Palmhurst purchasing $15K bus shelter

This article originally appeared in the Friday Aug. 23, 2019 issue of the Progress Times.

Palmhurst residents relying on public transportation will feel some relief as they wait for their bus once the city installs a bus shelter.

At their Monday meeting, city commissioners voted to purchase a $14,800 bus shelter for the city’s bus stop.

The bus shelter will be purchased from Michigan-based company Brasco International which will deliver the bus shelter within 60 days, city Manager Lori Lopez said.

“It will make it more convenient for residents and complement our business district,” Lopez said.

The bus shelter will be paid through a grant with the Weslaco-based transportation company Valley Metro and will be located in front of the McDonald’s restaurant located east of Conway Ave. and Three Mile Road.

While most bus shelters are about 4 feet by 10 feet and cost $7,000, the city voted to go with a much larger bus shelter that will measure 5 feet by 12 feet. It will include a 4 feet by 6 feet bulletin display case, a bike rack, a trash receptacle bin and a canopy ceiling with solar powered lighting.

Currently, two Valley Metro bus routes stop at Palmhurst which has no official bus stop. People on this route have to wait at the Walmart parking lot across the street from the McDonald’s restaurant to be picked up or dropped off by the bus.

“That will change now with the bus shelter,” Lopez said. “Now there’s a designated spot that will provide shelter from the sun and rain. It’s a safe location and the much larger shelter means an entire family can wait there.”

The location for the bus shelter was picked because the east side of the street had a shoulder lane while the west side did not. This will make it easier for the Valley Metro buses to pick up and drop off people, Lopez added.

“And the concrete padding is already in place for the bus shelter,” Lopez said. “It’s now just a question of ordering and having this shelter delivered and placed there.”