BusTalk

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http://www.smdp.com/article/articles/4568/1/Clearing-the-streets

Clearing the streets

BBB is in for a bumpy ride
By Kevin Herrera
Editor in Chief

SUNSET PARK Residents living adjacent to Santa Monica College appreciate the removal of a heavily-used bus stop at Pearl and 20th streets that generated plenty of noise and garbage, but they still have concerns about the number of buses traveling through their neighborhood, especially since the buses are loaded with students who live outside of the city.

During a community meeting held last week at the Fairview Library to discuss possible changes to public transit, a handful of residents expressed their displeasure with Big Blue Bus and its decision to have three routes run along small, residential streets, generating noise pollution and, in a few cases, congestion.

Residents applauded Big Blue Bus officials for mitigation measures taken in the last few weeks, including the removal of the bus stop and increased trash pick-up , however, they still do not feel as if their interests are being accounted for. Instead, they believe the college and its students are being taken care of at their expense.

“It’s a matter of how convenient you want to make it for (students) and not the neighbors,” said Trent Thixton, a resident who lives on 20th Street. “There have been some slight improvements, but overall I’m just unhappy with the number of buses on our street. It’s just too small to accommodate them.”

The dispute over the Mini Blue Sunset and Crosstown rides, and the SMC Commuter is an example of the tension that still exists between residents and the college, who have clashed over the years because of SMC’s continued growth. There have been disagreements about traffic, parking and the college’s continued expansion into the community with the addition of satellite campuses.

SMC officials have tried to work with residents and City Hall to mitigate the impacts and thought it had found a solution to some of the traffic and parking woes with the creation of new Mini Blue bus routes and the SMC Commuter, which make stops at the main campus, the Water Gardens and the Bundy Campus adjacent to the Santa Monica Airport.

In a partnership with BBB, SMC agreed to provide partial funding for the routes while also offering students and faculty free rides, encouraging them to leave their cars at a new parking lot on Stewart Street and board buses that would take them to the main campus as well as the Academy of Entertainment & Technology and the Bundy Campus.

The routes are intended to serve not only students, but residents as well.

“We are trying to accommodate the needs of everyone,” said Stephanie Negriff, director of the BBB. “The idea of providing transit so that students won’t drive into the surrounding communities is better for everyone.”

The problem with the new routes is the number of buses traveling along residential streets surrounding the college.

“It has been a living hell,” said Jeanne Payne, who lives near the corner of 17th and Pine streets. “The mob of students who gather at the stops and the noise associated with the buses is too much. We need smaller vehicles that are lighter so they don’t vibrate as much.”

BBB officials said the Sunset Ride, which began in August of last year, has by far been the most popular Mini Blue route, with an average of 1,408 boardings a day, with 254 at the Pearl Street stop alone.

By eliminating that stop, BBB officials said they have been able to significantly reduce the impact the route has on the neighborhood. That, coupled with a re-routing of the commuter, should improve conditions.

On the Sunset Ride, the new stop is at 20th Street and Pico Boulevard. On the Line 6 route, the new stop is at Pearl and 17th Street.

Negriff said that if Big Blue Bus routes to Santa Monica College did not exist, Sunset Park residents would have to contend with hundreds of students driving in circles on neighborhood streets looking for an elusive parking space on or off campus.

Residents suggested having the buses stop on Ocean Park Boulevard, which would force students to walk a block or two to campus.

BBB officials said studies have shown that the farther people have to walk to get to their destination or a bus stop, the less likely they will use public transit.

Residents dismissed that, saying students who drive already walk several blocks to campus.

“If they have to get to class, they’ll walk an extra block or two,” said Thixton. “To suggest that they won’t (use public transit if stops were moved to Ocean Park Boulevard) is ridiculous.”

One possible solution that BBB is considering is splitting the Sunset Ride into two separate routes, one serving the Pico Neighborhood while the other would serve Sunset Park and the Bundy Campus.

One route would circle around Stewart Street, Pico Boulevard, 17th Street and Colorado Avenue. A second route would circle around 20th Street, Pearl Street, 17th Street, Ocean Park Boulevard, Bundy Drive and Airport Avenue.

That could be made possible with the elimination of two rarely used routes, the Pico Farmers’ Market and the Downtown Farmers’ Market rides. BBB officials will ask the City Council on Tuesday to discontinue those routes and re-appropriate buses and bus drivers to other routes that have higher demand.

That could also mean establishing a new route to take passengers to the Annenberg Community Beach Club at 415 Pacific Coast Hwy., which is currently under construction, said Dan Dawson, public information office for BBB.

The farmers’ market routes were a half-day, once a week service with the Downtown Market Ride averaging 25 boardings and the Pico Market Ride averaging eight boardings.

If the Sunset Ride were to be split, it would not happen until June at the earliest, BBB officials said.

“We can’t do everything that needs to be done overnight,” Negriff said. “We will take this input and develop service for everyone in the community.”