Portland bus stop a finalist in national competition - Press Herald

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A bus stop on Congress Street in Portland is a finalist for Best Bus Stop in the USA, thanks to the creativity of local artist and recent immigrant Ebenezer Akakpo.

Akakpo, a native of Ghana, designed a series of powder-coated colored panels that encase the bus shelter, which sits, fittingly, across the street from Maine College of Art & Design, where the artist studied.

The panels are stamped with outlines of traditional Ghanian Adinkra symbols for hope and friendship and offer riders something to ponder while they wait. The installation also celebrates Portland’s growing diversity.

The Portland stop will square off against a bus stop in Boston in the final of the contest hosted by StreetsblogUSA, an online news organization that focuses on efforts to end the country’s dependence on motor vehicles.

In early rounds, Portland beat out bus stops in Baltimore; Norwalk, Connecticut; and Juneau, Alaska, and its cumulative vote total was the highest of any entry.

The other finalist is the Walnut Avenue stop along the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Columbus Avenue Busway. That stop features benches, shelters, sidewalks and a raised platform that’s accessible to people of all abilities and sits in the center of the traffic lanes to ensure passing cars slow down.

Online voting closes at 10 a.m. Friday.

America’s Best Bus Stops Championship: Boston vs. Portland, Maine

Akakpo designed his public art installation as part of a Creative Bus Shelter initiative, sponsored by Creative Portland, that paid artist $4,500 each to give stops a neighborhood-specific refresh, using funds from the National Endowment for the Arts along with matching cash and in-kind support from local businesses.

“Hometown pride played a key role in the community celebrations and ribbon-cutting ceremony that attracted cultural leaders,” said Dinah Minot, executive director of the nonprofit Creative Portland, which helped spearhead the contest. “(Greater Portland) Metro, the transit provider, is very supportive of the art installations and agree that the community benefits outweigh the potential revenues from ads on the shelters.

“Reducing the stigma of riding a bus and spotlighting public transit through the arts has been a positive result of the creative bus shelter initiative.”

Creative Portland is planning a victory party if the city comes out on top. It will be held from 5-7 p.m. April 22 in Akakpo’s showroom at Indigo Arts Alliance on Washington Avenue.

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