Los Angeles bus shade for women and minorities slammed as too narrow for anyone to stand under

Los Angeles has been mocked over a bus shadow that has been described as “life-changing” for women and minorities – but is too narrow for even one person to stand under.

City transit officials held a press conference on Thursday to proudly unveil La Sombrita, the prototype bus shelter consisting of a pole attached to a thin, perforated metal crane that has sparked derision on social media.

Costing $10,000, La Sombrita (The Little Shadow) is part of the LA Department of Transportation’s (LADOT) Gender Equity Action Plan, which aims to “make significant progress toward achieving gender equality by 2025.”

The project, with a total cost of $200,000, was reportedly briefed by a local advisory committee of women and “gender minorities” who said lack of shade and lighting at bus stops was a top priority.

‘The lack of essential facilities such as shade and lighting is not just an inconvenience. For women and gender minorities – half of our population – it can change the course of their lives,” said Chelina Odber, CEO of the Kounkuey Design Initiative, a nonprofit organization that designed the structure.

A Twitter user shared a photo trying to get under the shade. “Sorry, you can’t stand under La Sombrita,” he joked. “The shadow is only for me”

However, other online commenters did not find the structure funny and expressed anger at the city spending thousands on a project they consider useless

But soon after the unveiling, La Sombrita started making the rounds online, and not for the best of reasons, as social media users started making fun of it and berating city officials for the project.

A Twitter user shared a photo trying to get under the shadow but not completely covered by it.

“Sorry, you can’t stand under La Sombrita,” he joked. “The shadow is only for me.”

However, other online commenters did not find the structure funny and expressed anger at the city spending thousands on a project they consider useless.

“We are a wealthy city that is only in trouble because LA city gvt is full of scams, scams, corruption, waste, kickbacks, pay to play and other rackets,” the Twitter user said.

Another weighed in: “They designed this to provide shade at a bus stop. Many thousands of dollars for this f*****g joke. You should be ashamed of yourself.’

LADOT has defended La Sombrita, saying more traditional shelters would cost as much as $50,000, and claiming that the city’s bureaucratic process prevents the construction of larger shades that touch the sidewalk.

To build structures wide enough to actually provide shade, they need input from other government departments. Instead, La Sombritas are attached to existing structures previously set up by LADOT.

LADOT also endorsed the structure’s design on Twitter, posting an image illustrating how it “provides shade during the day and uses solar energy collected to light the stop at night.”

KDI noted that in addition to providing shade, the structure features “a solar-powered pedestrian light that illuminates the area around a stop”

Social media users have also shared images of the structure at night, saying the light doesn’t provide much illumination

LADOT also supported the structure’s design on Twitter, posting an image showing how it “provides shade during the day and uses solar energy collected to light the stop at night.”

Colin Sweeney, a spokesperson for LADOT, told DailyMail.com that the pilot was funded entirely by a grant from a private foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) also defended its creation on Twitter, arguing that La Sombrita was “designed to get up and running quickly within the current policy landscape.”

“To avoid coordination between permit and multiple agencies, it had to meet these city standards: be less than 24″ wide, maintain a 4-foot clearance, stand completely on the pole, be durable, and be removable,” said the organization.

KDI noted that in addition to providing shade, the structure “has a solar-powered pedestrian light that illuminates the area around a stop and provides visibility to the sidewalk at night.”

But social media users have also shared images of the structure at night, saying the light doesn’t really provide much illumination and only illuminates the pole.

“La ladies, if you take the bus, don’t leave home without an umbrella and a flashlight, because LA’s incompetent voters have spent huge amounts on a ‘shadow’ and ‘light’ thing that offers neither,” said a Twitter account. user next to an image of La Sombrita at night.

Another Twitter user also shared an image of the construction at night, asking, “What the hell does it do to light up the top of the metal (20 feet up)?”

“If we created a challenge to design the most absurd bus stop structure costing $10,000, this would win.”

There are currently four pilot La Sombritas in different LA neighborhoods. Each structure has a QR code that allows users to fill out a survey about how well they work and how they can be improved.

“We are committed to making it easier and safer for people to get where they need to go in LA — and to test all possible solutions that will help us get there. Funded entirely by grants, this trial is not a replacement for bus shelters and street lighting, which are critical investments we need more of, and is designed to test ways to create small amounts of shade and light where other solutions are not immediately possible are.’ LADOT’s spokesperson told DailyMail,com.

“It’s clear that people are willing to talk about this topic, and that’s given us loads of feedback that we’ll use to inform this and future initiatives.”

DailyMail.com has contacted KDI for comment on this story.