Is Main St really that far? If you want to take the B-Line, you'll make the walk. On the plus side, given the complete aversion to walking all the way there I've been noticing in the replies, the bus should be emptier so you won't feel like a sardine every time you get on.

What bothers me is that by 2011, EVERYONE will have to walk accross that campus. Safety, rightttt.... SOmeone should stop this madness. THink about it: how many people living in the emerson/whitney area depend on that ride to get to class in time. Or better yet, let's think about the -35deg. C with windchill in the middle of the winter, after night class, students coming out of MUSC, which is heated, having to walk god knows where to catch the darn bus home. I am one of those students and I'll tell you I will be really mad if I have to walk in that. I hope they don't do anything stupid, but if they do, petition is the way to go.

Ok, I just thought a minute after my previous initial reaction. I just need to ask: WHAT CAN WE DO? WILL IT BE EFFECTIVE?
If we can do something to stop this, I would be very very happy. ANy ideas? DO petitions actually work? Can we band together and get donations together for a legal case?
I think university should be about the students in them, not about how much profit the shareholders are making, or extraneous disputes that don't result in a better student experience. I think the biggest voice in the university should be the students'. Why don't these people leave these kinds of decisions to us? Some kind of student voting on the issue would make me feel much happier, since these services are vital for some students.
Adrian
PS: sorry, this issue touched a nerve with me, i keep ramblin'.
PPS: Another scenario for the usefulness of the busses: you just went grocery shopping and are carrying a barely carryable load of groceries, and live on campus(happened to me first year). How are you supposed to walk with that? in winter? It's already a problem, but with no busses on campus, it would just make it worse.

Originally Posted by adrian

Ok, I just thought a minute after my previous initial reaction. I just need to ask: WHAT CAN WE DO? WILL IT BE EFFECTIVE?
If we can do something to stop this, I would be very very happy. ANy ideas? DO petitions actually work? Can we band together and get donations together for a legal case?

petitions and protestsssss!! grassroots style!!

Originally Posted by dvy88

petitions and protestsssss!! grassroots style!!

Lol, and a strike . No seriously though, anyone actually know what will work?
Adrian

Nooo...bussing should stay on campus...

I guess a good thing about re-routing the Beeline is that it decreases the number of students that take only a few stops which then slows down the bus (including myself haha), but I know there are quite a number of Hamiltonian students that live pretty far away from Mac that heavily benefit from an express bus!

Originally Posted by adrian

Lol, and a strike . No seriously though, anyone actually know what will work?
Adrian

hmm. hypothetically, we could block ALL traffic from campus except buses using a human baricade. LOL. then see how they like it.

on a more serious note, whos in charge of transportation at mac anyway? we could send letters!

You know what I just realized? Why are they stopping the B-line bus, when it's the express one (to school and to the hospital), instead of the 1A bus? Don't you think? 1A has more passengers because it has more stops compared to the B-line. 10 has less, why are they stopping the one which has lesser passengers and the one that's faster. If you're going to the hospital (plus school lol), you definitely need the faster bus. so WHY. stupid people in charge of it. jesus. lol.

Originally Posted by aya017

You know what I just realized? Why are they stopping the B-line bus, when it's the express one (to school and to the hospital), instead of the 1A bus? Don't you think? 1A has more passengers because it has more stops compared to the B-line. 10 has less, why are they stopping the one which has lesser passengers and the one that's faster. If you're going to the hospital (plus school lol), you definitely need the faster bus. so WHY. stupid people in charge of it. jesus. lol.

I would argue the 10 B Line has more passengers since it is mainly used to connect the east end to downtown and further on to the westend.

Really though, the bus isn't stopping its service to McMaster, the stop has just been moved.

Yeah, but if all buses are moved to main street, it's a big issue. There are students that live in rez and need to go to work everyday. If you want to go downtown or go shopping, you'll need to go to Main street. If you live far away and need to take a bus, it's going to drop you off at Main Street. The problem is that Main street is far to walk to campus, especially in the winter.

You're also going to get many many students jay walking across main street to get to campus. I can only see this move cause more dangers than safety.

At York university they are building a subway station there, because students need to get there faster. They can get there already, but it's too long to get there using normal TTC transit. They don't call it a safety hazard.

Also, one of the main highlights of McMaster that brings a lot of students to the university, is that the buses run right through the university. When my parents and I saw that they were so close and I could just hop on one to go anywhere, we immediately favoured Mac over others.

I'm sorry, I just don't understand their reasoning. It's like the university is covering their ass, while not thinking about the students. I agree, it probably should have been put to a city-wide vote. But I couldn't see that every happening.

oh. HAHAH.
1A doesn't go as far as 10? Didn't know that - haven't been in Hamilton that long / I don't ride those buses as far as Stoney Creek

Originally Posted by mitch

I agree, it probably should have been put to a city-wide vote. But I couldn't see that every happening.

There is no reason for a city-wide vote. There is no point in having someone who doesn't go to McMaster and is not affected by moving the stop 5 minutes away, weigh in on this issue.

As far as the jaywalking goes, I'm sorry to say it but: survival of the fittest (I know, I know, you have my permission to flame away). There have been quite a few casualties reported because of jay walking around our campus. That's why the speed on Cootes drive was, at one point, lower than the speed around Canadian Martyrs (the elementary school across Main street from us).

A solution to the issue of moving the bus traffic off campus would be to create a bus stop area a la the GO station by Mary Keyes. Since the parking booths are not really going to be used anymore (what with the automatic system and all), that could be a good place to work with, maybe widen the streets and make some bus shelters there.

Originally Posted by mitch

The problem is that Main street is far to walk to campus, especially in the winter.

I really don't get why everyone's saying this, considering that Main Street IS the southern border of campus...step off the sidewalk, and you're there. Granted, it's not right next to the social hubs of MUSC or Mills, but it's a part of campus nonetheless.

I acknowledge that it'll certainly be less convenient, but put things in perspective here - we're talking about a further 5 minutes of walking from the regular stop, at most. For some people, it'll even bring them closer to the buildings they need to get to.

Not that I agree with the entire concept in the first place, but just throwing that out there.

Let me just ask, have you ever carried a couple bags of groceries from main to rez? It's a lot different than carrying them from Sterling to rez. Sure it's not that further, but it does make a difference to students that need to use the buses daily.

I don't have anything against walking all the way out to Main St. It might even get me a little bit more exercise. What I do have a problem with is crossing that crazy road. Have you ever seen how fast some cars wiz through that intersection. Its like they're on the freaking QEW!