items on the Downtown Dream list.