America’s Sorriest Bus Stop: Prince George’s County vs. Tampa
First round action continues with the fifth match in Streetsblog’s 2017 Sorriest Bus Stop in America competition.
Pittsburgh, Chapel Hill and San Diego are all on their way to the second round. Bus stops in Indianapolis and Munhall, Pennsylvania, are still going at it if you haven’t voted yet in yesterday’s match.
Today pairs up bus stops in metro Tampa and the Maryland suburbs outside DC. Vote for the sorriest.
Prince George’s County, Maryland
An anonymous commenter wants a repeat championship for bus stops on Maryland state highways. This one could go far:
I know Maryland State Highway Administration took the crown last year, but this little guy on Branch Avenue (aka MD-5) in PG County is a strong competitor for back-to-back Merlin titles. In addition to playing Where’s Waldo trying to find the pole, riders can choose from these comfortable places to await the bus: sitting on the guardrail, pacing the ample shoulder, hiding in the bushes, or praying for the bus to arrive in the adjacent megachurch. It’s conveniently located across the road from a major shopping center that can be easily reached by sprinting across high-speed traffic and a muddy median.
Agencies responsible: Maryland State Highway Administration, Prince George’s County, WMATA.
Tampa
This hair-raiser is on a state highway in the Tampa suburb of Brandon, Florida, where Hillsborough Area Regional Transit runs the buses. Our anonymous submitter writes:
This stop on Lumsden Road is situated nicely on a small patch of grass between the edge of a 6 lane thoroughfare and a stormwater pond. I’d hate to be the person that has to rely on this stop. If you’ve ever had to walk anywhere in Florida during a hard rain you know that soft grass is not your friend, and don’t get me started on the type of reptiles and amphibians that may be lurking in that storm pond! Oh, and this isn’t the only stop like this in the system.
Agencies responsible: Florida DOT, HART.
Which bus stop is the sorriest?
- Tampa (60%, 394 Votes)
- Prince George's County (40%, 263 Votes)
Total Voters: 657
What a lovely pond to look at while you’re waiting for your bus!
As long as you dont get killed getting before yoy arrive.
One has to hope that there is a signalized intersection with a long walk cycle behind the camera. Otherwise, how would a bus rider travel in the other direction? You can barely see the signalized intersection ahead in Maryland, and there is none in sight in Florida.
On the Tampa one… The explanation leaves out a key detail that you may want to clarify for readers, because it really drives home why this bus stop in particular is worthy of being considered the worst in America…
This bus stop is along what the Hillsborough County government considers a “complete street”. If you look closely, this road has painted bike lanes, a sidewalk and the bus stop even has a bench. These features were added at considerable extra expense. This miserable streetscape, that only the most desperate pedestrians would ever dare use, was sold to taxpayers as being explicitly pedestrian friendly. To us, that’s what makes it the worst bus stop in America.
The nearest signalized intersection is so far away that there is another bus stop before you get to it.
That pond most likely contains an alligator.
and mosquitos.
How pretty! I always enjoy a trip to the zoo. All the better if I can visit on my way to work every morning!
That really drives home the limitations imposed by bad urban planning… which in this area includes a studiously disconnected local street network. A lot of auto-age suburbs of Chicago have this sort of stuff, where at first glance it looks like some of the older suburbs, but then you try to figure out how to walk places and realize there’s no way through except the mega-arterials, so there’s no streets buses can use except the mega-arterials, and there’s no place to put bike routes but mega-arterials.
East of US 301, Lumsden is a County Road. The responsible agency should be Hillsborough County. http://www.fdot.gov/planning/statistics/hwysys/shsmap.pdf