A new planned bus shelter, a project from the Columbia Heights Neighborhood Association called “Bank Stop,” incorporates whimsical monetary motifs in its design.
Lexington, KY - Starting last year, Kate Savage of the Columbia Heights Neighborhood Association set wheels in motion to place a new bus shelter in the Chevy Chase district, citing that the current bus stop was inadequate and, candidly, inhumane. When it became increasingly apparent that it wouldn’t be as simple as having the city show up with some tools and materials, she helped devise a community, city and corporate partnership to oversee the project and brought in seed money to get things rolling. If successful it could serve as a template for future initiatives of similar scope.
Savage’s efforts could be all for naught, however, if additional funding isn’t nailed down soon.
Estimates for the total cost of the project range between $25,000-$30,000 (starkly more than the $11,000 estimate to replace the existing structure as-is), some of which will be alleviated by a $5,000 city grant Savage was awarded last summer. That grant expired in June, but approval was extended until the end of the year. However, the remainder of the project’s funding must be secured by Oct. 26, deadline for the project’s Kickstarter.com campaign, or that grant – along with any other monies pledged toward the initiative – will be returned.
Savage has been actively seeking additional revenue from area businesses, organizations and residents in hopes of raising at least another $10,000 and then trying to match that amount through an additional grant. In addition to receiving funds, she’s gotten lots of advice – solicited or otherwise – ranging from ways to cut costs to why she should focus her efforts elsewhere and arguments as to whether it should be completed as a city project or performed by a private party.
“I’ve had a lot of people give me their two cents worth,” Savage said. “Unfortunately not their dollar, just their two-cents worth.”
The current bus stop – which his positioned at the corner of Euclid and Ashland Avenues is rudimentary: a black, uncovered prefabricated bench positioned next to a trash can. It’s consistently in use, however, especially during peak morning and late afternoon / evening times with passengers utilizing public transportation to visit the nearby Chevy Chase businesses positioned within immediate proximity of the bus stop.
But extenuating circumstances with the current site stemming from a former service station that was previously located on the property won’t allow for any new structure to be placed on the same land. So in addition to finding a new location, assistance was needed with design.
Savage huddled with Art-in-Motion founder Yvette Hurt and the pair forged a four-way partnership involving the Columbia Heights Neighborhood Association, Art-in-Motion, LexTran and Republic Bank to help solve some of those issues.
Republic Bank will allow the shelter to be built on its Euclid branch’s property across from Kroger, while Lextran has agreed to bear the costs of the concrete pad as a contribution, approximately a $4,000 value. With four existing shelters to its credit, Art-in-Motion drafted the memorandum of agreement creating the partnership.
Patrick Morgan, an architecture student at University of Pennsylvania and Lexington native, as well as a longtime family friend of Savage, orchestrated the whimsical design proposed for the Chevy Chase shelter.