U-Pass Here To Stay At Shuttle Service Expense

According to the latest story in the Daily 49er, our highly praised U-Pass program may be here to stay at the expense of our current off-campus shuttle service.

The Daily 49er reports that in order to help pay for the U-Pass program, the off-campus shuttle service (that runs a similar course to that of LB Transit Route 171) will need to be discontinued after this semester.

News of shuttle service discontinuation has been met with mixed feelings.

"I think that the U-pass has caused over crowding on some buses, however I recently rode the off-campus shuttle and it was extremely crowded as well." said Fashion Merchandising major Rachel Dickinson. "I understand that the cost of having both is hard to manage, but I wish they could figure out a a way to have both still. I think a lot of students depend on those shuttles."

While the current off-campus shuttle service will say its final goodbyes this semester, plans for a new shuttle service for students living at the Residential Learning College, formerly the site of Brooks College, are underway.

Photo by David J. Nelson

Link to original story here: http://www.daily49er.com/news/u-pass-program-likely-to-continue-with-off-campus-shuttles-as-a-sacrifice-1.1737269

Funding Sought For Future 405 Problem

According to a story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Councilman Patrick O'Donnell is seeking an additional "Umbrella funding package" to alleviate future impacts the planned 405 freeway reconfiguration project is sure to bring.

Funds, according to O'Donnell, are primarily for traffic law enforcement, impacts on roads, signage, street lights and other impacts expected from the closure.

Among the many things that will aggravate drivers that frequent the 405 will be the one-year closure of the 7th Street westbound entrance, as well as the eastbound entrance sometime in mid 2010.

Planned detour streets during construction will be Westminster boulevard, Seal Beach boulevard, and Palo Verde Avenue - which runs just a few blocks up from the CSULB campus. O'Donnell has criticized plans for the Palo Verde detour route on more than one occasion.

In a statement he made to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, O'Donnell made his point clear,"On any day of the week, Palo Verde is a parking lot."

According to plans for the detour route, detour traffic from the 405 is expected to aggravate traffic created by CSULB, further enforcing O'Donnell's point.

So to all who frequent Palo Verde Avenue, you have been warned.

Original story can be found here http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_12222424?IADID=Search-www.presstelegram.com-www.presstelegram.com

Photograph provided by: http://www.longbeach.gov/District4/

7th Street Bridge Closure More Cause For Concern

After a closer inspection by City of Long Beach Traffic Engineer Dave Roseman, all does not seem well with the planned 7th Street bridge closure as well as its detour routes.

According to the story in the LBReport website, Roseman anticipates drivers will likely take a different route than anticipated by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

In an open letter to OCTA's Niall Barrett, Roseman expressed these concerns, siting several possible detour options as well as the impact these might have on surrounding streets. One street exit sited as a possible place of concern is none other than the 405 freeway exit on Bellflower Boulevard, only a few blocks up the street from the CSULB campus.

Will this have a greater impact than anticipated on our campus traffic for the next semesters to come? Hard to say, but if numbers mean anything, a projected 20% of traffic is expected to populate Bellflower Boulevard while another 30% is anticipated on Palo Verde Avenue after the closure is implemented.

This could mean a harder time getting to class for some time to come. Better get that car out early and beat the traffic before it beats you.

Story found on http://www.lbreport.com/news/apr09/wcclb2.htm

Images provided by OCTA at http://www.octa.net/westcounty.aspx

The New Price For A Ticket

While we are all busy worrying about where we were heading for spring break, a new parking bail schedule took effect on campus.

The simple mechanics of it all is this, what used to cost about $40 to pay off a simple citation for missing a valid parking permit (which has unfortunately occurred on more than one occasion) has now been bumped up to $45. The same goes for most citations or violations listed on the bail schedule, except for the occasional few that go beyond $100 limit (e.g. a stolen permit violation was priced at $250, now it's been raised to $255).

So why the raise? The answer is simple, as best illustrated by University Police Parking Field Operations Manager Alan Moore.

"The fee is in response to Senate Bill 1407, which has us raising our violation fees almost $10 more per ticket in order to comply with the states' need for revenue, which in turn pays for prisons as well as other state own facilities."

Well now you know. Keep on that permit until the end of the semester, unless you want to add another $45 to what you paid in total for the year.

List of new fees found on http://daf.csulb.edu/offices/ppfm/parking/bail-schedule.html

Traffic On The Rise On The 405?

The golden rule shared among L.A commuters boils down to one simple thing.

Expect traffic. Always.

A recent article in the Daily 49er only reinforces the point, citing a possible freeway closure in the not-so-distant-future as a cause for major concern among Long Beach residents and students alike. A planned renovation of three major Southern California freeways, known officially as the West County Connectors project, will officially begin as early as next year, bringing with it an assured heavy dose of traffic. The project in question seeks to create direct connections into carpool lanes between Route 22, Interstate 405, and Interstate 605.

Unfortunately, with change comes a great deal of growing pains for residents in the nearby affected areas. In order for renovations to begin, closure of the northbound I-405 to westbound Route 22 connector (also known as the Seventh Street Bridge) must be completed. Many residents living near campus fear this might cause a heavier flow of traffic on their streets, since about a third of CSULB's campus community commutes on a daily basis from the O.C area (this includes teachers and students alike, we are a commuter school after all!).

CSULB officials as well as the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) hope to get the word out before construction begins, as well as discuss ways in which this traffic disaster in waiting can be averted if not eased ahead of time.

Just remember, expect traffic delays. Always.

For more on this article, feel free to visit http://www.daily49er.com/news/freeway_closure_a_cause_for_concern-1.1624509

Photos curtesy of http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/i-405_ca.html

Are Your Cars Safe in CSULB?

On an average morning, most students charge right into their respective parking locations with only one thought in mind.

Get to class on time!

We lock our doors and head off to class, never once thinking back on the prospect that said car we drove to school in might not be there when we return. According to a recent article in the Daily 49er, such a prospect is becoming more of a reality than most students are aware of. Within a 14-day period alone, five vehicle thefts have been reported on campus, with only three of the vehicles reported missing recovered since then. Two other vehicle theft attempts were also reported by campus police, one of which was thwarted by the owner of the car herself after she managed to catch the suspects in the act.

With an unusual high rate of vehicles suddenly going missing on campus, it brings up the question of just how secure our little campus really is from crimes such as these.

"I think we're fairly safe, we just have to make sure we don't leave anything expensive out in the open where someone might see it and want to break in." said Israel Valencia, a Sophomore Computer Science major.

Well, whatever the common opinion may be on the subject, one thing remains certain...

lock up your cars before you head out to class!

More on http://www.daily49er.com/vehicles_vanish_as_thefts_rise-1.1603684

Sorry, This Spot is Taken

Let's face it, parking is no easy task in this day and age, and this can be considered especially true if you happen to be a local student attending California State University, Long Beach (or as we more lovingly know it, CSULB). Day in and day out we face the perils that our parking structures have to offer, and feel the squeeze around our wallets every semester as an added bonus. Few students are left with choices when money is concern, and it is at this point that many resort to the only off-campus parking free of charge on Los Altos.

Unfortunately, according to a recent article in the Union Weekly, this might all quickly change thanks in part to Long Beach City Councilman Patrick O'Donnell.

The idea is simple, to reduce the influx of students parking on Los Altos (and to reduce the amount of complaints received by residents of the area), Councilman O'Donnell has proposed that certain streets near CSULB become preferential parking zones. Residents of the area are being given the opportunity to voice their opinion through the mail, and CSULB is sweetening the deal by offering to meet the neighborhood half-way on the cost. No big deal, right? While residents of the Los Altos area will only need to pay about $16 per permit, we STILL have to pay $123 per semester.

Quite fair, wouldn't you agree?

Feel free to contact Pat O'Donnell at district4@longbeach.gov.

Read more in http://www.asicsulb.org/unionweekly/archives.html