CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, April 5,1995
3A
Transportation rolls over Student Senate budget
Kim Cocks
Kim Cocks is running for student body president with the United Students coalition. Her views on how Student Senate should run Campus Transportation:
We are committed to a transportation system that efficiently meets students' needs at the University. A feasible, cost efficient transportation system is what United Students is committed to. We want to set a route out west to meet the growing student population that will decrease automobile traffic on campus. There will be more parking for students who don't have access to campus transportation, and we'll do this without any increase in student fees or fares.
”
By Brian Vandervilet Kansan staff writer
With a Student Senate allocation of more than a half-million dollars for the next school year, the campus transportation budget is to the KU Student Senate what Social Security might be to the U.S. Congress.
The $517,500 that will be spent on transportation is more than a third of Student Senate's $1.5 million budget. The allocation will finance KU on Wheels, Lift-Vans for handicapped students and the Safe-Ride program.
But available transportation is worth the high cost, said Eric Medill, chairman of the transportation board and Student Senate vice president.
"For a lot of students, it's their only way to get to class," he said. "We have tried to find a good balance between cost efficiency and service effectiveness."
But some students say the 23 green buses running through campus are an environmental burden and not worth the estimated $12 each student will pay through campus fees included in tuition.
Amy Trainer, president of Environs, said she would like to see fewer buses and new routes that would reduce the number of stops on campus from nine to four. The buses create air pollution and congestion on campus, she said.
Student Senate Election Information
Election dates: April 12 and 13
Debate date: 8 p.m. April 10 in Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union
"There is always room for improvement of any system," she said.
Improvement could come by removing buses from Jayhawk Boulevard, Trainer said. She said that buses could stop near the ends of the boulevard and at the center of campus near the intersection of Jayhawk Boulevard and Sunflower Boulevard.
But, Medill said, most bus passengers wanted the convenience offered by existing routes.
"I think they definitely want to be dropped off at class rather than walk two blocks, especially in inclement weather," Medill said. "Obviously, those big green monsters are not the cleanest things, but overall, mass transit reduces pollution."
Whether campus transportation has created an ozone hole above Mount Oread is unclear. What is certain, however, is that the costs of running the system are growing.
Last year, when transportation was allocated $332,950 and an additional $80,000 for Safe-Ride, campus transportation ended the year with a budget deficit of $38,358, said Chad Browning, chief financial officer for the Senate transportation board and Senate treasurer.
He said that one problem was that fewer students were living in the residence halls.
"We're having a small increase in the numbers of users, but the buses are having to travel further out," he said.
About 7,000 students bought bus passes for $55 this semester.
Browning said the transportation board would like to reduce the financial cost by cooperating with a city-wide public transit system.
But the problem is that there is no public transit in Lawrence. Lawrence Bus Company is privately contracted by Student Senate. He said it could take five years for the city to develop its own system.
Browning said that ideally a public system would take students to locations near campus where they could then be picked up by a campus bus and taken to their classes.
David Stevens
David Stevens is running for student body president with the REAL coalition. His views on how Student Senate should run campus transportation:
KU is one of the last campuses across the nation that has its own campus-run busing system. Now is the time to start building a KU On Wheels for the 21st century. We have these dinosaurs crawling across our campus and the city making our buildings black, and they can be heard all the way to Topeka. What we need to do is start negotiations with the city in putting together a city-campus bus system. They can apply for federal grants, and with those funds and the city funds we can put together a bus system that is cleaner and cheaper. If we got new buses with federal grant money, those buses would comply with all EPA and Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Bike riders pedal for rights to streets
POINT OF VIEW
By Paul Todd Kansan staff writer
If you think the traffic on 23rd Street can be scary during rush hour, try it on a bicycle.
Jean R. Crosier / KANSAN
Yesterday evening, I rode my bike down Lawrence's busiest roads — actually in the middle of the road — with about 20 other people. The ride was a protest-of-sorts to show the city of Lawrence that bicycles are a legitimate form of transportation for many KU students and Lawrence residents.
Participants of the bike ride gather at South Park near downtown Lawrence. Many people showed their support of bicycling with homemade signs.
Our route took us down Massachusetts, Kentucky, 19th, and Sixth streets, and Naismith Drive, all between 5 and p.m., which is rush hour. The single-file caravan looked more like a funeral than a rally, but the group is hopeful that the ride increased motorists' awareness of bicyclists on the road and encouraged an increase in the number of bicycle paths on major roads in Lawrence.
In the end, only four tickets were given.
The police weren't looking.
I was careful to observe the law as I pedaled along, trying to remember which hand-signal meant right turn. I did run a red light though, but only because I did not want to be left to fend for myself and my bike alone.
Megan Miller, Lawrence resident, was not so lucky because she rode in front of the group and rode alongside someone else. The two were taking up an entire lane of traffic, which I suppose was the point, but it also was illegal.
"When I asked why we were being pulled over, the cop said, 'I was instructed to get the first two people.'" Miller said.
She was issued a ticket for not riding single file and for not having her bike registered with the city.
Heather Baade, the organizer of the ride, said Lawrence police knew about the event beforehand and didn't approve.
"it's not too confrontational," said Baade, a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University. "People will still get to where they're going; we'll just slow things down a little. I organized this because the law doesn't see
bikes as transportation.
"It's more of a recreation thing, but bike paths and trails don't get you to the grocery store or up to campus."
Matt Moustakas, Shawnee senior, said he tried following the bike path signs along various Lawrence roads.
"They don't lead anywhere," he said. "I ended up in a neighborhood on a dead end street."
Moustakas said that space was needed for bikes on the roads to avoid accidents.
"For as much as Lawrence thinks they are a bike town, we have a lot of people getting hit," he said.
Amy Trainer, Derby senior, said that Sunday she saw a man on a bike hit by a woman turning left onto Iowa Street from 21st Street. The woman wasn't watching, she said.
"She just slammed right into him, and he went flying," Trainer said. Baade decided the riders would do it again in a month.
The woman wasn't watching, she said.
"I want to get a point across that bikes are transportation," she said. "We need a piece of the road."
I've had my piece for a while.
Cyclists must obey the law
By Teresa Veazey Kansan staff writer
Right before 20 bicyclists were ready to ride in a rally through rush hour traffic yesterday, Lawrence police laid down the law.
"They were all warned to ride single file as far to the right as possible," said Mike Reeves of the Lawrence Police Department.
During the rally, four citations were issued to two bicyclists, but no arrests were made. Reeves said.
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Police spoke with the organizer of the ride beforehand about bicycle laws and monitored the route during the ride.
"We expect the bicyclists to obey the law," said Rick Nickell of the Lawrence Police Department. "It doesn't matter if there's two or 100 as long as they're obeying the law."
According to a city ordinance, bicyclists must ride single file as far as to the right as possible. Bicyclists are allowed on city streets unless there is a path specifically designated for bicycles. Nickell said.
"People who violate traffic laws will be subject to being ticketed," he said.
Student charged with local thefts
By Teresa Veazey
Kansan staff writer
A KU graduate student was arrested Monday afternoon outside Murphy Hall in connection with the burglaries of two area churches, a recording studio and the Lied Center. Lawrence police reported.
Todd S. Malicoate, Lawrence graduate student, has been charged with three counts of burglary, two counts of theft and two counts of criminal damage.
Police said Malicoate burglarized Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship, 700 Wakarusa, and First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway. At both churches, an exterior door window was broken, and the door was unlocked. Cash and music equipment were stolen from the churches. The total property loss was $5,706.
Police said Malicope also stole a stereo component from the Lied Center in early March, after a door to the building was left open. Malicote also has been linked to the theft of an amplifier from Red House Recording Studio, 2500 West 31st St., police said. The report of the stolen amplifier, valued at $1,000, was taken yesterday by
police.
Malicoate also was arrested Friday outside the Lawrence High Alternative School, 2600 West 25th St. According to the report, Malicoate gained entry to the school after he broke the glass in the front door and reached inside to unlock the door. Police arrived on the scene after a silent alarm was set off. After taking $176.50 from a file cabinet and a desk drawer, Malicoate had started to climb out a window on the north side of the building when he was spotted by police. Police helped him climb out of the window and arrested him. He was transported to the Douglas County Law Enforcement Center and released on bond.
According to the report, Malicote caused $750 damage to the school.
After his release, police contacted Malicoate at his residence, where he recovered the remainder of the stolen property, except for an amplifier, which was recovered from a storage room in Murphy Hall. Only a small amount of cash still is unrecovered, police said.
At this time, police do not believe anyone else was involved in the burglaries.
Malicoate was released yesterday afternoon on $6,000 bond.
Kansan staff report
Convenience store thief does not exist
The reported shotgun-wielding man who robbed a Lawrence convenience store two weeks ago does not exist — except in the mind of the store clerk who reported him, Lawrence police said yesterday.
Police said Charles Cowels, Lawrence resident, reported that he had been working March 23 at Coastal Mart, 2330 Iowa St., when a man wearing a ski mask and an army trench coat entered the store
and demanded money from him. A witness at the scene, Brad J. Lee, Lawrence, told police he saw the gunman shortly after the robbery.
According to the report,
the amount of cash stolen was $144.74.
But after interviewing the clerk and the witness, police said, it became apparent that the robbery did not occur. Police said the men made a false report.
In a related incident, Lee told police that he had been the victim of criminal threats.
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