February 6, 2014

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) and Green Airport have unveiled a new TransART bus shelter designed by artist Wright Deter Enterprises. Located on the sidewalk along the commercial roadway in front of the airport Terminal, the shelter features customer amenities such as seating and better protection from the elements. It also features interior energy efficient LED lighting completely powered by solar.

The airport served as inspiration for the design of this aluminum and stainless steel shelter. From a side view, the two large vertical posts and the one beam that intersects them reference an aerial view of the runways at Green. The beacons at the top of the post, each independently lit with miniature solar panels, reference a control tower as one might see it at an airport. “The structure is intentionally tall so that it is visible at a distance to help steer people to the shelter as they exit from the airport,” Wright Deter said. Colors were also specifically chosen to blend the surrounding areas, and also give a nod to those colors used by RIPTA.

The shelter, funded in part by federal transit funds coupled with Green Airport funds, cost $39,900 to create and install. The immediate goal of the bus shelter is to enhance transit usage at the airport by improving the transit rider’s experience. Ultimately, the bus shelter will enhance the commercial curb and the surrounding streetscape by contributing a transit amenity that supports the high-quality architectural setting of the terminal and the InterLink through the application of public art. As both an art object and a transit amenity, the shelter will help to encourage the use of the public transit system and support the architectural fabric of the airport campus.

Green Airport is served daily by RIPTA Route 20 (Elmwood Avenue) every 30 minutes and by fourteen trips on Route 14 (West Bay). Six trips per day on Route 8 (Jefferson Blvd) will connect passengers to the InterLink, a transportation hub with multiple functions, featuring a consolidated rental car facility for Green Airport serving MBTA commuter trains traveling between Southern RI, Warwick, Providence and Boston.

With the addition of this shelter at Green Airport, there are currently fourteen TransArt shelters installed throughout Rhode Island: Sayles Avenue and Pascoag Main Street, Pascaog; Main Street, East Greenwich; Hillside Avenue, Newport (2); Wickenden Street, Providence; Hope Street, Providence (2); Brook and Angell Streets, Providence; Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence; Broad Street, Central Falls; Dexter Street, Central Falls and Olneyville Square, Providence (2). To view pictures of the new shelter, and our other TransART shelters around the state, please visit www.ripta.com/transart- .

TransART
The goal of RIPTA’s TransART program, launched in 2007, is to enhance the experience of those using RIPTA service by providing seating and shelter from the weather while introducing interesting and unique bus shelters to the streetscape environment.

If you or your group would like more information about the TransART shelter program, please contact RIPTA’s Planning Department at planning@RIPTA.com.

For more information on other RIPTA services, call 781-9400 or visit ripta.com.