AJ Kiel’s bus stop in Denver’s Cole neighborhood serves as a vivid reminder of the challenges faced by public transit users.
Regular riders like Kiel endure noisy, littered spaces with little protection against the elements.
Kiel, who has been creating art for Access Gallery, a nonprofit arts organization for people with disabilities, since 2006, uses his experiences to advocate for better conditions.
He is one of three artists who have adorned local bus stops with artwork aimed at raising awareness about the poor conditions faced by transit users.
Kiel’s installation at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and York Street depicts several characters, including a child using a wheelchair and an elderly woman using a walker, waiting for the bus.
“My artwork is about the people who take the bus every time when struggling,” he explained.
The piece aims to capture the challenges riders face, especially during inclement weather.
Transit advocates, led by Jonathan Stalls, a pedestrian advocate and author, recently embarked on a ride-along with city officials to showcase both the artwork and the difficult conditions that pedestrians encounter.
The trip began in Central Park, an area bustling with shopping centers that house stores like Goodwill and Walmart.
This makes the location particularly significant for those who rely on public transportation due to financial constraints, yet the built environment reflects little of this reality.
At the first bus stop visited, where five routes converge, passengers found no benches to sit on, despite Google Maps indicating that one had been installed in June 2024.
Instead, many users rested on overturned shopping carts from Walmart.
As the group traveled on the 43 bus towards Kiel’s regular stop, they encountered further uncomfortable conditions, including poor sidewalks that complicated accessibility.
“The other side of this sidewalk, it turns into a really inaccessible kind of gravel path,” Stalls lamented.
Upon reaching Kiel’s bus stop, the sight of trash on the bench only amplified the sentiment of neglect, as noted by Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership.
“There’s trash on the bench here.
No trash can,” she pointed out.
Locantore also mentioned the lack of any city or RTD personnel to manage the cleanliness of the area.
Kiel’s artwork was installed on the fence of a local family’s property.
Eddie Battle Jr., who resides nearby, commented on the never-ending challenges that come with living in close proximity to a bus stop.
“People leave bottles.
People leave cups.
People leave liquor.
People leave drugs.
People leave needles,” Battle Jr. described the grim reality.
His family has lived in the area for decades, and he shared memories of his father’s efforts to keep the bus stop clean before his passing in 2019.
“There was no longer consistent care for the bus stop,” Battle Jr. said.
He believes that it is the responsibility of the city and the Regional Transportation District to take care of the bus stop.
“You can’t have an 85-year-old man picking up everybody else’s trash,” he asserted.
“Neither should it be anybody’s responsibility that is needing to use the bus.”
Although Kiel’s artwork decorates three bus stops, advocates highlight that thousands more still lack essential pedestrian dignity.
Officials from the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) indicated that out of 2,700 bus stops in Denver, only around 300 have shelters.
At each of the three stops, signs encourage transit riders and passersby to share their experiences through the Pedestrian Dignity project.
Each sign includes a weblink and a phone number for those wishing to leave voicemails about their issues.
“I think it’s a much better way to be thinking about community engagement and how do we address the people who are really hurting the most in our community and not just people who have the time and the luxury to go to community meetings,” Locantore argued.
The feedback collected will be utilized by local transit advocates to lobby city leaders for increased funding towards pedestrian infrastructure.
With Denver’s pending bond proposal, there is hope for implementing critical improvements to the public transit experience.
image source from：https://denverite.com/2025/04/18/denver-bus-stops-art-pedestrian-dignity/
