FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The first Universally Accessible bus shelter in the United States opens for public use on Wednesday on North Clinton Avenue, in front of Turnstone. Citilink and Turnstone celebrate the fully operational bus stop and shelter after breaking ground on the project in May and working towards the construction of the shelter for 20 years. Casey Claypool, marketing and development director at Citilink, said previously, city buses could not safely stop or turn into Turnstone. She said this project eased public transportation users' daily hassle from being unable to access Turnstone to having a direct route to the facility. "We were not able to turn into Turnstone," Claypool said. "People were having to walk quite a way to get to get to Turnstone and access their services, and now, we're able to access them every 30 minutes by pulling into this newly created road." The project took a bus stop previously located on was funded by AWS Foundation and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, approved by the Fort Wayne City Council. This funding includes the road leading into Turnstone that was redone to incorporate Citilink buses. The bus shelter is located on North Clinton Street. Claypool said this shelter is "the first of its kind" that Citilink knows of, and she said the emphasis Citilink puts on accessibility in public transportation will improve people with disabilities' quality of life. "We're creating opportunities for people to access services," Claypool said. "There's CASS housing around the way and [residents will] be able to utilize [the shelter] to get out, spend some money, do the things that they want to do and live an independent life as much as they can." The new bus shelter has room for about three to four wheelchairs, a lean bench for people unable to sit, and a bench outside the shelter for people who experience social anxiety. The shelter's design includes no ads to provide a less-crowded visual space for people with anxiety or claustrophobia, as well as yellow stripes contrasted on white and glass walls for people with low vision. More accessibility features are planned to be added to the bus shelter. A computerized dispatch which will serve as a bus tracker plans to be established in 2025. Digital signage, including elevated lettering, braille, and a push-talk function may be installed as early as 2025. Additional signage with route maps is currently in the design phase. According to Claypool, two other Universally Accessible bus shelters are in the process of being added to the Citilink bus route. One will be located near the League For the Blind-Disabled on Anthony Boulevard and the Bowen Center on Goshen Road. The Universally Accessible bus shelter is located on 3320 N. Clinton St at Turnstone's front entrance. For more information on the accessible bus stop and shelter, visit the article on wane.com.