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	Vol.7, No 3, September 1, 1999
	Transit buses diverted due to on-campus traffic By Manuel Gamiz Jr. Daily Forty-Niner Cal State Long Beach students who do not drive to school felt the crush of heavy traffic along campus streets during the first two days of class.   All Long Beach Transit Authority buses that travel through the campus were diverted away from campus Monday and Tuesday mornings, after transit officials decided on-campus traffic was causing buses to be late.    "We had it down yesterday [Monday] and today [Tuesday] because there was such gridlock from new students on campus that it was causing our buses to be late," said Elaine Freeman, spokeswoman for the transit authority. "So we just bypassed the campus."    Freeman said buses were being delayed as long as 45 minutes early Monday morning because of the on-campus traffic. The seven different transit buses that normally turn into West Campus Drive kept going straight down Bellflower Boulevard, leaving many students stranded along Seventh Street and Bellflower Boulevard.   Chris Ledermuller, a junior print journalism major, was angry because he spent about 15 extra minutes walking from Channel Drive and Seventh Street to the Social Sciences/Public Affairs Building, where his class was held Monday morning.   "In my opinion, it just shows that bus riders are treated like second-class students," he said.   Ledermuller said he believes the buses were wrongfully blamed for causing the traffic.   "The buses are not the ones that cause the traffic problems," he said. "They are the ones that solve them."   The transit authority resumed its normal schedule at about 12:30 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday.   Buses might continue to be rerouted if the traffic problem persists, Freeman said.   "It just depends on what happens when our buses get out there," she said.    Local law enforcement officials said heavy traffic and massive parking problems are a constant problem at the start of any school year at CSULB.   Sgt. Madonna Gage of the University Police said traffic was horrible Monday but improved a little by Tuesday.   "Today [Tuesday], students were coming in shifts," she said. "Yesterday [Monday], it was constant traffic."    Traffic along campus streets were at a stand-still from 7:30 to 10 a.m., Gage said. She attributed this traffic to students coming to class early to find parking spaces, register for classes and purchase books.   Parking was just as bad, Gage said, as lots 1, 16 and 18 were full by 7:30 a.m. Another contributor to the traffic problem was the construction taking place along Seventh Street, said Officer Harry Mifflin from the traffic division of the Long Beach Police Department. However, Mifflin said, the large student population has always played a role in tying up traffic and parking at CSULB.   "You have 30,000 students trying to get to school one or two hours early -- of course, youíre going to have a traffic problem," he said.   And the traffic problem is about the same every year and does not last forever, said Mifflin, who has worked with the traffic division for seven years. "In about two weeks, some students will realize that they do not want that early morning class, and the problem will soon be over".		Transit buses diverted due to on-campus traffic Faculty hiring soars Locals bitter over beach closure Vexed students find other transportation New Korean class thrives after petitioning Bus detour wrong for students Forest service has right to party Probation program unknown Art exhibit impresses May makes play Former Wilson High coach rebuilding waterpolo team LBSU soccer team hopes for redemption Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.