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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1996)
ay • November 6, Campus Page 7 Wednesday • November 6, 1996 f JEIfesC focuses on Wellborn Road safety issue Members discuss Operation Lifesaver, public awareness project singing For Christmas! You’re invited! Acad. Bldg. Room 402 6p.m. "Wed. Nov. 6 th >'1 Hoo 6ro oppyi KR.6^swsi! By JoAnne Whittemore The Battalion "he Texas A&M Graduate Student Coun- discussed ways to improve safety on :Vellborn Road and gave support to the pro- iosed University Center Complex Fee Tues- lay night. Bohn Alvis, council president and a nu- :lear engineering graduate [*ha M "juIj 1 wr - ° o o ^stldent, said the council is pu suing safety improve- mlnts for the thorough- fan and adjacent railroad. B‘I see it as two separate, diltinct issues,” he said. ( "One is the actual road it self with the car traffic safety, and the other one is —the railroad.” ■Students and residents --of College Station are mown to cross Wellborn mad and the railroad Inicks at dangerous spots C )ther than designated crosswalk areas, Yl\ is said. ■ Drivers sometimes attempt to "beat the lain," or cross the railroad tracks when a train s approaching an intersection, he said. ■ Jessica Franklin, an employee of the Texas Ifcmsportation Institute, addressed the council Dn behalf of Operation Lifesaver. ■ Operation Lifesaver is a national, non- ■ofit organization dedicated to educating the public about railroad-crossing dangers. Franklin said Operation Lifesaver is a combination of the three E’s — education, engineering and enforcement. Education increases public awareness of railroad-crossing dangers; engineering en sures transportation officials maintain safe railroad crossings; and enforcement means issuing citations to people who violate rail road-crossing laws. Texas leads the na tion in collisions be tween trains and motor vehicles. “In 1995, there were 464 crashes at highway railroad crossings,” she said. “Fifty-five of those crashes were fatalities.” Franklin said the ma jority of collisions occur during the day within 25 miles of victims’ homes. In 1994 and 1995 more than 500 people lost their lives by illegally crossing railroads throughout the country. Shanna Collie, the council graduate life officer in charge of researching Wellborn Road and a toxicology graduate student, said about 26,125 cars travel the campus stretch of Wellborn Road daily. The city began a project to improve Well born Road in the late 1980s. The project was dismissed because of lack of funding. “I see it as two separate, distinct issues. One is the actual road itself with the car traffic safety, and the other one is the railroad.” John Alvis GSC president In 1995, an Austin firm was hired to cre ate a 20-year plan to make Wellborn Road safer for pedestrians and drivers. The plan would widen Wellborn Road to six lanes between University and George Bush Drive. Another phase of the plan calls for the re location of the railroad tracks, which would cost $45 million. Collie said if the plan is adopted, con struction will not begin for another five to seven years. “Anything GSC can do or anything A&M can do, will probably help (speed up) the process,” she said. Alvis said the council is planning to im plement a project to increase public aware ness of railroad safety. “It would be real easy to come up with a catchy saying and print it up on buttons,” he said. “For one week, we could have a Wellborn Road Safety Week where we hand buttons to everybody who crosses at either the Albritton Tower crossing or ... close to the Rec Center.” The council also voted on the proposed University resolution regarding an increase in student fees. The possible increase would raise the University Center Complex Fee by $2 a year for the next three years. The fee has not been raised in five years and is cur rently $24. The council supported the fee increase to maintain the current level of service provid ed by the MSC. r ®Ije ipiacfe 3nn IBIack purest ^\nn Call Now for Reservations Special Events • Thanksgiving Christ mas Party • Graduation 874-2407 Hwy 30 Between College Station & Huntsville Catering available upon request Climbers We Have Your Gear!!! i o% OFF g-jy Texas Ave. Good through 11-11-96 Mention this ad. College Station, Tx. SME ON |j_ LOCKS * HELMETS* MORE 696-6551 OPEN 9:30 AM -6:30 PM M-SAT. 12-5 SUN. We accept competitors coupons VISA Juatr r Senator Continued from Page 1 -■“What discussion?” he said. "Ihere should be no discussion about the validity of the sena tor’s case.” I Brown said he decided not to appeal because the rule is there for a reason. B Reed said the senator has not been dismissed because of the possibility the appeal will be granted. ■ “If we remove the senator and ill the position and the appeal is successful, do we remove the new senator to reinstate the old one?” he said. “Or do we add a new seat, which is in proportion to the college pop ulation? If the appeal does not go through, the senator will be removed. We’ve always followed the rules.” David John ston, a junior math major and editor of the Col- Reed denied the involvement “Our removal policy does not concern politics. The rules are quite clear.” Chris Reed Speaker of the Senate lege Republicans newsletter, The Clarion, investigated the situation. In an article writ ten by Johnston for The Clarion, he said the Senate’s decision to postpone the dis missal was based on political motivations. “The senators that were removed were politically aligned against Reed and Chris Miller, speaker pro tempore,” John ston said. of political alignment concern ing the decision. “We don’t have factions in the Senate,” Reed said. “Our removal policy does not concern politics. The rules are quite clear.” When the decision was made, the only major issue call ing for a vote was, the diversity appreciation bill, which had risen in the Senate. “I didn’t even have a chance to know which senators sup ported my views and which did n’t,” Reed said. “They didn’t make their grades. That’s the bottom line.” 5 UNDERWATER Air SCUBA We Sell Fun... Just Add Water 2 for Learn to S What the course inclu Tuition for Basic PADI or NAUI OMh Log Book! Entrance Fees @ Blue Lagoon Pool use fees! Use of all Scuba Diving Equijj All Air Fills! ecial o 100’ deep pen Water! 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