Monday, August 21, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
Bus routes undergo several changes
By Krusten Phleps
writer@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Students riding KU on Wheels will find a few temporary changes in the routes because of local road construction, and a new permanent route serving south Iowa Street has been added
Construction has blocked off the 2300 to 2500 blocks of Louisiana Street, closing four bus stops and replacing them with two. The two new stops will be at 23rd and Louisiana streets, near Schlotzsky's Sandwich Shop, and the northeast corner of 23rd and Alabama streets.
Holly Krebs, KU on Wheels coordinator, said she expected this route change to be in effect for the entire fall semester.
Seventh Street is blocked between Maine and Michigan streets, and although the buses will take an alternate route, all the stops remain the same.
Krebs said the route would return to normal Sunday, Oct. 1.
"I know it might be an inconvenience to some students, but we made the changes this way because we wanted to make sure to get everyone to class on time," Krebs said.
Last spring, the transportation board approved the addition of a new route that will serve south Iowa, including a stop at Jefferson Commons Apartments, and the elimination of the route serving West Sixth Street. Buses on the Sixth and Crestline route will no longer stop on
Also, a new median placed at 15th and Engel streets to increase pedestrian safety may cause minor problems for buses serving Daisy Hill, Krebs said. She said when buses turn in or out of Daisy Hill, the front of the bus will swing over the median, while the back will run partially over the curb.
Schwarz Road, but will loop through Fireside and Gateway courts.
Danny Fox, a mechanic at Lawrence Automotive Diagnostics, 2058 Four Wheel Dr., said although running over the curb may not cause immediate damage to the buses, it would probably cause damage in the future.
"It's not probably something you want to keep doing," Fox said. "The less contact you have with the curb, the better."
Krebs said the median was installed as a safety measure because drivers traveling on 15th Street sometimes can't see pedestrians crossing at the top of the hill. She said there were no plans to re-route the buses picking up students at the residence halls because re-routing would affect bus stops at Jayhawker Towers.
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
"If for any reason this causes any injury or slows down the buses to where we are not serving the students, we would consider re-routing," Krebs said.
Bus route changes
—Edited by Shown Hutchinson
Citywide transit system to begin next year
By Melissa Davis
Kansan staff writer
Expanding city limits and demand for public transit will be satisfied when Lawrence's bus system starts running next year.
plement KU on Wheels.
City officials have approved a public bus system that would include eight routes, including one that will go through the University of Kansas campus.
Karin Rexroad, Lawrence public transit administrator, said she thought the new system would com-
"I think a lot of services offered concentrate on getting students to campus," she said. "The new city buses would help students get to other destinations around Lawrence."
The new system would also benefit students' pockets. While KU on Wheels is $1 per ride, the new city bus would be only fifty cents.
Whether the city will offer bus passes is still uncertain. Rexroad said she thought the two bus systems would go hand-in-hand in offering citywide transportation.
Casey Kelley, Golden, Colo., senior, said she thought the new bus system would be attractive to students.
"I would use it, especially on weekends when finding a parking space on Mass. Street is impossible," she said.
The El Dorado National Bus Company, based in Chino, Calif., will manufacture the buses. Rexroad and other city officials traveled to Chino yesterday to pick out the seat arrangement and color layout of the buses.
Funding for the new buses came from a combination of federal, state
and local money. The new buses will cost about $2.4 million — 12 buses costing approximately $200,000 each.
Some students said they thought the new system would be a good investment for Lawrence.
"The system would help students in areas where KU on Wheels does not run anc for afternoons when a student has been drinking," said Brad Durkin. Lawrence senior.
City officials aim to have buses made in 12 to 18 months and running shortly after.
KU researcher held by Colombian rebels
Edited by Kristi Elliott
By Karen Lucas writer@kansas.com
Kansas staff writer
By Karen Lucas
Nothing can dim John Lynch's passion for studying frogs in Colombia. Not even encounters with guerrillas.
Earlier this month, for the second time in two years, Lynch, a KU research associate and alumnus with a doctorate in zoology, was detained by rebels while doing field research.
He said he was detained the first time for a day and a half by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces 15 months ago.
Lynch and 25 other members of a research team of scientists and students arrived Aug. 7 in La Union, Colombia. In a recent telephone interview, Lynch said that what was supposed to have been an eight-hour drive from Bogota turned into a 36-hour drive because roads were blocked.
The group was approached that evening by members of a rebel group called the National Liberation Army who recommended the research team leave the area, Lynch said.
"They pointed out to us there were frequent assassinations of campesinos (peasants) by the paramilitary," he said.
Two days later, Lynch and his colleagues were taken captive by the National Liberation Army and taken to the rebel camp.
Lynch said the guerrillas treated the researchers well during their three days of captivity.
"They basically seemed concerned about our safety," he said.
The researchers were even given permission to go out and conduct their research as long as they were accompanied by a guerrilla, Lynch said.
By the afternoon of Aug. 11, the researchers learned that they would be freed.
"It was kind of a surprise,"
Lynch said. "I actually figured we'd be there a few more days."
Lynch said his group left the camp with the rebels that afternoon and arrived at an abandoned building in the early evening. After waiting a few hours in the building, they were released by the rebels and met by representatives of the Red Cross, the Roman Catholic Church, the Public Defender's Office and the media.
John Simmons, collection manager at the Natural History Museum, said he saw coverage of the group on a Spanish-language television station.
"I was v er y relieved on Saturday to see that they were out." he said.
William
Duellman,
a professor
emeritus
and curator
of herpetology
who direct
Lynch: Taken captive in Colombia during research
ed Lynch's dissertation, said he received an e-mail from Lynch three days after his release.
"He's hoping to get back into the country where they were kidnapped because it looked like a great place for frogs." Duellman said.
Lynch has been living in Colombia since 1997, when he became a professor and the curator of amphibians at the Institute of Natural Sciences at the National University of Colombia in Bogota. Prior to that, Lynch visited the country often.
"Twenty-five years ago, I was trying to figure out how to work in Colombia because I figured this place was maybe the richest in the world for frogs," he said. "The frogs were what brought me, and they're certainly what keeps me here."
- Edited by Erin Adamson
CLINIQUE FINE COSMETICS