MyWeberMedia.com | March 29, 2022 | 17
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SUMMER MUSTER | The Signpost
SUMMER MUSTER | The Signpost
16 | MyWeberMedia.com | March 29, 2022
SUMMER MUSTER | The Signpost
Another OGX bus stop has made driving through campus a little more difficult.
Cones litter one of the campus roads linking campus to Harrison.
Aerial and graphic map of the campus shows the OGX route.
Asst. Section Editor
By MARISA NELSON Managing Editor
Weber State students can expect construction cones and detours around campus for the foreseeable future. Students can and should continue to expect changes in the shuttle system and what travel to and from campus will look like in the next several semesters.
For the past year, construction for the new Ogden Express or OGX line has been ever-present on campus, with new bus stops and routes springing up and taking shape since early 2020. According to the current construction timeline, the OGX should be up and running and ready to transport students from the Dee Events Center to the Browning Center by the start of the fall 2022 semester. The OGX system is a Bus Rapid Transit system, also known as a BRT, which combines the speed and efficiency of a TRAX system and the capacity of a city bus. This also allows for the new system to be emission free with
fully electric buses. This system will replace the current Wildcat Shuttle system at WSU that currently runs from the Dee Events Center down to the Stewart Library. The new shuttle will pick up at the Dee Events Center, make a stop at student housing on Village Drive and then drop off in front of the Browning Center. Four buses will run back and forth between the three stations every 10-15 minutes in the spring and fall semesters and every 15–20 minutes in the summer. As of February 2022, the OGX website updates show the Dee Events Center stop is 75% complete, WSU Village Drive stop is
50% complete and WSU Central campus is about 80% complete. WSU Central stop, or the Browning Center construction zone, is nearly completed, with just station art and glass to be installed. There will be two stations at the Browning Center, with one at the entrance and the other on the opposite side of the bus circle. Each of the stops on and off campus will feature artwork that highlights the culture and history of Ogden. The artists who are contributing work include Cole Eisenhour, Chuck Landvatter, Ann Tarantino, Benjamin Zack, Priscilia DeCarvalho, Monika Bravo, Don Rimx, Jhonattan Aran-
go, Alicia N. Hall, Hillary H. Wallace and Erica Lyon. The intermodal hub that will connect Weber’s campus to all of Ogden is the same as the Dee Event Center hub that will pick up students and transport them to students. Current students familiar with the stop won’t notice much of a change as the hub is just west of the current pickup spot. The buses will also get Transit Signal Priority to keep them running on time. TSP uses sensors to detect approaching vehicles and manipulates the stoplights according to need. It has
capabilities such as extending a green light or shortening a red light. Perhaps the biggest change with the OGX route is that parking at the Dee Events Center will be free come fall semester. “We’re highly encouraging students, faculty and staff to park at the Dee Events Center,” James Larson, public relations specialist at UTA, said. “That will help reduce people having a hard time finding parking, it will reduce the cost of parking for the students...we think that will really help reduce the amount of congestion.”
Students, faculty and staff will need to use their UTA EdPass to ride the updated shuttle system. This pass is free and available on the eWeber portal. All students need to do is click on the EdPass link and accept the terms and conditions. From there, they can pick up their pass at the Shepherd Union Information Desk. This pass can be used any time for the FrontRunner, TRAX train, S-Line Streetcar, bus routes and UTA ››continued on page 18
SUMMER MUSTER | The Signpost
By ALEXANDREA BONILLA
The OGX hub in the Dee Events Center parking lot is well on its way.
The final section of the Browning Center bus stop will be finished in the next year.
