Plenty of Horne
How Will Streetcar Stops Be Designed?
Third Ward board reviews possible styles.
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Third Ward board reviews possible styles. Back to the full article.
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Categories: Plenty of Horne
It was really inappropriate for the council member to ask the artist his age. You cannot do that during an interview.
Re: Streetcar Stops
What about this design? Its being used citywide for bus stops. Note the metal bench seat for cold weather.
http://urbanmilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Screen-Shot-2015-01-28-at-9.44.44-PM.png
This was not an interview, and the artist invited the question by his own comments. It was clear that some time had elapsed since his retirement at 78. We were all stunned by just how much time. Nancy O’Keefe, who asked the question then immediately jumped out of her chair and asked to hug Mr. Mangiamele. This was a touching moment.
* Joe Mangiamele, a former Fulbright scholar who earned his Phd. at Cornell, and current professor emeritus at the UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning . . .*
If a person has to wait more then 10 minutes for a for a Street Car, or today called a Trolley. Then the Shelters at every stop should be covered from wind & rain. This trolley will make Milwaukee’s Down Town look alive again and not like a ( One Horse Hick Town.) I only wish they would have kept the Route 10 Wells Street and Farwell Ave. Street Car from years ago. It would have been A Milwaukee Treasure…That Route was an exciting ride. It went thru Down Town on to County Stadium then to West Allis and State Fair Park when it was in town. East bound it went past the Pabst Theater, Cathedral Square, Saint John’s high School and Lincoln High School, past Brady Street and ended at the Oriental theater on East North Ave.I as a child would ask my Mother to use her Street Car pass just to ride the Route 10. Not the Trolley Bus. And I always gave up my seat to give to the elderly, when no seats were available.
I totally get that there are cost considerations for this kind of thing, but designing the streetcar stops–as well as the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stops–is a golden opportunity to do something both functional and iconic.
While there is plenty of room for creativity in designing specific stops, I would argue that the streetcar (and BRT) system should be viewed as a whole, a s single, unified element snaking through parts of the city. Every stop should have the same attractive, recognizable elements (roof? signage? lighting? other?) that will let riders know a block away that a stop is nearby and exactly where it is.
Here is a pic of San Francisco’s bus stops. The roofs are iconic to locals–bright orange waves that are easily recognized and identified as bus stops. Bonus: they’re also solar-powered and offer free wi-fi!
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1186&bih=660&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=7PEcWseADI2RjwTLiaX4BQ&q=san+francisco+bus+stops+&oq=san+francisco+bus+stops+&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i24k1.2802.3127.0.3624.3.3.0.0.0.0.295.536.1j1j1.3.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.3.536….0.wOJ5_0eKJ8E#imgrc=tgsSWgUuoagB1M:
Think of the classic Milwaukee Harp Streetlights, locally iconic, distinguishable as Milwaukee, and beautiful.
https://www.retrocom.com/retromilw/harp.htm
Create something attractive, immediately recognizable, and unique that Milwaukee can call its own. As for functionality, I’d definitely opt for bigger shelters with heating, and three or even four glass panels to account for winter weather. The hometown of renowned industrial and product designer, Clifford Brooks Stevens, deserves no less:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Stevens
Designing a Trolley Shelter.
This shelter is for passengers waiting for a (SHORT WAIT. ) Not Grand Central Station, where you wait in a waiting room for hours to catch a Train. There they have Restaurants, Snack Bars, Rest rooms, Showers,Bars Barber & beauty salon’s and can sleep on benches all night.
All Public Transportation today have ( loud speakers) to let passengers know of there next stop. WE DON’T NEED ORANGE SHELTERS>. Ha,Ha. The Trolley stops should be Plain and simple for this short 2 mile run.. The trolley is a from of CHEAP, excuse me INEXPENSIVE way of getting from point A to point B. We don’t need the RITZ CARLTON HOTEL SERVICE at each Trolley stop. Ha,HA. This One Is For The Books.. I doubt if any Kings or Queens will be riding it. ( If so it will be a first. ) Maybe some of the people who will design it, it will be there first ride on Public Transportation in there life AND WILL LEARN ABOUT PEOPLE from ALL WALKS OF LIFE.
I AM NOT SMART, BUT I HAVE COMMON SENSE.
IMHO, each stop should have:
• A Plexiglas shelter against rain and wind
• A bench (designed in a way you can’t lie on it)
• A continually-updated LED display with current wait time
• A fare vending machine (unless the City puts these inside vehicles)
• Pavement raised to match the height of the streetcar floor
• Lighting at night
• Signage—illuminated at night:
– The station’s name (readable from within the streetcar)
– A neighborhood map including the streetcar route and “you are here”
– Streetcar info (fares, hours, rules—no smoking, pay before boarding, etc)
The stops should have a distinct, uniform, appearance and be clearly identifiable as streetcar stops even from a block or two away. They should not look like bus stops.
Stops might also have a trash can, advertising (helps pay the bills), and possibly even a radiant electric heater or two. Back in the 1970s, I saw these heaters in Twin Cities bus shelters. They were controlled by a simple spring-powered timer (like you might see controlling a sun lamp in a hotel bathroom) which turned off (with a chime) after about 10 minutes. If you were still waiting for the bus, there was nothing to stop you from immediately turning it on again.
Any heaters for the Hop should have a shorter time limit—perhaps just 3 or 4 minutes (to dissuade homeless people from camping out overnight), and only be activated at all in bitter weather (perhaps under 20ºF). The cost might be defrayed via sponsorship (eg “Heat courtesy of Walgreens”).