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«€GONs 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