It's tough to winnow the staggering number of bad bus stops in America down to the worst of the worst, but we're making progress.
Today's Elite Eight match in the Sorriest Bus Stop in America bracket pairs a stop by the Wegman's in the Rochester suburb of Henrietta against a pitiful traffic island bus stop in Boston. Only one has what it takes to make the Final Four.
Henrietta, New York
Henrietta eked out a "win" against a stop in suburban Buffalo in the first round. This submission comes to us from Jason Haremza, who writes:
Henrietta is home to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), approximately 3.5 miles west of this stop and served by the same bus route. With approximately 30,000 students, RIT is the region's largest institution of higher learning. This Wegmans store is often patronized by RIT students, many of whom are international.
The Town of Henrietta was extraordinarily derelict in it's duty to review and approve the site plan of this retail development without any apparent consideration for pedestrian access. The developer of the retail development, as well as Wegmans, which makes healthy living a special part of its marketing through the 'Eat Well, Live Well' campaign. Despite the campaign specifically noting that "some physical activity is better than none. Get the OK from your doctor, then strap on a pedometer and find out how much activity you regularly do. Gradually add activity over several weeks and build to a goal of 10,000 steps a day" this does not, evidently, mean supporting active transportation. Monroe County Department of Transportation is derelict in not constructing sidewalks along Hylan Drive.
A spokesman for the Rochester Transit System says help is on the way, however:
We already have a plan in place to install a bus shelter at this location sometime this fall. We have been actively involved in discussions with Wegmans, the business behind the stop regarding the shelter and the possibility of installing a sidewalk that connects the stop to the parking lot.
Okay, but Monroe County DOT and the Town of Henrietta need to do something about that 40 mph stroad.
Boston
This Boston bus stop beat out one on the Nassau/Queens border to advance to the second round. The entry comes to us from an anonymous reader, who writes:
Why is so terrible? It is impossible to safely walk to this bus stop. It is located on a median island surrounded by on- and off-ramps to the Mass Pike (I-90). On the other side is the 5-lane Cambridge Street, which also has no crosswalks and no curb cuts. There is no shelter from the elements & in the winter the snow from the street gets plowed onto the sidewalk & the sidewalk is never shoveled. The MBTA is responsible for the bus stop and MassDOT is responsible for the surrounding roads.
Here's an overhead shot of the location:
Agencies in charge: Massachusetts DOT, MBTA.
Here's a map of all our contenders with today's matchup in green.
And the current bracket -- congrats to Kansas City for knocking out the reigning champ, St. Louis County.
