How to request a bus shelter?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know whether there is a process by which one can request a shelter to be erected at a particular bus stop? Is this something one would do through the city, or through the MBTA? I could not find any specific info on this topic at mbta.com.

Possibly this would be a futile exercise, but I'd like to give it a try anyway. In case anyone cares, the bus stop in question is at the corner of Highland Ave and Central Street, on what I guess you'd call the northwest corner, next to the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot. There's no shelter at that bus stop whatsoever, and it is not a fun place to stand when the weather is cold and/or wet. Like, uh, say, this morning when I waited almost half an hour for the 88.

Also, whose bright idea was it to make all the bus-stop benches out of metal, so that anyone dumb enough to sit on such a bench in cold weather will almost literally freeze their butt off? You don't have to answer this one; it's rhetorical. ;)

Comments

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Since I stand there every morning (well, across the street in front of the DD) I concur a bus stop would be nice. I notice a lot of people waiting in the DD and then quickly trying to run and cross the street to get a bus towards Davis Square. Doing that is always a 50-50 chance of making it depending on the traffic and how much of a risk to life and limb you are willing to take.

I'd suggest going to MBTA.com and seeing who the regional manager is for the 88 bus. That person's email address is online and you can tell them that. If enough people complain, perhaps they will do something.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

BTW, I checked. Here is the manager in charge of the 88 route:

Glenn Ringdahl
Superintendent
Bennett Bus Garage
21 Arlington Ave.
Charlestown, MA 02129
By email: BennettSuperintendent@mbta.com

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

And how fun was it to climb over huge piles of snow and ice to then stand in the road to actually get *on* the bus, once it came?

This morning there was a tiny indent that people had helpfully trampled, but yesterday, there was no such thing and I literally had to jump a huge snowbank!

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yesterday I couldn't handle it so I drove to Davis instead. Which still resulted in having to climb over huge piles of snow and ice, of course.

This morning, like you said, there was an indent. And the bus driver very kindly stopped the bus so that the door was perfectly aligned with the indent. But still, the 20-minute wait for that bus, in the freezing cold with a heavy toddler in arms, was not a fun time.

[ckd]

I think it's per-city, and usually based on a contract with a company to put them up and maintain them in exchange for the ad revenue. This is why Boston's bus shelters are by Wall, and Cambridge/Somerville's are by Cemusa.

Try the city first, I think.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

They're made of metal because wood gets wrecked too easily, and stone costs more and will freeze your ass just as much.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

yeah, I thought of that, but they do have wooden benches at some of the bus stops in Cambridge, I'm pretty sure. And it seems to me if there were a shelter over the bench, it would at least last longer. And what about various types of sturdy plastic?

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I don't think they've managed to come up with a plastic that endures like metal. Also, plastic does tend to look a little cheap.

[pooka-madness.livejournal.com]

They may look cheap, but plastic benches can be made from environmentally-friendly post-consumer materials, a fact that would no doubt please hippie Somer-villains.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it probably would.

So what? ;-)

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

I think that your elected officials may be able to help you on this, or at least help point you in the right direction. I'd include calling your ward alderman on your list of things to try.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about the stop at the corner of Highland Ave and Central Street being very exposed to the elements. I wait for the bus nearby at another exposed area on Highland Ave.

I believe the shelter project was handled by the city's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. They probably determined where to put shelters not only by the frequency of use of various stops but the feasibility of the footprint (which is why say the popular stop by Dunkin' Donuts in Davis Sq got a bench and not a shelter). The shelters have been a wonderful benefit to many stops in areas which have less frequent bus service than the #88. I suppose lot of stops on Highland did not get shelters because the shelters would obstruct pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk.