Will there be pathways to the bus stops?

I have heard a lot about the changes to the bus routes in Reston and Tysons Corner but I have not heard much about the bus stops and pathways to the bus stops themselves. Are we getting sidewalks to the bus stops in Reston? And also will there be more bus stop amenities? Like shelters, informational signs with route and schedule information and benches or some kind of seating?

Grand Rapids, MI is investing almost a million dollars from state and federal sources in a project to enhance accessibility to more than 1,600 bus stops. Reston isn’t that big, perhaps we could also get some state and federal money to improve our pathways and bus stops? Here a link to the Grand Rapid article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/06/why_the_rapid_is_spending_955k.html. The improvements will include bike racks, benches and concrete pads.

There was a picture of people sitting on swings at bus stops in Canada going around the internet. This picture turned out to be misleading, the swings were part of an interactive public art installation that happened to be near bus stops. The swings are musical and when people coordinate their swinging they can play tunes. I would love a swing at my bus stop. Wouldn’t it be great if an arts group could collaborate with transit and create beautiful interactive bus stops in Reston? Here is a link to more about the musical swings: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/09/musical-swings-on-the-streets-of-montreal/.

The Grand Rapid bus stop improvements were initiated by the results of a 2011 survey that found that only 38 percent of the stops were accessible to people with special needs. Many community groups across the country are using assessment tools like Easter Seals Project ACTION’s Neighborhood Wayfinding Assessment Pocket Guide and the Checklist for Assessing the Accessibility of Transportation and Mobility. The guides are easy to use, designed for the general public and they provide a good inventory for speaking with public officials and prioritizing improvements.