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When Patterson asked about sites where benches already exist, Brownman told her right of way is a major consideration in whether a shelter can be added at those spots. Because of ADA guidelines, he said, the pad on which a shelter rests must lead to a side- walk, and the facilities cannot in any way obstruct a roadway. "We don't just drop off passengers with nowhere to go necessarily," he added. "In some cases, we might have a 100-foot sidewalk extension. … ADA is actually a significant consideration." The county has had to erect streetlights on sidewalks at some spots on Beneva Road, he pointed out, "because of lack of right of way." Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson told Carter it appears some bus stops along U.S. 41 from North to South County are within 100 feet of each other. "Tell me how you're deal- ing with that while you're putting up these bus shelters," Robinson said. Bus stops could be as close as 200 feet from each other, Carter replied. Thai Tran, the county's transportation operational manager, added that SCAT staff works to combine stops whenever possible to improve efficiencies. Carter also pointed out that her staff exam- ines the ridership levels for each stop in a series when the stops are as close together as every 200 or 250 feet. Years ago, Carter explained, because of requests from residents with disabilities, the county installed stops close together on Beneva Road, for example, to enable those passengers to reach their destinations. Typically, Zambella noted, stops are no closer to each other than 800 to 1,000 feet. OTHER COUNTIES SURVEYED As Carter promised late last year, staff had obtained and analyzed shelter cost informa- tion from five counties with similarities to Sarasota: Collier, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Volusia. However, Zambella cautioned, "We're not always comparing apples to apples." The biggest variables are site considerations and utility issues, she added. "Some agencies wouldn't even give us numbers," she pointed out, because the figures vary so much on the basis of the site factors. The expense of the shelter itself averaged $5,906 in those counties, Zambella said, com- pared to $5,625 in Sarasota County. Additionally, those peer counties have shel- ters at 3 percent to 14 percent of their stops. According to a chart provided to the commis- sioners, the lowest cost for a shelter, exclusive of the easement or right of way expense, is $10,000 in Manatee County. That figure does not include ADA-compliant infrastructure, the chart points out. Even with an extra $12,000 for the ADA facil- ities, Barbetta said, the total cost would be $22,000, compared to $34,000 for SCAT. Zambella reminded him that his figure did not include sidewalk and utility expenses. Sarasota News Leader February 21, 2014 Page 66