Artists Sought for Public Art
Proposals at Bus Rapid Transit Stations
SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Omnitrans is looking for qualified artists to develop concepts for public art at 23 stations along the proposed sbX E Street Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route in San Bernardino and Loma Linda.
Professional artists are invited to attend a workshop at 8 p.m. Monday, April 13, at the San Bernardino City Council chambers, 300 N. D St., first floor. Representatives from Omnitrans will be on hand to explain the qualification process and procedures for the selection of artists to develop public art concepts.
“This is one of the biggest opportunities we have to engage the public in the sbX station design process,” said Rohan Kuruppu, Director of Planning for Omnitrans. “We want the cities and the public to be involved in the artistic expression of our station locations because the artwork should reflect the pulse and identity of each community.”
Omnitrans has worked with both cities to develop a Station Art Review Committee of art experts, academicians, city officials and members of the public at large to select finalists, review proposals and designate artists and/or artist teams to nine art opportunities along the 15.7-mile route. The committees will recommend those artists to Omintrans’ Board of Directors for final approval.
The E Street Corridor has been selected by Omnitrans as the first of seven BRT projects throughout its service area to provide fast, frequent, convenient service between northern San Bernardino and Loma Linda. The corridor extends from northern San Bernardino along Kendall Avenue, E Street and Hospitality Lane, down Tippecanoe Artist Workshop April 2, 2009 Page 2 Avenue, Anderson Street and Barton Road to Benton Street, ending at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Medical Center in Loma Linda.
BRT is needed for the entire San Bernardino Valley, whose population is projected to increase by 1 million over the next 20 years. “We believe sbX will change the transportation culture of our region, by providing an innovative commute alternative which will attract people who may not have considered riding a bus,” Kuruppu said.
Slated for completion in late 2011, the state-of-the-art system is described as a light-rail on rubber tires, with dedicated center-running lanes and boarding stations in the middle of the street between downtown San Bernardino and the east end of Hospitality Lane. In the northern and southern sections of the route, the buses will run in mixed-flow traffic, with stops at curbside stations at major intersections. In addition to public art, all stations will feature platform boarding, canopies, ticket vending machines, bike racks, drinking fountains and landscaping to enhance the look and livability of neighborhoods.
The E Street Corridor was selected as the first in the systemwide corridor plan because it links universities and hospitals with a civic center and has major points of interest in between, such as the the VA Hospital, Loma Linda University and Medical Center, the National Orange Show Events Center, Inland Center Mall, Arrowhead Credit Union Park (home of the Inland Empire 66ers baseball team), Carousel Mall, San Bernardino Civic Center, San Bernardino High School and Cal State San Bernardino.
The service is expected to attract new customers because features like dedicated lanes and signal priority will make service time competitive with the automobile. sbX buses also will help boost the region’s economy by increasing pedestrian traffic, attracting residential, retail, entertainment and other transit-oriented development. More project information is available at www.omnitrans-sbx.com, including a downloadable RFQ form and, eventually, the Q&A portion of the April 13 meeting.
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