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The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) tapped a group of industrial design students at the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) to assist with a redesign project for new bus shelters.
The new shelters are being designed for placement within the Downtown area, and designers were asked to use innovative and sustainable materials to make their projects “green” and create designs that would compliment the urban environment in an attractive way.
“We plan to make a final choice of design by the end of August,” said Beth Berkemer, Public and Media Relations Manager at COTA. “We hope to have these new shelters installed by the end of 2012.”
The designs are currently on display and can be viewed by the public through Friday, Aug. 12, in the Franklin County Courthouse Lobby at 373 S. High Street, the Rhodes State Office Tower Lobby at 30 E. Broad Street and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation William Green Building Lobby at 30 W. Spring Street. You can also provide feedback online at www.cota.com/contact-us.
The three designs are also visible below. Which do you think would look best Downtown?
I like B if it I had to choose, but all these are kind of boring. I can’t believe that C is a finalist either. I would really like to see COTA think a little more outside the box. It’s good to involve CCAD, but I feel like the student’s creativity may have been stifled in some way, (Or the most boring were chosen for cost issues?). Either way, it’s a big ‘ol meh. The ones they had up until a bit ago from the 80s were more exciting.
PS, it’d be nice to get some shelters on other streets (aka Broad, main, neil, long, etc, etc, etc) besides redoing the High Street bus shelters with bland, uninspired designs every other year…
I think LED signs with real-time info are a good idea at busy stops, but I wouldn’t spend the money everywhere. Between smart phones and text updates, that work well enough for most people.
Yeah, the suggestion for LED signage wasn’t a suggestion for system-wide rollout. ;) Would be something just for the busiest stops and transfer locations Downtown.
Gotta go with A as well (though B is a close 2nd). Like the contemporary lines. And Walker, your comment about LED signage that displays real time bus info is a fabulous idea. I’m afraid though that COTA’s gonna clutter up the nice design with crappy display ads.
A looks interesting although the map area needs to be transparent as well
Love the idea about bus schedule updates in real-time! Also, would be nice to have a “yes I’m here and waiting for a bus” indicator light thing so that in lower visibility you don’t worry that the drivers will just zoom past you. (Especially for those of us who wear a lot of dark clothing in winter).
Of the 3 above designs, which are not striking me as wildly innovative — C seems a nightmare for drainage and discomfort (pointy!), and A seems the prettiest, (and maybe even those thicker tubes represent a gutter system to guide the waterfalls from the roof to the ground gently?) I’m curious as to why B made the finals, as it seems almost exactly like the current state.
The keys to success will be good visibility so that (a) passengers can find where to stand for the bus and (b) bus drivers know there are people who need a ride; protection from the elements; and most importantly – safety. I’m not standing at a bus stop that looks like it’s going to help get me mugged. Oh, and durability…. for the riff-raff that want to bust things up when they’re bored.
@johnwirtz
I suspect that many COTA riders don’t have text or data plans. I wonder if anyone has any stats on that?
The text service would also be much more useful if it was actual real-time data, rather than scheduled data. Anyone know if/when this is coming and when they will be expanding the text service system-wide?
Hey all, thanks for the vote on finalist A!
Some additional information for those of you with questions, rain runoff and LED display should be explained here:
http://www.coroflot.com/michaelyoung/COTA-Shelter/21?keywords=michael+young&
Finalist A. Good clean design, the roof creates a bit of visual fun/interest without being overdone.
If finalist “A” DOESN’T win I will be disappointed! I would take the bus more often if “A” was built around the city – it’s smart, classy, and makes taking the bus cool finally! The materials are green, real time LED display, and the open standing space is optional. I’m very impressed.
I believe C is the best option out of the of the 3. Bus stops are often just an additional eye soar in a majority of city environments and C looks to be the least invasive to its surroundings. In addition C looks to be the most efficient bus shelter to manufacture.
Finalist C!