Rindge Avenue at Comeau Field, North Cambridge
This project entails a major redesign and renovation, with community participation, of the 83 bus shelter. New features will include acrylic panels with cut-out figures and a roof element evocative of nearby recreation and natural habitat.
This project entails the repair, redesign, and renovation of the deteriorated bus shelter at Comeau Field on Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge where the #83 bus turnaround is located.
Acrylic or plexiglass glass panels will be installed where they have been removed (please see two photo examples below). These new panels will have design elements consisting of small cut-outs in the forms of people in active recreation typical of the area -- swimming, baseball, football -- evocative of, among other things, the swimming hole history of Jerry's Pit, the former brickyards industry clay pit, immediately adjacent to the bus shelter. Some support beams will be removed from across the front of the existing shelter and the bench protruding at one end will either be modified, or restored as is.
A flat or 3-D sculptural element or elements will be mounted on the roof of the shelter, which will consist of one or more animals -- birds, for example -- appropriate to thishabitat, with possibly a human figure or figures, such as a bather or bathers, perhapswith a festive umbrella, also evocative of the recreational history, and current uses, ofthe area.
Residents and users in the immediate neighborhood will be invited to participate inconsidering, reviewing, and developing these design proposals as the project is moved along toward final completion.
The estimated cost includes materials, labor, installation, and design assistance.
I hope for more emphasis on improved function and structural integrity of the shelter. For example, a bench with both low and higher seat heights would better meet the needs of a wide range of users (for example, lower height for children and raised seat height for seniors and persons with disabilities). Other suggestions: a bench with arms on one end to support sitting and standing and enough free floor space under the roof of the structure for a person with a stroller or wheelchair to fit in the shelter and get cover.
Sounds like the high cost estimate may be about the art. The beauty of the natural setting is there in Jerry’s Pond, so perhaps a visual focus on that could lower the ultimate cost.
project in the mid-90’s, for $75,000, which did seem exorbitant to those of us who worked on the Streets and
Sidewalks ‘Budget Delegate’ Committee. By the time CDD staff came back with different numbers for a “nice”
bus shelter (with community-based design and the artwork suggested), the figure was around $50,000. However,
the paper ballots had already been sent off to the printer and the number could not be changed to reflect this
more reasonable estimated price. We were told a “bare bones” shelter can go for about $20,000. As a member
of the committee, I worry that this high “estimate” will scare people off a good idea, and am confident that — should
it be among the winning proposals — we will find a way to complete this fine project for under $50,000!
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/08/wait-for-the-bus-inside-a-giant-typographic-sculpture-in-baltimore/
http://grist.org/list/bogotas-miniature-public-libraries-will-make-you-want-to-move-to-colombia/
http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=760
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/05/15/beautiful-bus-stops
Thank you!