For months, people waiting for buses in Atlantic City have done so in the open air without bus shelters for protection from the elements.
On Monday, however, 14 shelters arrived and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority began installation starting at the intersection of Vermont and Pacific avenues, CRDA spokeswoman Kim Butler said. Installation will move from uptown to downtown on a total of 64 shelters. Trucks will continue to make bi-weekly deliveries until all the shelters are installed.
Clear Channel Communications began tearing down the previously standing shelters some time after its contract for them with the Special Improvement Division of the CRDA expired April 30. The shelters were not producing enough advertising revenue, the company said.
In June, the CRDA awarded a $600,000 contract to Handi-Hut, a Clifton, Passaic County-based firm, to install the shelters throughout the city. That nearly doubles the 35 Clear Channel Communications shelters. Sixteen of the nearly 30 new locations will be in the Tourism District, and 13 will be in Atlantic City neighborhoods.
The new shelters will come equipped with features intended to deter loitering. Energy-saving motion sensors will light the shelters through the night, and some will come with benches featuring vertical separation bars to discourage sleeping in the bus shelters. All shelters will be identified with large rooftop signs reading, "Atlantic City."
“The new bus shelters represent our commitment to creating a clean and safe environment for visitors, residents, and employees of the Tourism District and throughout Atlantic City,” CRDA Executive Director John Palmieri said in a written statement.
The project is slightly delayed from its initially announced schedule. Officials had said installation of new shelters would begin in mid-September. All shelters in the Tourism District are expected to be installed by Nov. 30. Of the 14 shelters that arrived Monday, nine will installed on Pacific Avenue, four on Atlantic Avenue and one at Mississippi and Fairmount avenues.
Contact Jennifer Bogdan:
609-272-7239
Follow Jennifer Bogdan on Twitter @ACPressJennifer
