I've had the idea floating around in my head for awhile that I'd like to start posting photos of awful OKC bus stops as a way to raise awareness about the dismal state of bus stops here in the city. As the resident bus transit expert, I've seen a lot of bus stops here in Oklahoma City, and a lot of them are a pretty disappointing sight to behold. About a week ago, I snapped this photo near the intersection of NW 10th Street and Western Avenue.
The photo doesn't even do justice to this bus stop's true awfulness - click on the picture to get the full effect. In real life, it stopped John and me in our tracks. The bench is pretty much completely unusable. OKC bus stop benches are never an exercise in comfort or hospitality, but this one really steps up the rickety game. First of all, this is an uphill street, so it's already sitting at an angle, since it's aligned parallel to the road rather than at the customary angle, which would alleviate a bit of the slope. Next, bring your attention to the seat slats: they're all warped, splintered, and resting on different levels. Look at the exposed nail! Who knew that a tetanus shot would be a prerequisite for using a bus stop? I don't think anyone would attempt to sit here, which I would usually say is the entire point of the seat being so awful - to ensure as much visibility for the back billboard ad space without the obstruction of a seat occupant - but the even the advertisement is in disrepair. It's all peeled off and obviously hasn't been changed or tended to in months. Get it together, people. If you're going to run an ad-space-under-the-guise-of-bus-stops racket, at least do it right and keep those ads looking sharp.
Let's not forget to mention the huge amount of litter on the ground in front of the stop. That's not really the fault of the bus stop itself as much as the people walking or standing by, but the trash certainly doesn't help the overall aesthetics of the stop.
Is this the worst bus stop in OKC? It's pretty wretched, but I'm reasonably confident that it isn't the worst, so let's keep looking! Do you know of a particularly awful OKC bus stop? Comment and let us know, or better yet, snap a picture and share it with us!
Photo of Mayor of OKC candidate Ed Shadid at a bus stop, http://bikewalktulsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ShadidBusStop.jpg
ReplyDeletewow great stuff....too bad the transportation isn't up to the level of other cities our size.....!
ReplyDeleteAny time you see a bus stop like this, with unpainted wood that is in poor repair, call a "property code violation" in by calling the OKC Action lnie and reporting it for unpainted wood in poor repair. it works for houses and it would also work for something like this.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! We should compile a list of all the bus stops in need of repair and get a consistent stream of reports flowing.
DeleteThat's not so bad. In Houston, many of the less-used bus stops are just signs in the grass. No shelter, no bench, no sidewalk, no shoulder. And when they don't cut the grass, you have to stand in the road with traffic.
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