Community effort creates colourful Coastlands bus shelter
RAIN OR SHINE: Trident High School students, from left, Ellyce Forbes, Haylee Vanstone, Kyrone Maxwell and Hauauru Mclean-Carre can now wait out wet weather in comfort at the community’s new bus shelter. Photo Aston Palmer E6004-01
Staff Reporter
School bus users in Coastlands now have a dry place to wait for the bus, thanks to a community-led project that has delivered a new fully enclosed bus shelter at the corner of Bunyan Road and Ocean View Road.
The original shelter, built by residents in 2003, was designed for a much smaller community. Since then, Coastlands has grown to around 2300 residents, including a significant increase in young families, creating a need for a larger and more weatherproof facility.
Up to 40 students wait there for the school bus each morning. Before the new shelter was built, many were left exposed to wind and rain, often arriving at school cold and soaked.
The project was co-led by Coastlands residents Kay Montgomery and Darrin Hawkes after students raised concerns about the conditions they faced while waiting for the bus.
“Children spoke up about being wet and cold when they arrived at school and asked if we could do something about it,” Montgomery said.
The new structure provides a safe, enclosed space for children waiting for the bus, helping improve comfort, wellbeing and readiness to learn before they begin their school day.
The project received widespread community support. Whakatāne Rotary Club submitted the successful funding application, while funding was provided by the Aotearoa Gaming Trust. Businesses Tracks and Whakatāne ITM, along with Coastlands residents donated materials, labour and time to help bring the project to life.
The Whakatāne-Ōhope Community Board also contributed funding for artist Lisa Hay to paint the shelter.
Completed earlier this year, the artwork incorporates elements of the coastal environment and marine life, transforming the structure into a colourful community asset. The mural joins 21 other functional artworks located throughout Coastlands.
Montgomery said the project represented far more than just a bus shelter.
“Beyond the physical upgrade, the new shelter represents what can be achieved when a community comes together, and it lets all members of our community know they are important and have a voice.”