Next stop: breakneck buses, speedier service
■The Lane Transit District’s
planned Bus Rapid Transit
Line could connect Eugene
and Springfield by 2003
By Lindsay Buchele
Oregon Daily Emerald
The future of transportation will
soon be coming to Eugene in the
form of a Bus Rapid Transit Line, a
new method of public transporta
tion that Lane Transit District offi
cials say will be faster and more
environmentally friendly.
Working closely with the Eu
gene and Springfield city govern
ments, LTD has been developing
the transit line for more than four
years. LTD spokesman Ed Berg
eron said the need for the transit
line is based on the growing prob
lem of traffic congestion in Lane
County.
“Our current buses are just too
slow,” Bergeron said. “They are
constantly stopping for passen
gers and then end up stuck in
traffic.”
‘ LTD officials got the idea for the
Bus Rapid Transit line from simi
lar projects in various European
-cities and from Brazil’s successful
transit line. Though similar to a
rail line, such as Portland’s MAX,
the rapid transit line will use bus
like vehicles and will cost far less
to build than a rail line.
Some proposed plans for the
transit line, which could be com
pleted as early as 2003, include
building a separate track and hav
ing traffic lights designated for
buses, Bergeron said.
Phase 1 is to build a line that
will run from downtown Eugene
to downtown Springfield, a route
that will include stops at the Uni
versity and Sacred Heart Medical
Center.
“It was sort of a political move
to have the first line include both
cities,” BRT project engineer Gra
ham Carey said. “We want to
serve both cities in the region
and allow both to have a piece of
the pie.”
This line will eventually replace
LTD bus route 11, which covers
the same area. Additional lines
will be built until all of the current
bus routes are replaced, according
to current plans.
The first line is estimated to take
two years to construct, but will
have as little of an effect as possi
ble on traffic during the construc
tion, Bergeron said.
“The guideways can be pre
fabricated and done a block at a
time,” Bergeron said. “We plan to
get this done as soon as possi
ble.”
{ { Not only will the line
be compatible with cars, it
will cost 10 percent less
than comparable rail
lines.
Ed Bergeron
spokesman
Lane Transit District j j
LTD officials agree the impor
tant thing is to begin the construc
tion quickly.
“We need to get started with
this project when congestion lev
els aren’t at a gridlock,” Carey
said. “Right now there is the
space, we need to do it and if we
wait, it could cause some prob
lems.”
Concerns have been raised by
everyone from environmental
groups, which are concerned
about which trees will be cut
down, to business owners in Glen
wood, who are worried about the
lines hindering their incoming
traffic.
Bergeron said the plans are be
ing developed to meet environ
mental concerns as well as keep
ing business traffic intact. The ve
hicles that will be used on the
lines, which are being manufac
tured in France, are also being de
signed to meet the current 2004
clean-air standards.
“We’re doing everything we can
to please everyone without com
promising our plans,” LTD transit
planner Lisa Gardner said.
Seventeen cities across the Unit
ed States have begun planning for
similar transit lines.
“Not only will the line be com
patible with cars, it will cost 10
percent less than comparable rail
lines,” Bergeron said.
The plan is receiving $9 million
in federal funding and a possible
$3 million in local funding, as
long as city governments approve
the plan.
“We are anticipating complete
approval from the local govern
ments,” Gardner said. She also
said the plan can go ahead without
local approval, but LTD is commit
ted to working together with local
government.
Carey added that the project
will require no additional taxes
thanks to the federal funding, and
the cost of riding the new line will
be the same as the current bus
rates.
Optional student health coverage stakes claim in Oregon
■ A Student Health Center
advisory committee will
survey the health needs of
the University community
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon University System ad
ministrators have asked health
center staff at each Oregon univer
sity to look into to providing stu
dents with optional health care
through an OUS-managed plan, a
move that could make college life
more convenient for students.
Elizabeth Dickenson, risk man
ager for OUS, said if the student
insurance plan comes into effect, it
will be affordable because it will
likely be added to student fees.
“We want students to be aware
of what goes into providing health
care and have the chance to pro
vide their input for what the final
product will offer,” she said.
Dr. Gerald Fleischli, director of
the Student Health Center, said
there is an increasing need for stu
dents to have their own health in
surance policies, because it is in
convenient and dangerous for out
of town students to be covered un
der their parents’ health mainte
nance organizations. He said in
times of illness or injury, many
health care providers will not cov
er patients out of the provider’s
vicinity, in order to keep costs
down.
He said he has seen patients for
everything from seizures to ankle
fractures who could not be treated
in Eugene because their parents’
insurance did not cover the area.
“Students think they have good
insurance, until they realize it of
ten doesn’t count here,” he said.
To determine if student insur
ance can become a reality, OUS
schools are collecting information
about students’ health concerns.
The University’s Student Health
Advisory Committee, an adminis
trative group of students, faculty
and staff, is reaching out to stu
dents with a three-question survey
to determine their health care
needs.
The SHAC exists as a communi
cation link between student health
centers and students in providing
information about students’ health
needs and concerns.
Amy Biggs, vice chairwoman of
the SHAC and a junior general sci
ence and psychology major, is
working to give students the op
tion for insurance.
{ { This makes affordable
health care an issue for
everyone.
Amy Biggs
vice chairwoman
Student Health
Advisory Committee 7f
“Our goal is to find out what the
students really want and need,”
she said.
Biggs said she and the other stu
dents have been sending out the
survey over the last two weeks to
find out what students want in
terms of health care, and to also
find new ideas and concerns they
may have.
She said a mass e-mail announc
ing the survey has been sent out to
Greek students, non-traditional
students and international stu
dents. Open forums may also be
planned for the future, she said,
adding that students are invited to
complete the survey themselves on
the Student Health Center Web
page.
“Including everyone is the only
way to satisfy everyone,” she said.
Biggs said once the SHAC com
piles its survey data, they will
combine it with other OUS schools
and send out a request for informa
tion to insurance companies to get
an idea of how much this project
would cost.
Biggs said the University is
ahead of other schools in collect
ing students’ health concerns.
“We have the largest population,
so it’s extra important that we
make sure our students’ demands
are met,” she said.
Dickenson said it is important to
provide affordable health care to
students, since coverage is becom
ing more expensive. She said in
surance costs are going up, be
cause only people who know they
need insurance are buying it.
“This makes affordable health
care an issue for everyone,” she
said. “None of us have a crystal
ball and know when we’ll need
coverage.”
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