EDITORIAL
LTD bus station:
Is it really needed?
Walking down Kincaid Street along the west sido of
campus, one stumbles across the new Lane Transit Dis
trict bus station. Immediately, the question arises: Why
is it there, and, perhaps more importantly, do we need
it? Just a football field's length down the street, there's
another station that has been serving the campus area for
years, and it always seemed to be doing a pretty good job.
The now station, built at a cost of 5225,000, represents
a substantial investment. Is this money well spent, and
why was it spent there?
LTD officials argue that the original station, located
immediately across Kincaid from the University Book
store, had become overcrowded in recent years, as rid
ership has escalated.
The number of passengers from the University has
tripled in the past six years, and the number of routes
serving the station has risen from five in 1987-88 to 16
today. This has led to increased congestion along the
street, as buses, bicycles and automobiles each compete
for a limited stretch of pavement.
But with parking on the west side of campus as scarce
as it is. was it really necessary to gobble up all that space
just to add a now station? Why not just enlarge the exist
ing one?
1/11) reportedly preferred that course oi action, dui
agreed to build a now station after the University object*
t>d, arguing that the expansion of the original station would
take up too much extra space between the University
(Computing C'amter and the street — space that was appar
ently deemed more valuable than the parking that was
lost when the now station was built.
On the upside, one apparent benefit of the new station
is an enlarged biko-parking area, which is certainly a
worthwhile addition, as anyone who has tried to park a
bike on 13th Avenue will attest. But why a new bus sta
tion had to be a part of the deal isn’t immediately clear.
Fortunately, most of the funding (90 percent) for this
new project came from a federal grant, with the remain
ing portion being divided between the city, LTD and
tho University. So at least wo can rest easy that the cost
of this improvement won’t be passed on to us in the form
of higher tuition.
The alloviation of bus congestion and ease of service
to the south-side neighborhoods is another objective of
the new station. Bus traffic coming up 13th can be over
whelming. Yet bus traffic is not being alleviated, just
rerouted. And with a new station, there is the very real
possibility that there will be even more buses. The con
gestion will still be there, with the only difference being
that students will now have to dodge buses turning to the
right as well as to the left at tho corner of 13th and Kin
caid.
If the existing station right down the block had been
enlarged, or tho two combined elsewhere, then no park
ing spots would have been lost. Yes, the majority of the
cost was a grant, but thorn are many things that money
can be spent on to improve our transit system. After all,
it seams that there are many more poopie searching for
a parking spot for their car than p(X»plo looking for a place
to park their bodies and wait for the bus.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
PO BOI 31V* IlX*t Nf 0«€GON<T*OJ
Ihe Osgon 0*iy Emerald« published daily Monday enough Friday during me school
year and Tuesday and Thuisday during Ihe summer t)y me Oregon Oady Emerald
Publishing Co . Inc at me University o' Oregon t ugene. Oregon
The Fmerakl operates independently of me Umvervty wrm ohicos at Sort# XX! 0< me
f rb Memorial Unwn and is a member Ol me Associated Press
The Emerald is private property The unlawful removal or use ot papers >s prosecutable
Managing Editor
1 Editor
Edttor-tn-Chlel: Jake Berg
Sports Editor
Editorial
Oraphici Editor
Freatanca Editor
Stave Urns
Jed PrcAhardt
Anthony Fomey
Kaly Soto
Galley Anderson
Oovrd Thorn Editorial Editor
Jett Paslay Photo Editor
Thor Wasbotten Supplement* Editor
Night Editor: Scott Srmonson
Associate Editors: Scot Clemens Student Government Activities. Rebecca Merrill.
Commuort) River s Janssen Hgher £duejlfron.Adminisrrahon
News Start Dave Cbarbonneau Meg Oeoolph. Amy Oevenport. Mj a Fields. Martin
I sht* Lesley GaMno. Sarah Henderson. Ai,« Hessetdahi. Edward Kloptenstem, V* long
leong. Tnsla Noei. f urabelh Re«nsi|erna, l a Seioccia. Scott Simonson. Stephanie
Sisson. Susanne Stehens, Julie Swensen. M<heie Thompson Aguiar. Keen Trtpp. Amy
Van T uyt. Danier West
Qenerai Manager: Judy Rtedi
Advertising Director Mars Waiter Production Manager: Michele Ross
Advertising: t ie:.me B*« Te'esa Isabel'*. Jeremy Mason. M<h«r Malette. Van V
OBryan II Rachael Trull Ktvsey Worm Angie Wndhwm
Classified (techy Merchant Manager Victor Mei.a. Slrn Ty* Tec*
Distribution Brandon Anderson Graham Simpson Ed Talmadge
Busrness Kathy Carbone. Supennsiv Judy Connoi'y
Dee McCdbD Pro** v Coo J -at* Shawn* Abeie
id j .i Jennifer R rnd Nat1 Thangvrgl, Qayf :n y*e
J46-S5I1 Display Advertising
Production
Gauaney.Br
Des<
Newsroom
Business Office
Classified Advertising
J4* 3712
34B-S343
^EUSiN is A
Dictator*. co^srav
OUT Of Touch Win/ REAUTV
VJE'RE K»CKlM<b M«M OUT/
AMD IN HiS tt-ACE...
PML10, &STU) too Hi A OY
J
LETTERS
Lottery’s losers
Did you know ...
No Oregon Lottery tickets are
printed in Oregon? They come
from Georgia.
None of the Megabucks or
Powerball terminals are pro
duced in Oregon? They’re from
Rhode Island.
None of the video poker
games are made in Oregon?
Rhode Island. Illinois. Montana
and Nevada.
In fact, more than 80 percent
of the lottery's dollars for goods
and services are spent outside of
our state!
And all of this from a state
agency whose mission statement
includes "... the creation of jobs
and economic development in
Oregon."
When an Oregon business
anticipates a need and does try
to meet the requirements of the
lottery, as one Oregon firm did
&T OUT OF
SONNAL/A {
with video poker games, the lot
tery arranges the bidding
process to guarantee that only
their pre-selected bidders will
qualify.
Now the lottery is requesting
proposals for a “New Genera
tion" of video machines to
replace the existing ones, and
based on past experience, we'll
be importing these new
machines too! Oh well, there's
another $50 million in jobs
shipped out of state by bureau
crats in Salem who are sup
posed to be creating jobs and
economic development here in
Oregon.
The state Senate is about to
confirm a new lottery director to
replace Jim Mavey. who left Ore
gon for a lucrative job with a
Montana manufacturer of video
poker games, which happens to
be the largest supplier of these
games to the Oregon Lottery
Imagine that'
IT'S A NnESS.
A QUAGAMRe
Oregonians deserve a better
role in lottery operations than
just being suckers with cash to
feed the state's gambling habit.
Stu Rasmussen
Oregon Lottery Games
Special thanks
On behalf of Douglas Kenecht
and myself, I would like to
thank ail those who participated
in the World Party, which took
place Sept. 25. The ovent was a
great success, and it would not
have happened if it were not for
the extra effort and hard work of
those international and Ameri
can students who helped out
with this event. I would like to
give special thanks to every sin
gle individual who made this
night happen. Thank you and
have a great academic year.
Vida Talebi
Student Orientation Staff
7H£Ct’s oaJL'V fo/v\ucu
\*j£ CAN DO W A
SITUATION LlKf F*AT.
«■
GET/Nfo
fiosw/Al
rn fwoi sum x
l (OLIO* f*
1 —d_L
Tutu
Llw