WRTA says it will clear snow at 27 shelters and 18 downtown stops; wider network remains flag‑stop

WRTA officials told the committee they will remove snow from the 27 bus shelters the agency owns and from 18 downtown bus stops the authority has committed to clearing, but that the agency lacks resources to clear snow at thousands of other flag stops across the city.

“My name is Tom Coyne. I’m the deputy administrator and chief financial officer for the WRTA,” Coyne said as he described the FY27 snow plan. “We have committed to the city to remove all snow from the 27 bus shelters that WRTA owns,” he said, noting the agency was finalizing a master license agreement with the city and that a 27th shelter had just been installed. Coyne added WRTA historically commits to clearing snow at a small number of downtown bus stops — approximately 18 — while the system includes more than 1,000 stops citywide.

Coyne and WRTA Director of Operations and Planning Nick Burnham said the authority’s annual contract with a contractor specifies that the contractor will deploy automatically for events with more than four inches of snow, and that the shelter clearance includes pathways sized to allow mobility devices to approach the curb. Burnham noted WRTA maintains a web page and map showing which shelters and stops are included in the snow‑removal program.

Council members asked for technical clarifications (clearance width, exactly what area is cleared around a shelter, and who to contact for problems at covered stops); WRTA said the typical clearance is intended to provide a clear path for a wheelchair to the street and that complaints about covered shelters can be directed to WRTA administration or customer service for response.

The committee accepted the WRTA report and voted to file Item 3a, sending the snow‑removal plan into the record.