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The way to beat a path
By DOUG GRAHAM
Focus Staff
All roads may lead to Texas
A&M University, but not all those
r roads are equal.
Some roads are less-than-equal
nightmares to get to school on,
especially during the morning and
evening rush hours.
What route one should take is
heavily dependent on where one
lives, and on what one uses for
transportation. Riding a bicycle
mightily influences which streets to
take.
In general, commuting strategy
in Bryan-College Station follows
the theory of least resistance.
That boils down to: take the
easiest, least congested road and
you’ll get where you are going fas
ter.
But many don’t heed such ad
vice. They prefer go “up the mid
dle” Aggie-style and travel High
way 6, or Texas Avenue.
Only the Light Brigade could
choose a worse route. Highway 6 is
just about the worst way to go.
Not only does the highway run
both ways, but every student
commuting to school travels it. Not
only that, but it is honeycombed
with traffic lights. Driving during the
morning or evening rush hours will
get the student to his destination,
but only after aggravation and de
lay.
Making fast time in B-CS means
taking the path of least resistance.
That way the intrepid and thinking
soul can avoid the jammed herds
of perspiring and grunting auto
buffaloes.
Chief of the redlight screamers
is the intersection at the corner of
Texas and Jersey. Cars have
rusted apart while waiting to pass
through it.
Of course bikers — the non-
motorized variety — learn to h'ate
College Avenue. That street has
negligible shoulders, and even
worse, seems to be the haven of
rogue speed bumps.
But, for those who must travel
either from Bryan or from the dar
kest heart of College Station, there
are alternate paths.
One of the best is the old faithful
East*Bypass. Barring an occa
sional officer, one can speed to his,
or her, heart’s content without
hassling with traffic until after pas
sing Fed-Mart on University Drive.
Though the bypass may be a lit
tle out of the way, the wear and
tear it saves on your vehicle, and
your nerves, is worth what little
extra gas it may cost.
Bicyclists can ride the access
roads that run parallel to the
bypass without the fear and loath
ing.
A particularly useful road, if one
intends to go from Bryan to the
University, is Cavitt. It runs bet
ween College and Texas, has few
traffic lights, a bunch of stop signs
and limited traffic.
Because of its width, it is a place
where Mopeds and bicycles dare
to tread. And it isn’t a bad place for
the more sedate auto drivers,
either.
Its most serious limitation is that
it does not intersect University. But
happily, it ends at Hensel Park,
where College finally picks up wide
shoulders.
Another North-South avenue is
29th Street, but it has its fair share
of traffic and stoplights, and inter-
sects with University at Fed-Mart.
A Cavitt-like path from Texas
A&M to the farthest reaches of Col
lege Station runs on Timber Street,
off of Jersey behind the golf
course.
The bicyclist or motorist can dog
leg up to Glade Street and follow
the serene, shaded streets all the
way to Southwest Parkway. Just
watch out for kids, since it is resi
dential.
Another dogleg to the left at
Southwest Parkway will take the
student to Southwood Drive and off
to FM 2818.
Eventually cagey commuter
soon learns that frontal assaults on
Aggieland aren’t particularly fruit
ful, since those roads go on cam
pus, which is jammed with millions
of cars searching for the same 14-
and-one-half parking spots.
Hence, it is wiser, at times, to go
the back route. Wellborn is a great
road to take, especially since it was
extended to Villa Maria. That
means someone going down Col
lege can miss many of the infuriat
ingly uncoordinated hop over the
lots behind the tracks.
Here’s a neat hint: if you’re head
ing toward Bryan, take the first turn
onto Pinfeather before you reach
the end of Wellborn; it saves a left
turn.
Wellborn also runs the other
way. It takes drivers there quickly.
No lights, no muss, no fuss. That’s
excepting, of course, the lousy
condition of the road, but who can
be choosy?
Wellborn leads into FM 2818,
which puts the commuter about as
far out as he could want to go, un
less, of course, he's heading for
Houston.
For however maligned that
Highway may be, the two ways it
leads are away from Texas A&M
University. And that is, even for the
most die-hard “Ol’ Army” Ag, a
good place to go every once in a
while.
focus
THE BATTALION
Focus is published every Thursday as an enter
tainment section of The Battalion.
Policy: Focus will accept any stories, drawings or
photographs that are submitted for publication, al
though the decision to publish lies solely with the
editor. Pieces submitted, printed or not, will be re
turned upon request. Deadline is 5 p.m. the
Thursday before publication.
Contributing to this issue were: Lee Roy Les-
chper Jr., Ken Herrera, Rhonda Watters, Kris
Wiese, Dina Krumnow. y
Editor: Beth Calhoun
Assistant Editor: Doug Graham
On the Cover: is the King’s Royal Wizard and
Master of the Revels, Merlin. Otherwise known as
Bill Palmer of Houston. He keeps all of the strolling
minstrels and muscicians from the Texas Renais
sance Festival in proper order. Photo by Lee Roy
Leschper Jr.
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