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back
to school
Avoiding traffic
gridlock at CSULB
By DaMonique
Sampson
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
The first weeks
of a new semester bring thousands of students -- and their
cars -- to the Cal State Long Beach campus, congesting traffic
flow and causing frustration for motorists and non-motorists
alike.
Rashika Rentie,
a senior at CSULB and former Parking and Transportation Services
employee, has endured the parking woes for almost five years,
both as an enforcer of the rules and an adherer to them.
"I lived in
the dorms for my first two years [on campus], so I just saw
the traffic," Rentie said. "I was never really a
part of it. But when I moved off campus and started working
for Parking Services, I really learned how difficult it is
to find parking on campus during the first week of school."
While a car is
the primary means of transportation for CSULB students, there
is alternative transportation available, namely rideshar-ing,
bicycling, and public transportation.
Ridesharing, or
carpooling, is an effective way to get to school as well as
minimize the number of cars on campus. The Parking and Transportation
Service Office on the CSULB campus offers permits to students
and employees who take part in the rideshare program.
Designated parking
areas for rideshare participants are located throughout the
campus parking lots. Rentie said the rules regarding the rideshare
program can be obtained from the Parking Services Office.
Bicycling to CSULB,
for students who are within the vicinity of the campus, can
also be an alternative to driving to school, Rentie said.
"By driving
around the perimeter streets of the campus, you can see that
many of the them offer bike lanes," Rentie said. "The
bike lanes, along with the racks on campus, make it convenient
for bike riders to get to campus and have somewhere to put
their bikes. People just have to be
careful when they choose to bike to school."
Another form of
alternative transportation is provided by Long Beach Transit,
which runs six different bus lines through the campus. The
buses make four stops on campus: two are located near the
Bellflower Boulevard entrance onto campus, a third in front
of Brotman Hall and the fourth is near the Seventh Street
entrance to CSULB in front of LA-1.
"I've caught
the bus or parked off campus and connected with a shuttle
on many occasions," Rentie said. "It's easier than
driving around finding a parking space on campus, but sometimes
the shuttles are so full, you have to wait a while to get
on one."
Bus schedules are
located on the first floor in the University Library.
Whether using one
method of alternative transportation or a combination of the
three listed above, the Parking Services Office has more detailed
information in the office regarding the ways to get to campus
without using a car.
"When I worked
for Parking Services, I became very knowledgeable of alternatives
to driving," Rentie said, "and I was always trying
to tell my friends not to drive. They would never listen at
first, but finally they realized that parking just gets too
crazy."
The Parking Services
Office is located on Merriam Way, adjacent to the Parking
Structure.
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