See-through design to improve safety, discourage loitering
By Katie Byard, Beacon Journal Staff Writer
Five tempered-glass bus shelters will replace three large stone and concrete structures in downtown Akron that date back to the 1980s.
The new see-through design will improve safety for passengers and discourage people from loitering in the shelters, Akron Deputy Mayor Dave Lieberth said Tuesday.
Police have said the existing shelters provided cover for criminal activity, said Lieberth, who calls the old 20-foot-long structures ''tanks'' because of their size and hulking appearance.
Lieberth expects the new 12-foot-long shelters to be up before the end of October.
The new stops, which feature aluminum frames and are similar to recently erected shelters in the Akron area, will be on the east side of Main near Mill Street and on the west side of Main near Bowery Street.
There will be three on the east side, including one in front of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, and two on the west side.
The new shelters on Main Street's east side will be north of the existing ones, while the new structures on the west side will be south of the old ones.
The old stops, which include some tempered glass, ''are starting to get worn and dated,'' said Kirt Conrad, director of planning and development for Metro Regional Transit Authority, Summit County's bus system.
The five new structures will encompass about the same amount of seating as the three being replaced, Conrad said.
Lieberth said some of the existing shelters impede downtown pedestrians.
''We had 15,000 people working downtown when these were built,'' he said. ''We have 31,000 downtown working today.''
Metro RTA will pay for the shelters, using federal transit money.
Each shelter will cost about $4,700, Conrad said. The city will pay demolition costs. Downtown Akron Partnership worked with the city and Metro to figure out where to put the new shelters.
Next month, Metro plans to break ground on a $16.3 million bus transfer terminal at East Bartges Street and South Broadway in downtown Akron. Metro expects to be operating out of the terminal in early 2009.
The new transit terminal will replace Main Street downtown as the primary location where passengers change buses.
Increased traffic on Main Street where passengers have changed buses downtown for about 20 years has made it dangerous for passengers and large groups of high school students have started fights while changing buses in the afternoon.
Metro officials have said it will be easier to control activity there because it will all be on Metro property.
The new transfer station will be enclosed, protecting passengers from bad weather.
The terminal will include a Metro customer service center and restrooms.
