 "Photo: May-Ying Lam")
UT's Landscape Architecture department will transform three city bus stops into urban oases with help from a $2,500 grant.
Graduate architecture students will submit proposals to design three bus stops on First Street, South Lamar Boulevard and Red River Street.
According to the grant proposal, the stops should have a "thermal cooling effect, mitigate the 'urban heat island' effect and take advantage of sustainable and recycled materials whenever possible." Native plants could be used to provide shade and offset heat amplified by concrete, according to the proposal. The use of alternative materials for bus stop benches will also help to create a cooler environment.
The Neighborhood Beautification Grant is distributed annually by Keep Austin Beautiful, a local nonprofit organization.
"The stops should be performative, incorporate better storm-water management practices and be environmentally friendly," said Ilse Frank, UT landscape architecture professor.
She said the site-specific designs will reflect the personality of their locations.
"Rather than just be one type of bus stop, we want to respond to the type of character of the neighborhood where the stops are located," Frank said.
The designs must also coordinate with Capital Metro's guidelines for operability.
"The stops have to meet certain criteria regarding vandalism, being in the way of the operator's line of business and withstanding the elements," said Alissa Schram, a Capital Metro spokeswoman.
All School of Architecture graduate students may enter the design competition, Frank said. College of Fine Arts graduate students are also encouraged to apply. Students will work in teams, and one winning design for each site will be chosen.
The department is working with Capital Metro's Adopt-a-Stop program to work on the stops. Through Adopt-a-Stop, citizens or groups can take responsibility for a bus stop and take care of it.
"The program allows people to pick up after it, make sure it looks nice, and, in response, they will get a plaque with their name on it," said Capital Metro spokeswoman Misty Whited.
The design contest is slated to begin in January, Schram said, and construction will begin after teams submit proposals and a winner is chosen.
"Just imagine having a plant next to you instead of dead August grass," Frank said. "We want to make Austin realize that public transportation doesn't have to be dreadful."
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