Raleigh wants input on three bus shelter designs

The city wants residents’ input on choosing one of three locally designed bus shelters to install across Raleigh.

The GoRaleigh public bus system wants to improve its image as it prepares to expand under the newly approved 10-year, $2.3 billion Wake County Transit Plan. So the Raleigh Transit Authority tapped the local architecture community for a design competition to create new bus shelter designs.

Eleven firms submitted designs, and officials from the City of Raleigh, the Raleigh Transit Authority and Activate Triangle, an architecture advocacy group, selected three finalists.

Each team was given $4,000 to build prototypes in front of the Contemporary Art Museum at 409 W. Martin St. in the Warehouse District downtown. The prototypes will be on display until Monday and will be installed somewhere in Raleigh, regardless of whether they win the competition, said GoRaleigh spokeswoman Kelly Wright.

After the Raleigh Christmas Parade on Saturday, representatives from the three design firms will be on hand from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CAM to answer questions and talk about the designs.

Now residents can vote for their favorite design online at http://bit.ly/2fYXKJD.

A jury of architects and transit officials will take public input into account when it chooses the winning shelter during next week, Wright said. The design will be replicated at future GoRaleigh bus stops that require bus shelters.

Currently, the Raleigh Transit Authority is wrapping up a $9.7 million renovation of the Moore Square Transit Station and its adjoining parking deck.

After the project is completed, the Transit Authority will focus more on bus shelters, said David Eatman, the city’s transit administrator. Eighteen new shelters are expected by spring, and there are plans for up to 25 more.

“Quantity and quality will continue to improve as we at GoRaleigh seek to project and represent a positive image and brand for public transportation in Raleigh,” Eatman said.

Here are the three designs:

ClarkNexsen

Raleigh-based ClarkNexsen’s design is made from steel and formed in a way that emulates the GoTriangle emblem.

The concept is envisioned to make the shelters a “graphically intense and recognizable system” of landmarks throughout the city, according to the firm’s statement.

LS3P

The LS3P team in Raleigh created a a highly visible shelter it hopes will generate excitement while expanding on transit branding, according to a statement from the firm.

The shelter’s perforated roof sections are meant to imitate a tree canopy, and designers used organic shapes to replicate local crepe myrtle trees.

Perkins+Will

Perkins+Will in Research Triangle Park created a design that emphasizes the idea of modularity, as a metaphor for the greater transit system that is made up of many parts, the firm’s statement said.

The steel stop can be built with a roof and an attached bike rack, but a smaller version can also be created by using some of the shelter’s pieces.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 10:37 AM with the headline "Raleigh wants input on three bus shelter designs."