Spending the final decade dwelling in LA, it’s turn into extremely obvious that whereas the public transit system of 2023 is significantly higher than in years previous, it nonetheless leaves so much to be desired when it comes to the consolation and security of its ridership. One nice instance is bus stops.
See, Los Angeles – and this may increasingly come as a shock to a few of you – is a fairly scorching place to stay, climatically talking. Summers simply attain triple-digit ambient temperatures, and all of the pavement in all places makes these already excessive temperatures a lot worse. Add in that round three-quarters of LA bus stops lack shade or seating, and that scenario can go from uncomfortable to harmful actually shortly. To assist fight this, the LA Division of Transportation put out a contract for a brand new type of low-cost bus cease shelter, designed with enter from a survey of feminine transit riders. It’s known as La Sombrita, aka “The Shadow,” and was debuted final week.
The necessity for one thing like La Sombrita goes past the restricted house of lots of LA’s bus stops which signifies that regular shelters aren’t possible. A big challenge is that these bus shelters have been put in and maintained by third-party corporations (Outfront/JCDecaux till 2021), with a part of the advert cash going to the town. That’s problematic as a result of these corporations wish to make the biggest attainable return on their investments and, subsequently, nearly solely deal with placing these bus shelters in higher-income areas. What’s extra problematic is that these contracts prohibit LADOT from spending cash on constructing freestanding bus shelters, which La Sombrita is meant to work round.
Nonetheless with me? Good. Now, whereas getting folks out of the solar at bus stops is an effective factor, and discovering methods to work round poorly written or shortsighted contracts can also be good, the execution of La Sombrita isn’t nice. First, the scale of the unit supplies little or no precise shade from a square-foot perspective. Because of this one or two folks can get out of the solar, however anybody else is omitted to prepare dinner.
Subsequent is the associated fee. This straightforward piece of perforated and powdercoated metal and piping with somewhat solar-powered mild caught to it prices round $10,000. That’s per set up, of which 4 are deliberate because the preliminary pilot, although in line with the agency that got here up with them, that features the price of designing, constructing and putting in them. I hate to sound actual “Dad,” however there needs to be perhaps $100 in materials there and an hour or two of labor to assemble them with the identical once more to put in it. If the prices don’t come down, these lil guys are useless within the water.
The solar-powered mild does appear to be a good suggestion, and it was one of many points introduced up by feminine survey respondents as a security concern, which is completely comprehensible, however once more, is it sufficient? Would it not be good additionally to incorporate some type of callbox with a police line, much like the blue mild techniques seen on faculty campuses? Most likely. Will an concept like that ever get funding? Uncertain.
If the La Sombrita challenge is the beginning of a push in direction of making public transit safer, extra comfy, handy and usually higher for the LA county residents who use it every day, then it’s a flawed however essential first step. If that is the place LADOT and the town depart issues, then we, as Angelenos, have to push them to do significantly higher as a result of it advantages all of us.