Saturday, August 23, 2025

DISMAL BUS SHELTER PLANNING MARS BROWNTOWN'S ALL-AMERICAN CITY IMAGE

(Ed.'s Note: Our seven readers are probably tired of us harping on Brownsville Metro (or is it Brownsville Urban System) for not providing bus shelters for its riders. At any one time, people waiting for a bus in the midday heat climbing toward 100 degrees or in the middle of a blue cold front have used milk crates, bricks, boards, etc., to fashion out seats. Nearby trees provide some respite from the sun.

And today, in the middle of Dog Days, bus riders like the ones above waiting across Old Port Isabel Road with their purchases from the Walmart across the street for the bus to take them back downtown, still have to endure the elements using whatever they can for a seat (in this case a brick wall), or huddle under a tree on the private property. 

Sometimes, riders have resorted to carrying their own folding chairs.

Metro defenders say that there is already a shelter on the other side of OPI ( a four-lane street) and that the riders can wait there until they see the bus going south. But that shelter is for arriving passengers coming north from the city before they make their purchases at the store. Can you imagine carrying the bags of merchandise, kids, the elderly, etc. to dash across the busy street dodging traffic as not to miss the bus? 

Why not build another one on that side of the street for riders to wait after they have made their purchases and are heading back to the city? 

The property owner where the flags are flying could well tell the riders to leave his property and wait on the side of the road where the sign indicates the bus will stop. But in the past, he has even placed a used sofa for them to sit while they wait. The city carried it off once we published a photo in this blog. But a shelter has not been built there and it doesn't appear in Metro's to-do list.

So how about it Metro, or the city commission? Can you provide these shoppers – who are contributing to our quality of life budget with their sales taxes - a place for them to sit and take some shelter from the elements? Or should they – as Queen Rose Gowen used to say – "let them ride bikes!")

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"All in all we are just another brick in the wall."

Anonymous said...

Those bus riders should go or should have gone to Tamale Tech in order to have the money to buy a car or pay an Uber.

Anonymous said...

The Illegals were the only ones using the Brownsville Metro. But since many have been removed why build additional shelters?

Anonymous said...

Check out the LIVE SHUTTLE TRACKER ......RIDE SYSTEMS

FRANK GARCIA said...

If you don't like it, move
to McAllen.

Anonymous said...

It's a class war
The rich get richer and the poor stay poorer and WE ACCEPT IT

Anonymous said...

So whose whose fault is that?

Anonymous said...

Tell Frankie Olivo to actually help instead of trying to make a mockery of this situation. Across the street next to wal-mart is a covered bus shelter. Tell Olivo to purchase the land from the owner then donate it to the city so they can make a proper bus shelter. The city gets right of way of a 1x1 on private property. Olivo won’t step up, he’s just another attention seeker and not a true community advocate.

rita