RochesterSubway.com : Bus Stop Cubes Could Give Transit Riders in Rochester a Place to Rest

Bus Stop Cubes Could Give Transit Riders in Rochester a Place to Rest

November 23rd, 2014

Have you ever noticed someone standing on the side a busy road or sitting on the curb while waiting for a bus? The lack of seating at bus stops in our area is a real problem, especially for seniors and people with disabilities. This week however, Reconnect Rochester unveiled a clever solution which they believe could change this picture…

The volunteers at Reconnect Rochester recently tested a prototype bus stop seat shaped like a cube at two locations: The PriceRite at Dewey & Driving Park and N. Union St. at the Public Market. As the video above shows, the results were very positive.

These woman had just finished shopping and were waiting for their #10 bus when they were introduced to the CUBE seat. One of the women said that when she’s waiting for her bus, sometimes her legs give out. And she says the bus stop cube is the perfect height for her. She said many of the standard benches throughout the city are actually too low for her to get up out of easily.

These two students at the Public Market had just missed their bus back to RIT. A 40-minute wait for their next bus was made more enjoyable because they had a place to sit and talk.

And this woman said she was overjoyed when she saw the little green cube seat. Because of this small improvement, she felt like “the system” was actually thinking of her.

So what do you think? Leave a comment below.

• • •

How YOU Can Help…

Do you know of a Rochester bus stop that could use a seat? Reconnect Rochester is asking for people to pin those locations on this interactive map .

They’re also looking for sponsors/donors who can help pay for materials or donate work space and/or helping hands to build cubes.

If you would like to help, please contact [email protected] or call 585-354-6232 (leave a brief message and your contact info).

You can also make a tax-deductible contribution to Reconnect Rochester today, and help them move this idea (and others) forward in 2015.

Tags: bus, bus stop cube, bus stop seat, bus-stop, cube seat, guerilla bus stop seat, mass transit, mass transportation, public transit, public transportation, Reconnect Rochester, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Rochester, tactical urbanism, urban furniture

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2014 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

10 Responses to “Bus Stop Cubes Could Give Transit Riders in Rochester a Place to Rest”

Matthew Denker says:

November 24, 2014 at 12:27 pm

First, love this idea and it is much needed. Second, another important aspect to bus stops that is sorely lacking in Rochester is some type of pavement. In a place where half the year is wet and snowy, having to stand on mud/ice/etc. waiting for a bus is awful. Unfortunately, pavement is more expensive than these cubes and that much less likely to happen. In any event, I look forward to seeing more of these around town next time I’m in Rochester.
Daggar says:

November 24, 2014 at 1:19 pm

What Mr. Denker says. sinking into the damp ground/snow/puddle of a suburban bus stop is all too common.

I wonder if they could make them into an inverted “T” some other shape that provides an elevated footrest? It would drive the expense up, but it may be worth it.
Matthew Denker says:

November 24, 2014 at 2:18 pm

Oh, also, since this is important: http://streetsblog.net/2014/11/24/rochester-residents-add-their-own-bus-stop-seating/.
Matthew Denker says:

November 25, 2014 at 11:24 am

AND the press keeps rolling: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/11/24/need-seat-bus-stop-just-pull-cube/70058650/
Kevin F. Yost says:

November 29, 2014 at 1:03 pm

Why not paint paintings on the cubes like what has been done with various traffic signal boxes throughout the city?
Missouri says:

December 1, 2014 at 9:24 am

The cubes look like an affordable, practical solution to the seating problem at bus stops.
Chris says:

December 2, 2014 at 6:55 am

Cubes are a great idea, but what about moving some of the bus shelters they are taking down on Main Street and put them in high visibility areas like Jefferson Road? People stand out there all the time and it can get nasty weather wise!
RochesterSubway.com says:

December 6, 2014 at 10:57 am

Chris, I agree that the Main Street bus shelters should be repurposed. My team at Reconnect Rochester has been working with the City of Rochester who operates those shelters. Because of the way they are constructed it may not be possible to relocate them – although it hasn’t been ruled out yet. It is more likely that we will be able to find new purpose for these shelters, leaving them in place on Main Street and perhaps turning them into small business kiosks, info booths, bike shelters, or something else. You can read more about that effort here… http://reconnectrochester.org/blog/2014/04/what-could-you-do-with-this-bus-shelter/

More news on that will come this winter.
Ian says:

December 10, 2014 at 11:21 pm

Not a great idea. Seats, yes they’re needed. However, coming from cities with an actually decent transit system, placing a bench at each stop and then instead of regular backing, placing advertisements on the seat back bench offset costs of the transit system, allow for people to sit, and also give much needed exposure to local and big box stores. It is a highly cost effective way to place benches at honestly no cost to the transit system and improve community relations.
Chris says:

December 11, 2014 at 8:19 am

Yes, I am aware of the shelter re-purposing program and leaving some are a good idea for bike racks or info booths. But I feel most should be removed to ‘clean up’ the sidewalk areas. I always though they were a bit over done and out of scale. I would prefer the focus to be the store front and building wall. Get back to the street/sidewalk/building front relationship in terms of scale and massing. the current bus shelters break that up.

Returning street parking will help when that gets implemented in 2016.