Casting Stones At Bus Shelters Made Of Glass

Paul Wolf writes (in italics) to Dr. Transit:

1. Bus shelters around here are made of glass, which is silly because every glass panel breaks sooner or later -- perhaps when someone reclines or gets pushed. You can see how the glass bows when people lean on it.

Dr. Transit intends to write a lot more about bus shelters one of these days. I am not against glass in the bus shelters, it looks a lot better than plexiglass, and from a "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design" standpoint, it's good to have transparency.

Probably one of the major things I disagree with Dan Tangherlini about concerns DC bus shelters and their design. DC seems to be committed to a modern design that I liken to C.R.A.P. Whereas the city could do a whole lot better in this area, I think DDOT likes the shelters the way they are. (However, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities has committed to a pilot project to redesign some of the bus shelters on H Street NE. If the project turns out as well as the "Expressive Sign" project from the same agency, we will be well served.)

If we had great bus shelter designs they would add beauty to the streets, and call attention to and promote bus transportation. I said in another blog entry how much I like the Helios bus shelter design on the 21st Century Streetscape online exhibit. (Soon, soon, I will get a camera.) This design is similar to the waiting station on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, which I presume was a trolley waiting station.

Anyway, grand designs are likely to be treated much better than the utilitarian uncomfortable stuff we have now. Philadelphia offers us two examples that I don't have photos of (although I will be in Philly in May if not before and I will take photos). On one of the main drags, maybe Chestnut, they have a series of arty bus shelters that use stained glass as primary elements. The design of the glass portions of each bus shelter is unique--and beautiful.

In the courtyard of Congreso de Latinos Unidos in the Centro de Oro neighborhood, artist Pepon Osorio created a public art installation called “I have a story to tell you,” which recounts stories of the Latino community in Philadelphia. The stories and the photographs that represent them are embedded in the glass walls of "La Casita" (little house), a glass house-structure on the grounds, that is open to the elements 365 days/year/24 hours/day, as well as in two windows in Congreso’s main building. (Congreso is the leading provider of services to Philadelphia’s Latino community.) This is a pretty good interior photo of La Casita.

As soon as I saw this, I thought this would be a great cultural heritage-neighborhood history project for DC. Would people wreck the glass in bus shelters if the glass was imprinted with photos of DC neighborhoods, history, and people? I don't think so. (I raised this idea with Kathy Smith when she was at CulturalTourismDC but she had an even fuller plate than I and it was forgotten about, until Paul's note.)

Plus, the glass Pepon Osorio used is special hardened glass (actually made in Germany) that while not indestructible, is hardened and difficult to break. Rather than get rid of glass, let's get better glass.

[Here are some photos from the Arts in Transit publication from the Federal Transit Administration. They show that there are many examples of great bus shelters around the country that we can learn from.]

Paul also writes:

I wonder what good has come from the giant map stickers. The "you are here" arrows are vague, the legibility is low in the dark, and the map doesn't distinguish routes with 15-minute headway from routes with 45-minute headway. But *perhaps* these maps serve to hold the glass together for a few minutes after it breaks.

Dr. Transit believes that information is the first step to knowledge but that informational bliss isn't enough to change people's behavior. (If all you needed was information, I'd be making the right decisions in all aspects of my life as well as wealthy. I tell you, the "411" isn't enough.)

I will say that I like the bus maps because they demonstrate that there is a system and you can get around the region by bus.

One way to address your good point about headway would be to color-code the various buslines on the map by headway -- i.e., blue = 15 minutes, red=45 minutes, etc.

I haven't yet read the Regional Bus Study from WMATA, but I plan to delve into it later this week. There's also the Downtown Bus Circulator Plan and even the DC Visitor Transportation Study being conducted by the National Park Service. It's enough reading to make Dr. Transit think he needs to take up a different specialty... And, Dr. Transit looks forward to delving into the Transit Waiting Environments publication from Kent State's Urban Design Center.

Dennis Jaffe extracted these points from the report-- After an extensive review of the literature on the operation and design of transit systems, seven central principles were adopted as a basis for suggested improvements:

1. Waiting for the bus should be a comfortable, safe experience.
2. Waiting for the bus should be a predictable experience.
3. Waiting for the bus should be a convenient part of everyday life.
4. Bus stops must be easily identified.
5. Bus stops are a community responsibility.
6. Amenities should be provided at stops serving the greatest number of potential riders.
7. Areas around bus stops should be developed in transit-oriented patterns.

The most important amenities that were identified in the Cleveland study, in order of priority, were:

1. information on bus arrival and the frequency of service
2. lighting
3. shelter
4. seating
5. heating in bus shelters
6. a paved waiting surface
7. trash cans
8. area maps
9. bike racks
10. landscaping