Bus Rapid Transit
is full steam ahead
■ First steps have been taken
to pass intergovernmental
agreements with LTD, Eugene,
Springfield and Lane County
By Sue Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Springfield City Council and
the Lane County Commissioners
have endorsed the first phase of the
Bus Rapid Transit project, which
paves the way for Lane Transit Dis
trict to receive $4.5 million in fund
ing from the Federal Transit Au
thority.
Springfield city councilors .ap
proved a conceptual design Mon
day night and the commissioners
passed a resolution approving the
The state is also
involved... because
Franklin Boulevard
is actually a state highway
Tom Stinchfield
engineer,
transportation planning,
Lane County
yy
project Tuesday morning. The Eu
gene City Council also passed a res
olution approving the project Mon
day. The first phase will involve the
construction of concrete troughs,
known as guideways, from down
town Springfield to downtown Eu
gene.
“The [Springfield] council ap
proved a conceptual design which
will include relocating the bus sta
tion in Springfield,” said Nick Ar
ms, a planner for the City of Spring
field. “The question is going to be
how do we get people across South
A Street.”
The Springfield City Council is
scheduled to vote on a formal reso
lution approving the project June 4.
The new station will be built be
tween Fourth and Fifth Streets near
Pioneer Parkway.
“ODOT and LTD will need to
work out what’s going to happen,”
Amis said.
The Lane County Commissioners
approval was needed because the
planned line goes through areas
that do not belong to either Eugene
and Springfield, said Tom Stinch
field, the transportation planning
engineer for Lane County.
“The state is also involved be
cause ODOT must give permits be
fore construction starts,” he said.
“That’s because Franklin Boule
vard is actually a state highway.”
Developing intergovernmental
agreements is the next step for the
project planners. The first phase of
the BRT project has four subsec
tions: Springfield/Glenwood,
Franklin Boulevard, the University
and downtown Eugene. The ap
proved BRT project does not in
volve acquiring or removing any
residences or businesses in the Eu
gene segment.
“Some documents are required
to be submitted to the Federal Tran
sit Authority this Friday,” said Ken
Hamm, LTD’s general manager.
Calendar
Thursday, May 17
Campus Planr ing Committee Meet
ing: Agenda includes the biennial im
plementation plan. 2-3:30 p.m. UO
Campus. For information, call 346
5572.
Romance Languages Lecture: Waiter
D. Mignolo, Duke University, discuss
es “Globalization and the Borders of
latinidad/Latinite.” 4 p.m. Room
336, Gilbert Hall, 955 E. 13th Ave.
Free. For information, call 346-4024.
Comparative Literature/Center for
the Study of Women in Society Lec
ture: Mary Layoun, University of Wis
consin, Madison, discusses “Occupy
ing the National Family: Sexuality,
Gender and Citizenship in Occupa
tion Japan and in the United States,
1945-47.” 4;30 p.m. Browsing Room,
Knight Library. Free. For information,
call 346-3986.
Student Concert: “Poetry in Song”
features art songs performed by vo
cal students of Milagro Vargas, Ann
Tedards, Mark Beudertand Mark
Kaczmarczyk. 7 p.m, Beall Concert
Hall. Free. For information, call 346
5678.
Freeman/Asian and Pacific Studies
Lecture: Economist WangZhi, U.S.
Department of Agriculture Econom
ic Research Service, discusses “Chi
na’s WTO Accession: Implications for
the International Community.” 7:30
p.m. Room 128, Chiles Business Cen
ter. Free. For information, call 346
1521.
Creative Writing Reading: Awa rd
winning poet Sharon Olds, author of
“Blood, Tin, Straw” and other books,
reads from and signs copies of her
work. The former New York State
Poet laureate, she is this year's
judge of finalists for the Creative
Writing Program’s Kidd Tutorial writ
ing prizes. 8 p.m. Alumni Lounge,
Gerlinger Hall. Free. For informa
tion, call 346-0544._
Cleanup day needs volunteers
■ University Day is a chance
for the campus community
to improve the grounds
By Ken Stamper
for The Emerald
Beautification in the bright sun
shine is the goal oftoday’s 12th annu
al University Day volunteer cleanup.
The event, which is open to all stu
dents, faculty and staff, includes
picking up garbage and debris,
spreading bark dust, planting flow
ers and painting. A special emphasis
will be placed on the landscaping of
the area around Hendricks Hall.
As an added incentive to get
people to volunteer, all partici
pants who volunteer for at least an
hour will get a free T-shirt.
University Day provides a
r
chance “for members of the uni
versity community to show their
appreciation for the landscaping
and beauty of the campus and real
ly take pride in the upkeep of it,”
University Day spokesperson
Jenise Williams said.
Williams also said that a volun
teer event such as this “provides a
positive image boost for the cam
pus community and demonstrates
an interest in our surroundings.”
Organizers hope for a large
turnout, and some students are al
ready preparing for the day’s event.
“I will participate because I feel that
students need to promote an image
contrary to the one held by the general
community,” said Paul Kerege, a
sophomore psychology major.
The highlight of the University
Day festivities will be the dedica
tion of a bench to renowned mo
lecular biologist Aaron Novick,
who died last December. Novick
was the founder of the Molecular
Biology Institute at the University.
Chemistry Professor Peter von
Hippel, who will be a speaker dur
ing the ceremony, said Novick
“was a wonderful man and one of
the first people to recognize the
problems of biology by looking at
them from the perspectives of
chemistry and physics.”
The dedication will take place at
noon in the Streisinger courtyard be
hind Willamette Hall. University
President Dave Frohnmayer will also
be speaking during the ceremony.
Participants can sign in anytime
between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at
the booth in front of the Pioneer
Statue across from Johnson Hall.
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