TCAT City Center Project - Seneca Shelter

RMLA developed streetscape designs and planting plans for Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit's (TCAT) Seneca Street bus shelter, the most heavily used bus shelter in TCAT's network. The Seneca Shelter is the first phase of TCAT's City Center Project to replace four 30 year old bus stops that surround Ithaca's pedestrian mall, the Ithaca Commons. A new shelter with a distinctive curved roof line replaced an existing shelter tucked into the southern elevation of the City's Seneca Street parking garage. The project included reconstruction of the concrete sidewalk along the whole south elevation of the garage. Tinted and stamped concrete banding was designed to match an existing pattern at a new, neighboring hotel and conference center. Simple concrete seating walls, that matched shelter seating, was installed along with custom fabricated stainless steel seating rails. Greenscreen trellis' were installed ;under vertical concrete panels to support Boston Ivy designed to climb these panels and soften the concrete garage walls. Princeton Sentry Ginkgo trees were planted in structural soil (CU Soil) along the decorative pavement strip.

The project recently won a City of Ithaca Pride of Ownership Award in the public project category. RMLA was a subconsultant to Bergmann Associates, who provided architectural design services.

The curved roof line of the new shelter
was inspired by TCAT's logo and dynamic bus stenciling. The shelter is designed to be able to accommodate the latest in computer and gps tracking technologies, when these systems become operational.

Concrete seat walls and stainless steel seating rails were added along the south elevation of the parking garage to provide outdoor seating areas for Ithaca's most heavily used shelter. Bicyclists can mount their bicycles on buses to ease the burden of riding up East Hill to Cornell University or South Hill to Ithaca College.

Greenscreen trellises will assist Boston
Ivy in climbing up the vertical concrete
panels. Already, after only one short season, the ivyis spreading horizontally to soften the street level concrete walls. Upright Ginkgos
will provide a striking vertical element while providing adequate space for buses and pedestrians along this rather narrow
sidewalk.

Paving pattern was modeled after an existing, adjacent streetscape to help create a district feel around the Ithaca Commons.