The Luzerne County Transportation Authority wants to give bus riders a better place to wait. The LCTA recently collaborated with a service organization to make it happen.
The LCTA worked with the Wilkes-Barre Lions Club to improve two bus stops in their service area by adding new benches. The transit authority chose the locations based on the population density of its senior residents.
Kathy Bednarek, Grants Coordinator for LCTA, said both of the bus stops were chosen for their proximity to senior living centers in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The locations are outside of B’nai B’rith Senior Apartments on E. Northampton St, which is close to LCTA's intermodal station, and Valley View Terrace along bus route three in the Heights area.
Bednarek said the project had been in the works for roughly a year, but it came together quickly once they received the benches. Another project in LCTA’s service area will soon be underway to replace bus stop shelters. Bednarek said riders should start to notice those replacements popping up soon.
"The goal of this project is just to provide the riding public and the residents of these living centers a place to rest during their travels," Bednarek said, "And to have a space to enjoy in their community to visit and relax with one another."
The metal bars along the benches are meant to give riders their own space, but they are also an anti-vagrancy feature that is commonly found on transit-style seating.
