The design ideas for the Maplewood MetroBus stop were unveiled to the public during the Maplewood Christmas Tree Walk on Friday, Dec. 6, allowing the local community members to weigh-in. The “Transit Stop Transformation Project” is a collaboration between Citizens for Modern Transit and AARP St. Louis with the help of the City of Maplewood, Citizens National Bank and KaBOOM!, working together to activate the space around a Maplewood MetroBus Stop. This joint initiative, will convert the MetroBus Stop area at the southwest corner of Manchester Rd. and Marshall Ave. – adjacent to the Citizens National Bank parklet – into a fun, artistic space that encourages active play, cultivates community, integrates transit into the community and increases transit use.
Concept art and design ideas presented to Maplewood residents at the Christmas Tree Walk included several options and opportunities for public discussion. Some ideas included interactive painted sidewalks encouraging children (and adults) to play and be active, interactive bus stop panels that can be used to display colors, games or art, and swings as a part of the MetroBus shelter and additional lighting at the site.
“The design team has done a wonderful job engaging the Maplewood community during the design phase of the project. Residents to business owners to transit riders weighed-in on what they would like to see happen through thought-provoking, creative workshops. These design concepts and refreshed transit stop is truly an opportunity to integrate this important space into the fabric of our community,” said Kim Cella, CMT Executive Director.
“For AARP in St. Louis and Citizens for Modern Transit, the Maplewood bus stop project is the next step in our work around transit in the St. Louis region. This will serve as the first permanent activation at a transit stop which will bring us closer to our goal of integrating these spaces with the community in which they are located,” said Sheila Holm, Community Outreach Director for AARP in St. Louis.
The partners will use the feedback from the event to develop the final design for installation in early 2020.