L.A. Bus Stops Improved by D.I.Y. Additions

A bench is a basic bus stop amenity, but many stops on Los Angeles’ Eastside lack them. One resident took on the task of putting in benches himself.

2 minute read

November 30, 2018, 8:00 AM PST

By Camille Fink


Los Angeles Bus Stop Sign

Wt90401 / Wikimedia Commons

An anonymous artist is building and installing benches at bus stops throughout Los Angeles Eastside neighborhoods. These are stops where there is little else than a pole in the dirt with a sign at the stop, as is evident from Carolina A. Miranda’s description of one:

Then there is the complete lack of amenities: no shelter, no landscaping — and no place to sit. Unless you count the fragments of tarmac that someone has thoughtfully arranged into an improvised stool at the base of a commercial billboard nearby.

The artist experienced the challenges of traveling by bus a couple years ago when he had knee problems and had to wait at a stop with no bench. About a year ago, he started installing the wooden benches by attaching them to the solitary poles, and he has put in over a dozen so far.

Bus stop benches are part of a bureaucratic maze that involves the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority but also a host of other agencies and entities, including local governments, the Los Angeles City Council, the Department of Public Works, and private street-furniture contractors. The result is that getting something like a simple bench approved and installed is a slow-moving logistical nightmare.

Miranda says that the rogue benches are being used. “Some of his benches have become part of the fabric of the city — sat on and rained on, captured on Google Street View and even vandalized. Scrawled in tidy handwriting on one bench was, ‘i love it, thank you,’ punctuated by a small heart.”

Others, unfortunately, have disappeared or been destroyed, reports Miranda:

Not five days after I watched the artist install his bench at Valley and Soto — the second one he has installed there — it was gone. Was it the city? Was it a random dude with a crowbar? Is there someone with a deep-seated enmity toward public seating reporting them as garbage to 311?

Still, she reports that he plans to continue to leave benches in these otherwise overlooked voids of the Los Angeles transit network.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up of white panel at top of school bus with "100% electric" black text.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation

California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

April 30 - California Air Resources Board

Aerial view of Freeway Park cap park over I-5 interstate freeway in Seattle, Washington at night.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

April 30 - Streetsblog USA

"No Thru Traffic - Open Streets Restaurants" sign in New York City during Covid-19 pandemic.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street

How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.

April 30 - Next City