Bus shelters expected by the end of February
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on January 21, 2005 2:10 PM
The bus shelters ordered last month by the Goldsboro Wayne Transportation Authority haven't been delivered, but City Manager Richard Slozak says he expects them to arrive by the end of February.
Slozak told the Gateway board on Wednesday that there is usually a 35-to-60-day delivery period, and that deliveries were delayed by the holidays.
"As soon as they are delivered, we should be able to put them up," Slozak said. "But we can't pour the concrete pads in weather that's below freezing."
The authority voted in November to buy 11 shelters from a Michigan company, but an order wasn't placed until December, after a contract was signed.
A need for shelters at various bus stops has been a frequent request of bus riders for several years, but ordering them has not been easy, officials say. Before the authority could order the shelters, it had to have a procurement document in place. That document had to be approved by the state.
For months, the authority didn't get any response from the state on the procurement policy. When the policy was finally sent back to Goldsboro, changes had to be made to the document.
Finally, in late fall 2003, the document was approved. But by then the authority was busy searching for an independent contractor to run the transportation system.
The shelter topic came up again in February 2004, and the authority decided to put the process on hold until the new contractor was hired.
In July, Applebus Co. began its management of the public transportation in Wayne County. Applebus also manages the transit systems in Edgecombe, Wilson and Nash counties.
The authority then drafted specifications for the shelters and asked for bids from several companies.
Each shelter costs about $2,500. The authority has allotted $30,000 in its budget to purchase the shelters.
The shelters will be closed on three sides but open in the front. A bench, stretching three quarters of the length of the shelter, will be mounted inside. The remaining space will be for wheelchairs.
The Authority has a list of proposed sites for the shelters, but still needs permission from some of the property owners. The suggested locations are: Seymour Homes public housing, Kmart, Piggly Wiggly on Lionel Street, Courtyard Apartments, Westhaven public housing, Fairview public housing, Lincoln Homes public housing, Woodcrest public housing, Elmwood Terrace public housing, the Wayne County Department of Social Services, Eastpointe mental health agency, and Berkeley Mall.