Raleigh has more than 200 bus shelters, and drivers are instructed to keep an eye on them for litter and dirt. That’s fine, but we’d just as soon let our bus drivers keep their eyes on the road. So good for city officials who’ve come up with a citizen service program to keep those shelters neat and tidy.

Adopt-a-Shelter offers residents and groups what might be called an adoption option. They can take over responsibility for the maintenance, care and feeding (no, you don’t have to provide snacks) of far-flung shelters. One fellow said his kids might not be enthused about the idea at first but he wants them to have some sense of civic involvement.

Exactly. It’s a good chance to give younger folks a sense of accomplishment and to break them in to public service. Just think, next up: “Kids, now that we’ve raised our bus shelter, we’re going to adopt a highway!”