Spring Break
Hunting Lodge stop only caused trouble on late bus
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: Commentary
This is why we can't have nice things.
After a semester-long trial, the UConn Late Night shuttle cancelled its Hunting Lodge Road stop because of a number of alcohol-related incidents.
Janet Freniere, manager of UConn's Transportation Services, said they cancelled the stop because they were concerned about the safety of pedestrians, bus drivers and bus monitors, The Daily Campus reported. Freniere said that there were cases of people hanging onto the outside of the bus, throwing their friends in front of the bus, and a full beer bottle was even thrown at a bus's windshield.
It definitely got to the point where safety was an issue, and UConn Transportation made the right decision. Actually, concerning the late bus, they did everything right.
By running the Late Night shuttle on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., they provided a great service to students who may have felt unsafe walking back to their rooms that late at night. They also inevitably cut down on drunk driving and drunk walking, which is almost as dangerous. The shuttle will still run for at least the rest of the semester, however, just without the extra Hunting Lodge Road stop, so it will still serve students on campus.
Cutting the Hunting Lodge Road stop was the right decision. Anyone who's seen Hunting Lodge Road on a Friday or Saturday night knows to avoid driving on it at all costs. Hundreds of students and their friends make the long trek from campus to parties at Carriage House Apartments and Celeron Square. Even early on in the night, many of these revelers are already drunk from pre-gaming in their rooms, and they're not very concerned with walking close to the side of the road or waiting to cross the street. At the end of the night, it's even worse as they stumble back to campus.
Putting a bunch of inebriated students in one place isn't safe for anyone. The late bus was a great idea to prevent drunk driving and walking, but the Hunting Lodge Road situation proved that some students just don't care. They had to put a monitor on the bus to make sure the driver was safe. They had to call the police to clear a path for the bus. After all that, they just had to cancel the stop.
UConn Transportation Services offered students a free, safe ride home. In the end, those partygoers simply abused that privilege, and rightfully so, they lost it.
After a semester-long trial, the UConn Late Night shuttle cancelled its Hunting Lodge Road stop because of a number of alcohol-related incidents.
Janet Freniere, manager of UConn's Transportation Services, said they cancelled the stop because they were concerned about the safety of pedestrians, bus drivers and bus monitors, The Daily Campus reported. Freniere said that there were cases of people hanging onto the outside of the bus, throwing their friends in front of the bus, and a full beer bottle was even thrown at a bus's windshield.
It definitely got to the point where safety was an issue, and UConn Transportation made the right decision. Actually, concerning the late bus, they did everything right.
By running the Late Night shuttle on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., they provided a great service to students who may have felt unsafe walking back to their rooms that late at night. They also inevitably cut down on drunk driving and drunk walking, which is almost as dangerous. The shuttle will still run for at least the rest of the semester, however, just without the extra Hunting Lodge Road stop, so it will still serve students on campus.
Cutting the Hunting Lodge Road stop was the right decision. Anyone who's seen Hunting Lodge Road on a Friday or Saturday night knows to avoid driving on it at all costs. Hundreds of students and their friends make the long trek from campus to parties at Carriage House Apartments and Celeron Square. Even early on in the night, many of these revelers are already drunk from pre-gaming in their rooms, and they're not very concerned with walking close to the side of the road or waiting to cross the street. At the end of the night, it's even worse as they stumble back to campus.
Putting a bunch of inebriated students in one place isn't safe for anyone. The late bus was a great idea to prevent drunk driving and walking, but the Hunting Lodge Road situation proved that some students just don't care. They had to put a monitor on the bus to make sure the driver was safe. They had to call the police to clear a path for the bus. After all that, they just had to cancel the stop.
UConn Transportation Services offered students a free, safe ride home. In the end, those partygoers simply abused that privilege, and rightfully so, they lost it.
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