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WORLD CLASS STREETSSTREET FURNITUREBUS SHELTERSBus shelter, ManhattanIn order to improve the aesthetic quality of the city’s streetscape,DOT has worked to unify the look and feel the city’s street furniture.This includes bus shelters, seating, bicycle parking and pedestriannavigation signs that are attractive and have a consistent scale,context and material. This coordination brings modern design tocity streets.In July 2005, after an extensive competitive bid process,DOT awarded a franchise to Cemusa, a Spanish street furniturecompany, to design, manufacture, install and maintain bus shelters,newsstands, and protected bicycle parking at no cost to the City.In exchange, the City will allow Cemusa to sell advertising space onthe structures within clearly defined limits. Cemusa partnered withGrimshaw Architects to create sleek, elegant structures made fromhigh–quality materials to withstand the rigors of New York City’ssidewalks.This award–winning family of designs guided future projects,including the design for street benches and totems and maps usedin a new pedestrian wayfinding program.Over three million riders use NewYork City local and commutersbuses every weekday. Giving thesepeople safe, comfortable placesto wait encourages transit useand is an essential element of asustainable city.The look and feel of the city’s3,300 bus shelters is not onlyimportant for the comfort of transitriders, but also the overall designand aesthetic quality of streets.DOT controls the placement ofthe shelters, and manages thefranchise agreement with a privatecompany, Cemusa, who maintainsand installs the units. The DOTworked with Cemusa, the MTAto replace every bus shelter andNEWSSTANDSNYC has a long history of sidewalknewsstands dating back morethan 100 years. They are a fixtureon New York City streets andprovide simple and efficient waysfor people to buy newspapers,drinks, and snacks. Since 2007,in an effort to bring a more modernfeel to the newsstands, DOT hasinstall an additional 200 (3,500 busshelters total).DOT worked closely withcommunity leaders to identify thebest locations for additional sheltersto ensure that new locations bestserve each community and theriding public. For the first time ever,all of the bus shelters offer seating,especially important for the elderlyand disabled. The City is alsoexploring exciting new technologieslike Bluetooth, LCD screens andreal–time bus arrival information.Shelters come in four sizes—regular,narrow, short and double—so thereis an appropriate shelter for everyneighborhood and bus route.replaced every existing newsstandat no cost to newsstand operators.Cemusa maintains the exterior ofall newsstands including regularcleaning and graffiti removal. Thenew design is sleek and modern,and in scale with other streetfurniture.148Chapter 11: Design in the Public Realm