7th Street Bridge Closure Effects

The initial closing of the 7th Street Bridge caused traffic to back up and emotions to rise.  Last week the 7th Street Bridge closed due to construction and upgrades to it's surrounding freeways.  Students at CSULB had something to say about all this traffic.

The overall sense of the students was that it made them late for class and caught them by suprise.  Some knew the bridge would be closing but others weren't so lucky.  One student said that he was late to a midterm because of the traffic backups around campus. 

According to Elissa Thomas, there were other situations causing the immense traffic.  She stated that not only the construction but a freeway accident and a hostage situation at a local Motel 6 caused the cars to pile up bumper to bumper.  A lot of the streets students normally would take to class either were busy or closed due to those circumstances.  She stated that the police officers were running liscense plate numbers and one that alerted them was a murder suspect.  They followed the car to a Motel 6 and from there the situation esclated into one involving hostages. 

As head of the Rideshare program Elissa Thomas, wanted to get the message of the rideshare programs available at school as well as alternative ways to get to school.  One being the U-Pass systems that is free to students.  "Let the bus driver deal with the traffic," said Thomas.

The closing of the bridge has created numerous problems regarding traffic.  Police officers have been set up around campus in order to monitor and moderate traffic to make sure everything is running smoothly.  If you drive south on Palo Verde Ave. you can see cops sitting on their motorcycles observing traffic.  I happened to speak to one while sitting in the middle of it.  I asked if this was due to the bridge closing and he responded with a yes.  He stated that officers will be here throughout the closure to "kind of" keep things under control.

CSULB Detour, You can visit this link and click on "West County Connectors Construction Project"

Zimride at the Beach

Social networking for ridesharing is available through the Zimride Program at CSULB.  This program allows you to "sell" your empty seats in your car on your way to school.  It is the Facebook of carpooling.  This is available to students, faculty, and staff. 

It allows you to catch a ride to or from campus through the social media.  If you are connected to Facebook and the CSULB network on Facebook you can sign in through Facebook.  For a student to make some extra cash this isn't a bad idea.  If you are going to school why not get the most out of it by putting those empty seats to use. 

The user can create a profile and view others before accepting the person who needs a ride, for security and safety reasons.  Users can log in with their campus ID and password to access the features it provides.  A driver doesn't have to go extremely out of the way to get somebody because it shows people who need rides or can drive along the same route you already take. 

It cuts down on emissions because it is taking less cars off the road and giving people other ways to school.  Between September of 2009 and March 2011 over 800,000 miles of travel have been reduced and has saved almost 32,000 gallons of gas. 

There are currently 1,219 CSULB Zimride members online.  This is a big step towards alternative transportation and with the current campus condition, could prove usefull.

The 7th Street bridge and its surrounding freeways have been closed and there have been numerous complaints about traffic surrounding the CSULB campus.  With the use of the Zimride programs less cars could be used and traffic could be thinned out especially around campus.

For additional information please visit the Zimride website : Zimride

7th Street Bridge Closed

Starting Monday night, the 7th Street connector bridge will be closed. The bridge that connects the northbound San Diego (405) freeway and westbound Garden Grove (22) freeway will be closed for a year beginning tonight. Upgrades to the bridge are intended to provide easier transition from one freeway to the other.



Photo from Long Beach Post



The biggest upgrade would be the connecting of carpool lanes between the 405 freeway and the 22 freeway along with the San Gabriel River (605) freeway. This is part of the West County Connectors Project, which is lead by the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans.

The project would effect those living in Garden Grove, Long Beach, Rossmoor, Westminister, Seal Beach, and Los Alamitos. The total cost of the project is estimated at $277 million. This project does effect the student body at Cal State Long Beach and students as well as faculty will have to adjust.

Some students stated that they would have to improvise thier route to school beacuse they use that bridge to get on campus. Not only will the bridge be closed, but heavy traffic could be expected on detours provided. Teachers, don't be suprised when your student walks in and says, "I'm late beacuse of traffic, the bridge was closed and traffic was horrible." The OCTA has provided materials that show different detours.

For detour information you can visit:
http://www.octa.net/westcounty
http://www.facebook.com/WCCProjectInfo

Or call: (800) 724-0353

Long Beach to Add More Bike Lanes

Starting April 12, Long Beach will open about 1.2 miles of newly constructed bicycle lanes.  This is all part of a plan by the city of Long Beach to make the city the "most bicycle friendly city in America."

The new lanes being open are on stretch on Third Street and Broadway in downtown Long Beach.  The California Traffic Control Devices Committee and the Federal Highway Administration will monitor the use and efficiency of the new 1.2-mile long lanes. 

This project's main goal is to provide an alternate mode of transportation for students as well as residents of the city.  Ironically, this is announced just shortly after California State University Long Beach received an award for being a bicycle friendly campus.  With the increased amount of bike lanes, safety is always a concern.

The program includes illuminated traffic signals specifically for cyclists.  This will help make left turn signals and left turns easier and more safe for cyclists to use.  This strategy is being used to decrease the number of accidents that occur between cars and bicyclists.

For now, the lanes are experimental and if successful lanes will be opened to Cal State Long Beach.  There are no direct lanes to the university mainly because the program is still in the experimental phase.

Seventh Street Bridge Set to Close

The Seventh Street bridge will be closed beginning April 18.  The bridge that travels west towards Cal State Long Beach will be closed for one year due to construction on the nearby freeways.  The plan is to connect the carpool lanes on the Garden Grove Freeway, the San Diego Freeway and the San Gabriel Freeway.

According to Joel Zlotnik, manager of media relations for the Orange County Transportation Authority, the project will also add a second carpool lane to the I-405 between the SR-22 and the I-605.  This is meant to increase driver safety and driving conditions. 

Many students use the bridge to get to school and a few see it as an inconvenience.

CSULB Receiving Award

On April 7, California State University Long Beach will be receiving an award for being a bike-friendly campus.  The League of American Bicyclists will be handing out the silver ranking award.

The award has certain requirements such as how much bike parking is available on campus and the different amounts of bicycle education the campus provides its students.  "Some highlights include plentiful bike parking, education for incoming students, cash incentives for faculty and staff to bike to work, and positive enforcement ticketing," said Carly Sieff, program assistant for Bicycle Friendly America on CSULB's application for the award.  It is not just based on the amount of bike lanes that are on campus.

It also includes the five Es-engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation. 
Traffic Skills 101 is a class designed to help people become more comfortable with riding bikes in Long Beach. The class is taught on campus and is free to students and faculty.

A ceremony for the presentation of the award will take place on April 7 in the Pyramid Annex on campus. Contact Elissa Thomas at 562-985-4091 for more information.

The Shuttles

School shuttles allow students to get around campus in a minimum amount of time.  According to some students, the shuttles are highly dependable and very efficient.

There are three shuttles that CSULB provides students.  There is an east shuttle, west shuttle and the all-campus shuttle.  I spoke with some students on how the shuttle impacts their daily routine.

I interviewed an art student on why she takes the shuttle and she stated, "All my classes are upper campus and carrying my artboad, that thing is almost as big as me." She also said that its heavy and walking the stairs is hard to do. 

Another student, Leslie Campos, said the shuttles were pretty much on time and they are pretty dependable.  "They are on time, I use it all the time since I live on campus and I can even check to see if they are on time with my phone."  She also claimed the drivers of the shuttles are "cool" people and that the shuttles are very dependable.

The shuttles make it easy to get to and from class, the shuttles also connect up with the U-Pass.  They arrive at the same stops for students who come from one bus to the shuttle.  The shuttles can, sometimes, become crowded and making some students wait for the other shuttle.

Both of the students I interviewed said that depending on the driver, students can ride the shuttle on certain "standing room" areas (the steps).  This could be a danger but students don't mind if it means that they get to class on time.

You can check out these websites to check the shuttle routes and where they are at on the route.  You can also visit this website to see the arrival time of the shuttle at the stop nearest you.

CSULB Shuttle

Alternate to Mainstream

The U-Pass system has helped students get around campus since its beginning and has steadily increased since then.  Since the start of the U-Pass in 2008, the amount of trips the bus takes has increased from about 5,000 to about 6,500 and has even reached up to 8,000.  In 2008, the U-Pass made approximately 85,000 trips to and around campus.

What does this mean? According to Allissa Thomas from the CSULB Alternative Transportation Department, bus traffic (U-Pass and campus shuttles) has increased significantly.  "One bus trip takes about 35 cars off the road," stated Thomas.  With the increase in bus traffic around campus, is it safe to say that people are finding other ways to campus besides driving?

Over the last three years the U-Pass has saved on average of 188,662.5 gallons of gas.  In a society where is some places gas is $4.00 a gallon, that is saying that people are taking alternate ways to, from, and around campus.  While talking to Allissa Thomas, she stated that they are trying to turn the alternative into the mainstream.

Over the last three years the amount of bike traffic has nearly doubled because of the accessibility on campus.  The newly made bike path on Palo Verde Ave. is an example how the campus is becoming less dependent of cars and more "geared" for alternative transportation.

As a commuting student, I am trying to find other ways to campus because gas is becoming too expensive.  At this rate, I will not be able to afford gas and will need another way to get to school.

Alternate Transportation
U-Pass:  Long Beach Transit
Metro:  The MTA operates 2,258 buses on 185 routes and 18,500 bus stops.  They do offer a student transit pass and you can purchase one at the University Bookstore.  MetroLink
OCTA: For those who live in Orange County, there is a bus line for you as well.  The OCTA has 3 routes that directly serve the campus.  OCTA

To find out more information on alternate transportation you can visit: http://daf.csulb.edu/offices/ppfm/parking/program/rideshare/

The Intro

Transportation to and from California State University Long Beach (CSULB) has been noted as not being able to find a parking spot the first few weeks of the semester and students trying to find parking spots that don't require a parking permit because students are trying to "cut corners" in spending.  For those students who live on campus or not very far from campus have a variety of ways to getting to school; shuttles, busses, bikes, skateboards, even scooters (yes, even if that sounds silly).  Those students don't need a permit and transportation is less taxing than that of a student that commutes.  If you look on the corner of Palos Verde and Atherton you can see a whole row of cars that seem to belong to students but don't have a parking permit.  Why would you park that far away when you can park in the new structure just one block away?  In my next post I will hopefully have the exact number of parking permits purchased.  Commuting to campus can be expensive, not only finacially but mentally.

I am a student that commutes to school, about 15 to 20 miles one way.  That adds up in gas, especially if you work outside school, and especially with the way gas prices keep going up are students trying to cut down on where and how often they drive?  Spending all the time driving around town sometimes can be irritating, at least to me anyway.    For those of you who read this, I'm interested in finding out how you get to school and if you commute does the following paragraph relate to you?  My next post will have more information regarding student transportation.  If you would like to help contribute to the information you can email me at nicolisfreeman9@gmail.com.