Dead end drop off
The number of students, faculty and staff using the Taggart Student Center turnaround to pick up or drop off friends and family has become problematic for Aggie Shuttle drivers and is an issue of pedestrian safety, the university says.
Since the closure of Champ Drive, the circle, between the TSC and Nelson Fieldhouse has become a common place for people to drop off or pick up family members and roommates.
Lisa Leishman, director of parking and transportation, said prior to the closure, the circle was a good place for people to use for those purposes.
Now, it is forcing the cars into the bus turnaround, which is exclusively a bus stop and should not be used to drop off or pick up others.
“That turnaround was designed to barely accommodate the bus,” Leishman said, “So if a car is there the bus can’t make the turn.”
James Boyd, a speech communications major and a shuttle driver, said because the buses have to swing wide in order to make that turn they “end up with inches on each side.” The bus drivers are not supposed to try to get around cars, so they have no choice but to wait.
Boyd said the biggest problem is that students waiting to get off the bus are trying to get somewhere and are set back because of the cars in the way.
Leishman said she hasn’t heard any complaints from the drivers.
“It’s hurting the students, not the bus drivers,” Boyd said. “The drivers have no problem waiting.”
The longer students have to wait, the more the crowd builds and buses have to leave students behind. The shuttle system has been forced to run buses close together and at the busiest times – before, after and between classes. Boyd said it is hard to compensate for the time wasted at the TSC circle waiting for other cars to leave
The money for the buses comes from the students, Boyd said, if the buses can’t be efficient, they are holding up classmates and friends.
Leishman said the Aggie Shuttle transports between 6,500 and 7,000 students per day.
“We need to keep those buses running as efficiently as possible,” she said.
The TSC turnaround is not the only problem area, Leishman said. The entrance to the Merrill Library is also a problem. Many students pull off 400 North and use the turning lane in front of the C1 parking lot as a drop-off area. Mecham said students using that area as a drop off location have caused a backup of cars clear back onto the highway.
Leishman said the USU Police are writing citations for any cars parking or waiting in the TSC turnaround or by the Merrill Library. Up to this point, officers have been giving mostly warnings to make the students aware of the problem.
USU Police Chief Steve Mecham said the real concern is the safety issues with all the cars stopping creating a mixture of pedestrians and vehicles and citations can be given for as much as $75.
“We are going to need to be a little inconvenienced for the safety, we just ask for everyone’s cooperation,” Mecham said
Leishman said the small area to the south of the TSC turnaround is for emergency vehicles, and people who sit and wait there are jeopardizing access for the safety vehicles.
“Safety is the number one concern. We need to maintain that access for emergency vehicles,” Leishman said.
Mecham said the best place to drop off students is on the east side of the Parking Terrace, through the gates into the B parking lot by the University Inn.
Leishman said 700 North was designed to be a drop-off location because the road gets wider in certain parts, to accommodate cars and buses pulling off the road. There are three bus stops along 700 North, but as long as cars stay away from those and do not use the road for parking, Leishman said that street is a convenient drop-off location.
“It’s all manageable,” Leishman said. “It’s just getting the campus community to cooperate.”
Leishman said eventually on the east side of the David B. Haight Alumni House there will be a drop-off area designated as part of the new housing and parking project.
-etippetts@cc.usu.edu
Casey Reynolds navigates through the turnaround outside the Taggart Student Center Thursday. (Photo by John Zsiray)