Spot near Kauffman Stadium is in the running for title of ‘America’s Sorriest Bus Stop’
A bus stop near Kauffman Stadium is in the running for the title of “Sorriest Bus Stop” in the United States.
The contest, run every year by Streetsblog USA, started out with 16 “ghastly” contenders going head-to-head on a Final Four-style bracket.
On Thursday, Streetsblog announced that Kansas City and Silver Spring, Maryland, are the finalists for this year’s title.
“Each of the 16 bus stops that competed this year — and the agencies who oversee them — deserved a thorough shaming,” notes the blog, a news site for information about sustainable transportation and livable communities.
“No transit rider should ever have to wait in the rain for a bus with no posted schedule, or walk in a ditch along an eight-lane highway after disembarking. These conditions are deplorable but all too common in American cities.
“The two bus stops facing off today — in Kansas City and Silver Spring, Maryland — had some extra dreadful quality that sets them apart in the eyes of our voters.”
The bus stop in Kansas City beat out “sad stops” in Washington, D.C., St. Louis County and Broomfield, Colorado, to get into the final round, according to the blog.
It sits on Blue Ridge Cutoff at 41st Terrace.
“Not only does it lack shelter, but you can’t even tell it’s a bus stop,” notes the blog.
The stop is “very poorly lit and next to impossible to find after a game (or for any other reason, with the lack of a sign),” wrote submitter Brian Curran, who dubbed the stop “an adventurous way to get to and from a Royals game.”
Going to a game on the bus in the other direction, Curran wrote, “police had to stop traffic so my family could cross the 4 plus lanes of cars, and then we had to walk across a giant parking lot and a few grassy areas to get to the stadium.”
Wrote another commenter: “Kansas City by a mile. Not only is there no sign there, but ALL the stops around Royals Stadium are terrible. This stadium probably employs hundreds of event workers and thousands of fans attend every game night. They deserve better than to be dropped off at a random ditch.”
The spot is squaring off against a spot so dangerous that the Washington Post launched an investigation.
One woman noted that she voted for the Silver Spring stop because, “well, death at the bus stop is my new cover band name.”
As of early Friday afternoon, Silver Spring was (thankfully?) way ahead of Kansas City in the public voting. You can vote here.
This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Spot near Kauffman Stadium is in the running for title of ‘America’s Sorriest Bus Stop’."