Check out this $1 million bus stop

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1. Yvette Hurt
   

   Check out what we're doing in Lexington KY at http://www.art-in-motion.org. Enhanced bus stops don't have to be this expensive and they bring huge benefits to transit riders and the community as a whole. Here in Lexington, we have a program called Art in Motion which has built 4 bus shelters that incorporate public art, both sculpture and art murals, for less than $150,000 (for all four shelters combined). We have plans to build 5 more with a combination of grant funds and private funds. By partnering with our transit system, Lextran, and other public and private organizations, we have been able to accomplish a lot with a relatively modest amount of money. Lextran doesn't contribute any more dollars to these "art shelters" than it would spend on a prefabricated plexi-glass shelter, yet ends up with a structure made of high quality materials that will last for decades, is designed to weather well, and incorporates public art by local artists. In fact, everything from the design, to the construction, to the signage for these shelters is done locally, keeping these dollars in our local economy. An added benefit: art shelter programs around the country that normally build transit shelters with advertising have found that shelters that incorporate art are far less likely to be vandalized, thus saving money from the cost of replacing glass, etc. Most people respect and appreciate public art whereas advertising seems to attract graffiti artists. These stops do not have digital read out displays like the DC shelter although Lextran does have a smart phone app and has started a program to test these displays at certain stops.

   April 2, 2013 at 12:23 pm | Log in to Reply