Metro Transit is starting a major project in St. Louis on Monday to make 124 bus stops more accessible for people with disabilities.
The work isn’t expected to impact riders, and Metro says bus drivers will look for people waiting on both sides of the street while the upgrades are completed.
Metro Spokeswoman, Dianne Williams, says work will begin on 12 stops this week and include a number of improvements.
“Things like panels and signage in Braille and new benches,” Williams says. “There are several places where you can stand and wait for the buses but some people can’t stand for half an hour, for example, if the bus runs every 30 minutes. Those kinds of things are going to make the bus stops better for everybody.”
Other upgrades include putting in curb ramps and concrete pads for bus-deployed wheel chair ramps.
Metro hopes to have the work completed by late spring, and stops with the highest ridership will be at the top of the priority list for improvements.
A number of the stops were built before the Americans with Disabilities Act, so technically they don’t have to be upgraded, Williams says.
But with the help of a federal grant they’re able to push forward with the work.
“We really need to be able to make the places where people wait for public transit accessible to them,” Williams says.
The total cost of the work is $600,000, with 80 percent of that is coming from a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
