In Buffalo, New York, waiting for the bus just got a little easier.
Like many other cities, Buffalo bus stops often lack any kind of seating. It’s a daily struggle for people who rely on public transit, as they’re forced to wait for long periods of time with nowhere to rest. Volunteers with the city’s Local Conversation, Strong Towns Buffalo, witnessed that struggle and decided to do something about it.
Late last month, the group installed five bus benches around the city. Built with crowdfunded materials and borrowed tools, the benches were a welcome sight for riders. "It's nice,” one resident told the local news. "A lot of places where the buses stop, we don't have conveniences like this."
The project is proof that improving the lives of residents doesn’t require a lot of time or funding. Strong Towns Buffalo started planning at the end of August. For the next couple of weeks, they fundraised money for materials and assembled two teams of volunteers: one to build the benches and the other to clean up the bus stops in preparation for installation. They placed the benches on September 20, less than a month after the initial planning meeting.
The quick turnaround doesn’t mean shoddy work or a lack of forethought, either. The benches are made of sturdy wood, and the group strategically placed them in areas where group members live so they can clean and replace the benches as needed.
This kind of do-it-yourself action is at the heart of the Strong Towns approach: When you see a problem in your place, you don’t need to wait for someone else to fix it. You can start where you are with the resources you have.
Too often, these bottom-up efforts run into resistance from local authorities. Benches are removed for being unauthorized and volunteers are told to stop. But in Buffalo, local transportation authorities didn’t shut the project down. Instead, they embraced the collaboration.
“While we do not have a formal partnership with Strong Towns Buffalo … we welcome the support of community partners in helping us ensure a more comfortable journey for riders," the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said in a statement.
Strong Towns Buffalo proves that real change doesn’t start with grants and consultants — it starts with neighbors and the will to make things better. If you’d like to make this kind of impact on your own community, click here to find a Local Conversation near you.
