Sorry Bus Stops: Revere vs. Pittsburgh

We’ve got another tough first round contest coming at you today as we narrow down the field in Streetsblog’s “Sorriest Bus Stop in America” tournament. The Boston suburb of Revere goes up against Pittsburgh, a city that always seems to place a strong contender in this bracket.

Nashville and Cincinnati have already advanced to the second round, while Beverly Hills and San Diego are still duking it out for the third spot. You can vote in that match until midnight.

On to today’s competition…

Revere, Massachusetts 

Who wouldn’t want to stand in shoulder-high grass behind a guardrail to wait for the bus? An anonymous reader tipped us off to the bus stop located at North Shore and Blanchard Avenue in the densely populated suburb of Revere, just a few miles from downtown Boston.

To reach this stop, you have to cross a four-lane divided highway by way of an unsignalized crosswalk. This bus stop seems to say: “Be thankful you have any crosswalk at all, you ungrateful bus riders!”

The saddest part might be the patch of worn-down grass that shows people actually use this stop, which is served by the MBTA’s 441 and 442 buses.

In the MBTA’s defense, the agency has made a point of systematically improving access to 50 of its sorriest bus stops. But whatever progress the agency made on other stops, this one clearly still needs a lot of attention.

Pittsburgh

Just getting to this stop, located at 110 Center Avenue in Pittsburgh, is practically an extreme sport. Reader Steve Kuhn details its faults:

No sidewalk, no shoulder, no curb, not even flat ground. Just an overgrown hillside. Absolutely nowhere to stand other than in the road. It’s located at the crest of a blind hill so no oncoming traffic (or arriving buses) can see you there until they’re right on top of you. To add insult to injury it’s at a spot where the road narrows under a bridge so there is even less margin for error for traffic to pass by.

The stop is served by Route 8 of the Allegheny County Port Authority, which also placed a finalist in last year’s competition.

Vote away — this poll is open until Friday at midnight.