Duo-Gard Bus Shelters Add Comfort and Convenience to Village of Northfield
Enhancing its reputation as “The Comfortable Corner of the North Shore”, the Village of Northfield IL recently added four custom bus shelters by Duo-Gard. The shelters proved popular immediately.
“One hundred percent of the people love them,” says village manager Stacy Sigman, “including the users, the businesses and even the garden club. It’s rare to do anything that everybody likes.” Public transportation plays a small but vital role in this community of 5,500 residents, she adds.
The project included three 4’x8’ shelters located on main business routes and one 4’x16’ shelter at New Trier High School, which serves five communities. All the shelters feature generous overhangs beyond the footprint. Sigman says this gives “more bang for the buck” because it protects riders from dripping rain and snow while it minimizes the basic footprint.
The smaller shelters are three-sided; New Trier’s larger shelter also features a front wall with two openings. All have ribbon benches along the back.
Style was an important element for Northfield. “We wanted something classic and timeless, yet modern and innovative,” Sigman says, “and we saw a concept at Duo-Gard, but wanted it to be specific for Northfield.” Enter Duo-Gard’s engineering team. Sigman gave the art direction and when the plans came back, she says, “We thought this is perfect! Duo-Gard captured what we wanted and did a masterful job.”
The result, according to Duo-Gard’s Julie Mason, outdoor structures sales, reflects a perfect complement: “Close collaboration with our customers is one of the most valuable services we offer. They talk, we listen and only then take action. Works well.”
Featuring a standing-seam gable roof in bronze aluminum with ¼” clear tempered glass walls in black anodized framing, Northfield’s shelters sport the custom touch of special black grillwork on three sides. The grillwork is designed to match that on the signs welcoming incoming traffic to the village.
“Duo-Gard provided something not only functional, but also aesthetic,” Sigman says.