Guerrilla Architecture: Bus Shelters in Raleigh

CR
09/22 05:03 AM

I love this idea.  It is infuriating to me that there are so few dignified places to catch a bus in this town.  It only adds to the stigma of public transportation being only for those of us who can’t afford cars.

RaleighRob
09/22 05:15 AM

Love the idea, though some looked more functional than others.  And I can understand why the bucket one was removed…not something I’d want in my neighborhood. 
But others looked very good—the blue one at Hargett & Camden and the Edenton at Blount one both look like real shelters that I would have assumed CAT installed.

Rob
09/22 05:41 AM

I asked about bus shelter/benches to the lady in charge of the CAT bus line and she stated that they would rather put their money towards bus repairs or possibly more buses. She stated that it was very costly to build a bus shelter to code.

bryan bell
09/22 05:51 AM

Way to go guerillas.  Nice work.

CR
09/22 06:57 AM

How do you guys feel about bus shelters with advertising on them?  I’ve heard that the shelters could end up being almost free if ad space is sold to pay for them.  I know this isn’t the most attractive or artistic look, but it is certainly better than standing on a patch of grass along a busy road.

Betsy
09/22 07:12 AM

Anyone who is concerned about this issue should remember that City Council elections are coming up on October 6. 
-
This is your best chance to influence whether bus stops have shelters and other necessities, and what they look like (whether local artists and architects are invited to be part of the solution).

oakcity
09/22 07:26 AM

there was a plan for raleigh to work with a company that would provide shelters in exchange for letting them use the shelters for advertising. basically raleigh would’ve gotten free shelters.

NCDOT put the clampdown on that idea, as advertising “does not belong on the roads” but you can get wet or die of sun stroke, but god forbid there is advertising.

arthurb3
09/22 07:28 AM

I don’t ride the bus because it would take me all day just to get to work from SE Raleigh to RTP by the airport. I would love to work downtown but the sucks when compaired to RTP. I do agree that every bus stop should have atleast a bench if not a full shelter.

Robert Woodard
09/22 08:22 AM

The nicest bus shelter in Raleigh is over on Glenwood at Harvey. Left over from the days when the trolleys went by there. Of course, the ridership in that particular hood is low, but atleast the robber barons of Raleighs’ maids don’t have to wait for the cross-town bus in the rain.

Drew B
09/22 08:43 AM

I’ve been a fan of the one at Hargett & Swain for a while, but somehow never spotted the one at Hargett & Camden. Nice to know that there are so many of these and thanks to those setting them up.

George Smart
09/22 10:38 AM

We’ve got photos of various Triangle shelters at www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/shelters.htm.  No bus shelters, but quite a few others.

f
09/22 11:56 AM

I know it is easy to criticize the lack of shelters and benches at Raleigh bus stops, but keep in mind that, at my last count, Raleigh has approximately 1,700 bus stops.  At ~$300 a pop, plus installation, for benches and ~$5,000 for a bus shelter, it would be quite costly to furnish each stop with such amenities (not to mention the cost of upkeep over the life of such amenities and the routine vandalism of many stops).  The Raleigh Transit Authority has set a policy to allocate such amenities equitably based on boarding counts at all stops. I think it is 10 boardings per day for a bench and 20-25 for a shelter. Where bus stops are located within the right of way adjacent to private property, property owners must grant the City an easement for the installation of benches/shelters.  As you can imagine, this often comes down to “not in my front yard” sentiments (by both home owners and business owners).  The City has been proactive over the past 6 years or more by requiring transit easements along the frontage of properties as development plans are reviewed by staff.  Easement or no easement, though, the counts need to justify the expense.  Our transit system basically runs as a business that is always operating in the red and Federal/State/Local dollars only go so far.  Raleigh has done a good job of adding additional buses (and maintaining aging buses) to ensure that buses run earlier/later in the day as well as more frequently.  One should also consider the infrastructure we are facing: many bus stops don’t have sidewalks or are set close to the road w/o much room for such amenities (embankments, gullies where curbs are absent, etc.).  These stops are often in older neighborhoods that were developed before sidewalks were required, when development was decidedly more focused on planning for automobiles than buses/pedestrians. Basically, between the limited budget, an infrastructure constrained by property rights/topography/geometry, and the high cost of maintenance, I imagine that it becomes too costly to install amenities at every bus stop.  The guerilla shelters in this story are certainly eye-catching but what happens when they start to break down and require maintenance?  Also, from a liability perspective, are they fastened such that they will hold up to high winds, ice, rain, etc so that they don’t fail and injure a passenger waiting for a bus or a passer-by?  Standards regarding both ADA and safety are in place for a reason.  If Raleigh is hungry for more bus shelters (or even more variety in their design) I think it would be most effective to work with the Transit Authority to find a way that the public can work with the City to do this.  I think most people can appreciate creative problem-solving and if the City is involved in the conversation, it can be a win/win.  Until then, I have some words of wisdom after riding the CAT bus 500+ times since 2003: keep a folding umbrella (for both sun and rain), bottled water, something to fan yourself with, and a pair of sunglasses in your commuting bag at all times and you will be able to manage your comfort far better than standing at a bus stop in full sun or rain holding a grudge.  It’s not that bad!  I promise.

Y&C
09/22 12:15 PM

“crafty”

Fred
09/22 12:27 PM

@f -
I hear you about grudge-holding non-ridership. Too many people complain without ever sucking it up and really trying to make the bus work for them. I’ve heard too many people who just won’t make the small mental effort needed to ride even in the best of physical situations.

However, I have to take issue with your point that “our transit system…is always operating in the red.” If we apply this same logic to our system of accommodations for trucks and personal automobiles, all roads would be toll roads (and the tolls wouldn’t be cheap), or gas taxes and property taxes for automobiles would be orders of magnitude higher than they are.

Why do we always expect mass transit to pay for itself, when we don’t expect the same for personal cars or trucks?

f
09/22 12:40 PM

Fred: Yes! I agree. Transit deserves more funding overall regardless of revenue generated by the fare box and shouldn’t be held to a different standard.  Right on.

Fred
09/22 12:49 PM

@f:
Huzzah!

Sam
09/22 12:50 PM

I saw one the other day and it made me grin big time. It’s not about criticism, it’s about being proactive. These shelters seem to make a pretty good commentary on the state our CAT ridership. I really like the art like quality and variety. They remind me of the Vollis Simpson Whirligigs that used to be by Moore Square. Now if we can see a shot of people using them… Guerrilla On!

f
09/22 01:19 PM

Oh!  Today is World Car Free Day, by the way, and September 28th is the kickoff for ‘Try Transit Week’ in the triangle area. Check out the City’s web site for more info: http://raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_411_208_0_43/http;/pt03/DIG_Web_Content/news/public/News-PubAff-_Try_Transit_Week__Begin-20090917-13183931.html

f
09/22 01:20 PM

Oops.  That link didn’t work. Try this: http://tinyurl.com/kwqes7

bryan bell
09/22 02:15 PM

Happy Face,

If somehow you assume that each shelter costs $5,000, and you invoke the liability kill-all, then yes, what you say is true. (I think—I just kind of skimmed it all.) And if you walk around with umbrellas and water at all times, then you are well prepared. (Matches?) But what if these are just the smallest of gifts for those who are not so well prepared at all times: a touch more shade on a hot day; a little less rain in a deluge. (Did you have your umbrella today at 4:00?) I don’t see any ADA violation except for the bucket seats. (I get it, bucket seats.) And I don’t see any property rights violations as they all touch down through the existing signs or poles. I think one point made well here is that creativity can do more to help out in day-to-day lives than we let it,(such as ways to provide bus shelters besides the 3-sided glass box.) You do provide a good list of why we don’t let it. What is the [public] good of creativity after all? Maybe these just help one person, one time, in one way.

I am sure there is some public contribution made by Barrel Monster (#1 and #2), but I’ll take these for my limited bang for the buck. Spark Con please take note and don’t be seduced by front page news.

f
09/22 02:35 PM

BB—My intentions are: to illustrate reasons why Raleigh doesn’t have bus benches/shelters at all bus stops; suggest how interested artists could work w/ the City to start a dialogue and hopefully build & install more permanent crafty structures; and how one has personal agency in creating comfort at a bus stop if they plan ahead on days they will be riding the bus, based on my own experience.  And yes, a small folding umbrella is always in my bag and on days I know it will rain, I pack the golf-sized version.

Brian
09/22 06:51 PM

Stimulus money?!

anon
09/23 09:11 AM

It’s so encouraging to see this kind of activity going on and being well-received!  A friend and I had submitted a proposal for IdeaSPARK and were turned down. 
It was titled “Design as a Small Gift” and this was our 45 word summary:  We will present design solutions to everyday issues in our communities, done without recognition or compensation.  We will advocate for small acts with big impacts. We will show positive change through design made without large budgets and endless resources. 
Obviously we were disappointed and questioned why these ideas weren’t as valued as other entries.  But now we’re really excited to see this guerrilla architecture that is a perfect example of the types of actions we wanted to advocate, and to read the interest and debate that has been sparked (yes, SPARKed) by them.

zack
09/23 03:21 PM

Any kind of art is good for Raleigh. Thank god I don’t ride the bus anymore tho. lol

si
09/23 04:16 PM

I am really excited to see design activism in Raleigh, and I think that this sort of public dialogue is healthy.
I am however disappointed that this debate has apparently led to the removal of the shades and shelters. I first noticed a few of them over a month ago, but after a day of internet blogging, they will no longer be able to serve the public.
Why should these gifts to the people of Raleigh be taken away? Hopefully the debate will continue and designers will continue to find new ways to give back to the public.

jp
09/23 04:24 PM

apparently Raleigh says “either we do it or no one does it…..oh, and we won’t do it”

funny how ‘public’ government property is treated as private property

guerilla
09/24 08:51 AM

Don’t worry, we are already planning our next action. Perhaps bike racks.
If you have any suggested locations for one, or suggestions for any other
public design needs that could use some small assistance, please post any
suggestions here.  I assure you we are all reading this and interested in public input.

np
09/24 09:49 AM

if you are serious about seeking input… perhaps make your next round consistently more functional. the blue one had the most potential, although some was lost due to it’s small size and proportion (would it really protect from rain?). this whole idea of design as activism is great, and seeing it in action in our own community is even more applaudable, but it would also be great to see the designs extremely well thought out and executed… something that perhaps the city could actually model future shelters after. there seemed to be some lost opportunities in some of these “shelters”... buckets and cardboard?

just one opinion…

guerilla
09/24 10:28 AM

Thanks np!

Murr-Man
09/24 03:03 PM

The fact that there aren’t shelters is rediculous and I’ve never understood where the gov’t comes up wth the cost of projects. The price usually sounds about 3-4x what it should cost. With that said, these guerilla “works of art” are nothing special, they’re actually quite ugly.

Roxanne
09/24 05:55 PM

It’s gone now:( ...and it was my favorite.  Does anyone know what happened to it?

Elphaba
09/24 06:00 PM

@f: Thanks for keeping the people informed.

If I were CAT, I’d check out what the city of Asheville did to get shelters/benches at many of their stops. Asheville Transit asked local business to sponsor a stop (much like adopting a highway). The stop design, including a bench and shelter had to be artistic and not disrupt the “artsy” feel some of the neighborhoods have. The sponsoring business gets a plaque in the stop stating their contribution as well as the community recognition about their donation. All of the “Top a Stop” (that’s the official name for the program) are amazing to look at, significantly reduced the cost to the city, got local businesses some attention and got transit riders some shelter. Sounds like a win-win-win-win to me.

bryan bell
09/25 04:58 AM

It should be noted that the local Young Architect’s Forum has taken another approach to the same issue. They have worked with the city to design permitted permanent shelters.  I have not seen any but knowing several of the participants I am sure they are well done. However they seem to be held up by the city and some are built (by the YAFers) but waiting to be installed.  I believe it has been many months. If we can generate some public interest in getting these moving, that would be great.

That being said, I appreciate that these shelters shown above are responses that required less resources of time and money. In other words, you don’t need $5,000 and a lot of time getting approvals to take positive action. Maybe a few weekends and some salvaged material? Guerilla, since you have weighed in, it would be great to know how much time and money some of these required. Maybe that would encourage others who may want to design for the public good but have “limited” resources (but not limited creativity).

guerilla
09/25 09:05 AM

That’s a great question because we certainly wanted this effort to be one that allowed for maximum creativity and collaboration without allowing money and time to be a hindrance.  And yes, we were aware of the YAF bus benches and how their great work and creativity is still not being put to use even though they had prior permission to make and install them.

Much of the materials were reclaimed, recycled or donated.  Most of the cost was for the structural assembly for each shade.  Total spent was anywhere from $30-$50 for each team.  Most of the time was spent on the front end sketching, designing and testing, which came to average about 10 hours.  The fabrication and assembly was between 4-10 hours per team.  The installations were done quickly, most less than 15 minutes.  This was all done over 2 months, with a couple of group share/pin-up meetings thrown in.  All in all, it seems that the time and money spent was low compared to the experience, outcomes, and what we are still learning from it.

Matthew Brown
09/25 09:39 AM

Guerrilla: Spanish for “little war,” English for “unconventional warfare.”

Guerilla: Spanish for “little pale-skinned girl.”

TC
09/25 10:16 AM

The shelters should be relatively cohesive in form (not necessarily size) to unify the stops which can promote usage (just like a sign but better).
+
The shelters should make the bus system appear proud and confident…not just a bare necessity as it appears now.
+
And yes their should be shelters, and more of them…because their should be even more stops.

guerrilla
09/25 11:10 AM

Thanks for the feedback, TC.  And for the spelling correction, MB.  Like I said, we’re still learning…even how to spell guerrilla!

CR
09/25 12:26 PM

I like the idea of an army of small pale girls building bus stop shelters.

TC
09/25 03:43 PM

Quite welcome, and I think what you’ve done is GREAT.  We need this kind of ingenuity and effort!

revolu
09/25 05:50 PM

this is a great dialogue + i think what has been presented has been a great step.  to hopes that it will not stop there.  cheers!

luke
09/26 11:38 PM

I’m down with this idea, and I like the different designs (except the cardboard tube one doesn’t make much sense long term). I think the idea of bike racks is better. Bike racks would have to be pretty heavy duty to work, and installing them in the middle of the night would take some time. Perhaps, if it seems like the installation took some serious time, the city would be more hesitant to remove them. It would be interesting to see if the city were willing to spend more money removing one than they would installing their own…...

Aaron M. Renn
09/27 08:54 AM

Are you all aware that in many cities bus shelters are not paid for by the municipality or the transit agency, but by an advertising firm?  Companies like JC Deceaux will install shelters for free in return for the right to advertise on them.  There are other companies as well.  JC Deceaux even has a subsidiary in Europe that designs super-cool bus shelters for cities over there.  My understanding is that in Chicago, not only is the city getting the bus shelters - lame ones I might add - for free, JCD also paid a very large cash payment to the city.

Whether this would work in Raleigh is another matter, but it is something to investigate. I believe the very nice San Francisco bus shelter is a result of a design partnership with an outdoor advertising firm.

bryan bell
09/27 11:43 AM

Letting private firms build shelters in exchange for advertising may sound like a good idea but I don’t agree. I’d like to reiterate Fred’s point above what should be public and what is for sale.

Here’s one case I am familiar with: New Orleans just went to a private contractor, Veolia, to manage the Transit Authority. The RTA can rent ad space on their generic-design shelters for $500/month at busy intersections,(not bad return for $15,000 investment.) This last summer I was involved in a community-based project to design and build a shelter for a community called Hollygrove,(Lil Wayne’s neighborhood.) We were invited to do this by residents and AARP who is working there.  After 15 design meeting with residents we finished a shelter for a space that the RTA had deemed “unsuitable.”  Among other things, our design gives Hollygrove a landmark so the rest of the City knows where it is, working to replace the negative image with more positive ones. It also accommodated several other requests and features from the neighborhood. New Orleans neighborhoods are better than generic design, as are most good neighborhoods. We are now fighting Veolia to get it installed, even though we have all other approvals. Thankfully AARP is good at this type of politics, but I am convinced it would have been much easier if the advertising revenue had not been involved. There was no cost to the city for this shelter, all volunteer labor and donations.  Granted some donations were from private firms. Hence if you are going this way, I like the partnership model outlined above from Asheville. Private companies donate for the public good and positive PR, not for income. Granted, Asheville is sort of Shangri-La—we have received bus shelter permits from the City of Asheville in two days.

Adrian Hands
09/27 05:15 PM

JCDecaux also sets up and runs very successful Self-Service Bicycle Rentals worldwide in exchange for adcertising rights.

guerrilla
09/27 07:19 PM

Wow - more great ideas and projects to look into.  Thanks to all!  With the public interest that has been generated so far we feel encouraged that this momentum might eventually build enough to bring about some systemic change.  With that goal in sight we’ll keep moving forward with all of these suggestions in mind. 

One more possibility might be to use the Public Art Program budget that was recently approved. It would set aside a portion of funding for capital improvement projects (like streetscape work!) for public art.  Why couldn’t bus shelters, bike racks and other public amenities be included in this?  As part of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, bus shelters have been designed by a local architect and will include poetry by writers with ties to the area.  That certainly seems like public art, and even better it’s useful. 

http://www.indyculturaltrail.org/170.html

Siligrl
09/28 08:59 AM

This site sucks. Are you ever going to update your homepage?

Carl
09/28 10:44 AM

Oh…SNAP !

lilikindsli
09/29 03:23 PM

CSAQZd I want to say - thank you for this!

JRD
10/24 12:54 PM

None of these designs look halfway functional.

bryan bell
10/24 02:54 PM

JRD,

Define “functional.” Better yet, define “halfway functional.” What program are you basing your comments on? Are you comparing them to the program of a $5,000 city provided shelter? A common goal of low-resource work like these is to help one person at one time in one way. We forget, when the weather turns cool, that a little shade during a long wait for a bus can be greatly needed and appreciated. Since these designers have defined these as public gift, aren’t you just saying they should have given more? Is that for you to say? Some guerilla work, like Heavy Trash in LA and Mad Housers in Atlanta is meant to engage the public in discourse on design. That is one primary function—in fact over permanence. If this is part of the program, then you have contributed to their intended “function,” (not some function you imagine,) by your comment as snarky and negative as your comment is.