Waiting for the bus is never a particularly glamourous proposition, but it turns out some transit experiences are more dismal than others.
British Columbia's Lower Mainland is competing for the dubious honour of being home to North America's worst bus stop, as part of contest held by a U.S.-based transit blog.
Located on Lougheed Highway and Old Dewdney Trunk Road in Pitt Meadows, the stop has a chance to make it into the final four of Streetblog's "Sorry Bus Stop" contest, which features some of the continent's most dilapidated, desolate and downright dangerous transit stops, as submitted by readers.
Jason Lee, who entered the Canadian stop into the otherwise American lineup, called it "a major safety hazard" for those who wait for the 701 and 791 westbound buses.
"At that point, Lougheed Highway consists of four lanes in each direction (one of which is a bus lane), with speeds of (80 km/h) or higher. The bus stop pole is located atop a jersey barrier, which serves as a buffer between speeding cars and the edge of the roadway," Lee wrote.
"Transit riders are forced to either a) wait on the other side of the jersey barrier, and then climb over it when the bus arrives, or b) wait on the highway side of barrier, directly exposed to traffic."
Riders with mobility issues, he added, have no choice but to wait on the roadway.
TransLink told CTV News the land is owned by the B.C. government and that it's been asking the province to makes improvements to the stop.
The Ministry of Transportation said in a statement it is "discussing possible options to improve safety with TransLink."
On Friday, the Pitt Meadows stop was up against a dreary stop in the otherwise trendy city of Beverly Hills, Calif.
Cincinnati and New Orleans have already moved on to the semi-finals of the contest.
With files from St. John Alexander
