December 20, 2006
Gimme Bus Shelter: New Shelters Shine
Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the first new bus shelter from the billion-dollar street furniture contract with Cemusa. The shelter, located at Queens Boulevard and 82nd Avenue, is made out of stainless-steel and tempered glass (both the walls and the roof) and was designed by Grimshaw Architects. Some more details from Cemusa:
- Each bus shelter will include bench seating. The bench is vandal-resistant and designed to prevent reclining.We can't wait to see one ourselves, but what we really like is the illuminated map inside the shelter - that's much better than the ones outside that get faded and are hard to read because they are facing the street and you basically have to step into the street to laugh at the schedule.
- The bus shelters display the name of the bus stop in prominent letters that can be read by approaching passengers. An illuminated interior side panel will display customer service information such as bus route maps.
- The design of the bus shelter ensures meaningful protection from the elements. Specifically designed to prevent any blind spots, the bus shelter provides excellent visibility for added security.
- The components of each bus shelter are made from recyclable materials that are free from pollutants and will have minimal impact on the environment.
According to the Department of Transportation, 650 new bus shelters will be installed by the end of September 2007, along with 110 new news stands. The city is also wondering where to put the first of the 20 new public toilets. From the NY Sun:
The toilets should debut by June, officials said, noting that the city has been pursuing them since 1978.We cannot wait for the first public toilet to be unveiled by the Mayor - maybe he'll be the first to use it!The long wait prompted a slightly off-color riff by Mr. Bloomberg: "It would be tasteless and I would never make a joke about squeezing your legs for that long a period of time," the mayor said to laughter.
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Just wait until all the glass is covered in the grime of the city air - like my windows one day after the window washers' annual visit.
Supposedly the maintenance people will visit them once a week.
Really, making expensive bus shelters like this is foolish. They're nothing but targets for vandals and graffitists. Absolute folly.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Will Gothamist throw a party to celebrate when these get filled up with graffiti?
there's also one installed on Queens Boulevard and 67th Avenue. It was erected in a span of about 5 days or so to replace one that had been severly damaged and removed in the summer. Although I rarely take the bus, it's a definite welcome to the drab sidewalk I cross every day.
A new shelter was being installed at 118th and Amsterdam this morning.
I applaud the idea that the new shelters were designed to prevent blind spots, but the edgeless glass panel near the stop name column looks rather dangerous. I can imagine a person with poor sight easily walking into it.
I think its like, hella lame that these shelters are going up first in Queens before being built in the Village.
Like, omg
Even tempered glass won't survive rocks thrown by vandals. Too bad, because these things look beautiful.
They installed new ones at 114th and 116th and Amsterdam as well. They look nice and the contractor, which is used in much of Europe, promises to keep them graffiti free. The top part also looks like it can house a digital screen for bus tracking info once the system goes live.
They look very nice, but they don't look like they actually give much shelter. The space between the roof and the side panels will probably let a lot of rain into the shelter space. The illuminated bus map is pretty damn awesome though.
ok so there going to be vandalized. we all know that but why should we let things go to $hit because of others? it's about time something like this is happening and personally we should all want them to stay beautiful. NY deserves this.
bad idea- those giant windows are going to get etched up by writers and be way more expensive for the squares to replace than a new coat of paint over some drippy marker tags. what a waste of money.
Looks Fragile.
Under the contract, Cemusa is responsible for maintenance and graffiti removal, not the city.
Well the great thing s that the contractor is responsible for maintenance and cleaning-- not the city-- so if their design is flawed, they will ahve to pay the price by replacing the glass panes. I personally like this system.
why would anyone think that these new shelters would be anymore marked up than the old ones? they're aesthetically beautiful and still serve their function; shelter.
Chicago updated their street furniture a few years ago with a contract from French company JC Decaux. While a bit sturdier looking than Cemusas they also use quite a lot of glass. Although prone to taggers and etching, the company has been super diligent about replacement and upkeep, but I think they keep all advertising revenue.
Like Tim said, the Chicago bus shelters are pretty well kept. I know when they first started installing them, everyone was like "Glass? Yeah, like that will last!" Surprisingly they have.
Like those things are going to survive the graffitists and vandals. Until you coat them with mylar so the graffiti can be peeled off, and post a guard 24/7, which won't happen, those things are DOA.
www.forgotten-ny.com
They look nice, but the design of these shelters really doesn't say New York City. I thought the current trend in NYC streetscape design was the early 20th century "retro look".
The bus shelter shown in your picture looks like it belongs in Toronto or something.
The bus shelter in my neighborhood seems to be smashed just about every week. I wonder how long these will last.
Of course they look nice. They're new. Give it one night.
I hope Gothamist posts a photo the first time an awesome streetartist scratches or sprays their tag on one of these.
The bus shelters are very sleek and modern. I like! As for the "giant windows," they're nicer than the current "giant platic windows" we have, so what are some of you complaining about?! I take the bus, and I'll appreciate the mod feel futuristic feel.
These are going up along the western end of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. They're almost complete at Atlantic/Court, Atlantic/Clinton and Atlatic/Hicks.
could they spare 2 fucking benches? do the people who design these things actually ever wait for a bus??? let us sit down! loosers.
this is great. will the mta also tell the bus drivers to stop in front of the shelter, instead of several yards beyond the shelter, where we realize there is already another huge crowd of people waiting at the pole? I hate that. Who gets priority, the shelter waiters or the pole waiters?
Can we have some kind of standardized bus waiting/riding system now?
I agree ... 1 bench? Ridiculous. And it really doesn't look any more innovative than any other bus shelter in New Jersey. I just uses more sleek and modern material.