MI: Church Donates Bus Shelter to Serve Harbor Village Residents

Central Wesleyan Church of Holland, Mich., has donated and installed a new bus shelter for the Holland transit system to better serve area residents living near Harbor Village Apartments on the south side.

The Macatawa Area Express (MAX) considered this location a priority for a shelter after major revisions were made in 2011 to the bus route serving that location.   The church first approached MAX about donating a shelter near the apartment complex in the spring of 2013.

“MAX is so thankful to the congregation at Central Wesleyan Church for its compassion and response to a need for a shelter at this location.  Shelters can be very expensive to purchase and install, and it does greatly improve the passenger’s transit experience,” said Linda LeFebre, MAX executive director. “We are especially grateful to Chris Hofland, local impact pastor, for organizing the effort, to Dave Dunn the site manager at the apartment complex, and other volunteers who made this new shelter a reality.”

MAX now has 17 bus shelters, and will be adding three more by the end of summer.  New bus shelters are planned to be located on Century Lane and 24th, the James Street Ottawa County buildings, and Providence Life Retirement Home on State Street in Zeeland.  Each shelter costs around $6,500 for the structure and installation onto a cement pad.  Shelters can be difficult to place as permission must be granted from property owners.

Like Central Wesleyan church, Gentex recently purchased and installed a shelter on Riley Street near its facility because the company noticed many passengers were standing by the bus stop sign without a shelter.