New bus shelters are a waste of funds | Letter to the Editor

King County Metro is spending millions of dollars of your hard-earned tax money to install Rapid Ride bus shelters. They are useless. They are so shallow that they provide no shelter from wind or rain. On the inside back wall is a large metal bar that makes it impossible to get back far enough to stay out of the weather. In addition, there is one seat provided. At the top of 35th and Barton, there is seating for 3 to 4 people on a bench outside the shelter, not inside it. The much- touted longer roof will work only if the rain will agree to fall at a 90 degree angle all the time and if the wind agrees not to blow.

June 5, 2012 4:15 pm

King County Metro is spending millions of dollars of your hard-earned tax money to install Rapid Ride bus shelters. They are useless. They are so shallow that they provide no shelter from wind or rain. On the inside back wall is a large metal bar that makes it impossible to get back far enough to stay out of the weather. In addition, there is one seat provided. At the top of 35th and Barton, there is seating for 3 to 4 people on a bench outside the shelter, not inside it. The much- touted longer roof will work only if the rain will agree to fall at a 90 degree angle all the time and if the wind agrees not to blow.

Evidently whoever designed these shelters has not commuted by bus. My best guess is that they were designed to keep people from sleeping in the shelters. Please join me in protesting this waste of our money by emailing the community relations planner for King County DOT, Ashley DeForest, at ashley.deforest @kingcounty.gov, or calling her at 684-1154. She has been very conscientious in responding to my concerns and will pass your message on to Paul Roybal in Metro, who is overseeing the Rapid Ride construction project.

 

— Ellen Carleton