Columbia City Council approves spending plan for bus shelters

More than a dozen bus shelters will soon go up at several stops in Columbia.

The Columbia City Council unanimously approved a $569,705 spending plan for 18 new bus shelters at 14 stops Monday night. The city’s multi-modal manager Drew Brooks estimated that each shelter would cost $11,000, but some stops needed more money to lay concrete and install lights.

Brooks assured council members that questioned the price tag on the project, including Mayor Bob McDavid and Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala, that the approval of the spending did not limit the department to those 18 shelters. The city would build as many shelters as possible with the money, which includes a $375,764 federal grant, Brooks said.

First Ward Councilman Clyde Ruffin commended the city for selecting several sites in central Columbia. Serving a poor part of town, Ruffin likened the placement of seven of the 18 shelters as “social equity” to help those living there with transportation.