America’s Sorriest Bus Stop: Pittsburgh vs. Englewood

2:51 PM PDT on September 11, 2017

The Final Four of sorry bus stops is starting to come together.

The first city to secure a spot is Seattle. You can still vote in Friday's Tampa vs. Chapel Hill match to decide who gets the second spot.

The third spot is up for grabs today. It's either a perilously balanced Pittsburgh bus stop or a scary stop by the side of a highway in Englewood, New Jersey, across the Hudson from NYC.

Vote below.

Pittsburgh

This entry in the Steel City beat a bus stop in Medford, Massachusetts, in the first round. Submitter Noah Kahrs writes:

You'd think that a bus stop this close to Downtown Pittsburgh and just half a mile from a light rail station and major bike path would be reasonably accessible, but Pittsburgh's confusing road system gets in the way. This bus stop is alongside a four-lane highway that essentially serves as a full-speed connector between two major interstates, and has no sidewalks along the road. Instead, you can access the bus stop by a footbridge across the highway from Duquesne University, or via a lengthy rickety staircase from the bottom of a sheer 100-foot cliff.

Let the record show that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette went out and interviewed someone who waits at this stop, and he said it was actually pretty convenient.

Agencies responsible: Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Public Works

Englewood, NJ

This stop on Route 4 in Englewood beat New Haven in the first round. It was nominated by Michael Klatsky, who says bus riders are forced to "climb over a guardrail or walk in highway traffic."

Klatsky also shares this photo showing how transit riders have worn a path in the grass behind the guardrail:

That matches up with what one of our commenters pointed out: Even though the area isn't pedestrian-friendly at all, this bus stop still gets plenty of use. It is served by NJ Transit and private jitney operators, on a route that runs from Paterson to the GW Bridge Terminal with high frequencies throughout the day. Route 4 in New Jersey is covered with bus stops like this, but despite the high transit usage, walkable connections from surrounding neighborhoods are in short supply.

Agencies responsible: New Jersey DOT, NJ Transit.

Angie Schmitt

Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.