All bus shelters to be installed by July 1
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on April 20, 2005 1:46 PM
Gateway plans to have all of its bus shelters installed by July 1, the agency's executive director told its board Monday afternoon.
The first shelter was erected last week on Simmons Street without any difficulty, Stephen Wright said.
Wright said that he will review each of the remaining site plans to make sure the shelters will be adequately designed to serve disabled passengers. But he anticipates the work will be completed over the next 11 weeks.
"I don't know whether to laugh or cry," said Andy Anderson, a long-time member of Goldsboro Wayne Transportation Authority. The board has been working for years to get the shelters.
"I don't know how many trips I made to Raleigh about them," Anderson added.
The other shelters will be erected in front of K-Mart, Piggly Wiggly on Lionel Street, the Eastpointe mental health agency, Courtyard Apartments, and Seymour Homes, Westhaven, Fairview, Lincoln Homes, Woodcrest and Elmwood Terrace public housing units.
Monday's meeting was the first for Wright, who joined Gateway earlier this month.
He recounted his 15 years of experience in mass transit, starting as a driver. As a college student, he oversaw East Carolina University's student-run transit system. Later, he was assistant director of Craven County's transportation system.
One of his responsibilities here will be raising money for the bus-vanpool system.
He asked the board Monday about the possibility of selling advertising space on Gateway's vehicles. About half the state's transit systems subsidize revenues through advertising, Wright said.
The board asked for more information about the proposal at its May meeting.