VOLUME 101, ISSUE 86
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WEDNESDAY GO NE ONLI NOW
JULY 11, 2012
Growing Together Dunbar Neighborhood Gardens is a project designed to in-
crease food security for the community. For more information check out The University Star’s website at star.txstate.edu
Construction to affect bus routing By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor Several bus route and stop changes went into effect Monday, June 9 due to construction taking place at The Quad bus loop and on North LBJ Drive. Students living off of Ranch Road 12 in particular will be affected by the changes. The Ranch Road 12 route will now be permanently split into two: Route 25 - Ranch Road and Route 24 - LBJ, according to Joe Richmond, director of Transportation Services. The new LBJ route will be affected by city construction work on water transmission mains on North LBJ Drive. There will be no southbound stops between Holland Street and Forest Street, forcing students residing at Hillside Ranch apartments and Stonegate apartments to catch a northbound bus. “It doesn’t mean you can’t ride the bus, but you may have to walk a little farther for a stop,” Richmond said. Richmond said the split is in response to recent higher demand and increased ridership on the former Ranch Road 12 route due to the construction of The Retreat, a new student-targeted apartment complex located along the bus route. The Retreat, located at 512 Craddock Ave., contains 780 beds and 187 cottages, said Kali Wood, leasing ambassador for the complex. Additionally, all campus, city and Bobcat Tram Interurban routes will be rerouted to Matthews Street and will stop at the LBJ Student Center bus loop rather than The Quad bus loop, with the exception of Wonder World, which still serves campus from Concho Street.
READ BUSES, PAGE 2
TANTRA BOWS OUT
Kristen Lefebvre, Staff Photographer
Daniel Chapman, singer and guitarist for The Victory March, performs July 7 at Tantra Coffeehouse. Tantra celebrated its 6th birthday with a barbeque and its last live music event ever.
Local coffeehouse announces end of live music performances
HSI status brings in additional money for PACE Center By Lindsay Medina News Reporter This fall, Texas State will be one of 19 Hispanic Serving Institutions receiving a collective $12.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The university received $456,387 for the first year of the grant and will apply the funds toward mentoring and other programs for the Personalized Academic and Career Exploration (PACE) Center. Of the institutions receiving funds, Texas State received the smallest award. Evelina Gonzales, senior proposal coordinator for the office of the vice president of research, said the university requested as much funding as was needed, and the request was fulfilled almost entirely. “We’re happy with what we got, and it was close to what we asked for,” Gonzales said. Universities qualify as Hispanic Serving Institutions when 25 percent of their enrollment meets that demographic. When the status is acquired, universities qualify for additional grants from the U.S. Department of Education. Gonzales said the amount the university will receive during its first year of the grant is just a portion of funding that could potentially total $2.3 million. The grant lasts for five years, and the award amount will be dependent upon how much money is available in the federal budget. Because the program is cyclical, Gonzales said the university will not be able to reapply for the same grant until the last year of funding five years from now. Funds received from this award will be used for programs at the PACE Center, Gonzales said. These programs will be aimed at ensuring the success of undergraduate students and teaching financial literacy. “Freshmen oftentimes get into debt in their first year of college because they don’t understand how they’re living on their own and how they’re supposed to budget,” Gonzales said. “They don’t understand financial aid, they take their entire award when they get it, and that causes them to have a lot of debt at the end of their time here, so it’s going to help coach them on how to manage that.” Dan Brown, director of the PACE Center, said he was pleased to hear about the award. “I was excited. This was very competitive this year,” Brown said. “To have been funded was a real
READ GRANT, PAGE 5
STORY ON PAGE 9
Officials discuss formation of urban transit district
Star File Photo
CARTS is expected to be replaced by a new transit provider due to San Marcos’ new classification as an urbanized area. By Andrew Osegi News Reporter
The population of San Marcos and the surrounding area is growing, and local officials must now find a way to meet its transportation needs. San Marcos was designated an urbanized area in March based on the results of the 2010 U.S. Census. The designation affects funding for public transit and automatically qualifies San Marcos for federal transit money. However, an urban transit district must be established in order to qualify for state urban transit funds. Before the census results, San Marcos met the definition of a rural transit district, with Capital Area Rural Transportation Systems (CARTS) being its rural public transportation provider. Because San Marcos is now considered an urbanized area, CARTS can no longer use funding earned after the designation. Its contract is expected to end October 12. Local officials convened May 24 to discuss how the creation of an urban transit district could help the community address the growing need for public transportation services and regional connectivity. During the meeting, concerns were raised about the consistency of bus routes and whether or not residents who depend on public transportation would still receive the same
level of service once changes have been made. In response, the Texas Department of Transportation approved a “bridge” service, or the continuation of fixed route and response bus services. CARTS may provide the services within the urbanized areas of Hays and Caldwell counties starting in 2013, as long as it uses funding from fiscal year 2012 and/or prior years. Those in attendance included San Marcos City Councilmember Kim Porterfield, Joe Richmond, director of transportation services at Texas State, Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe and David Marsh, general manager of CARTS. Porterfield said she is looking forward to making public transportation in San Marcos a more connective, fluid entity that meets the demands of the growing public. “With the creation of an Urban Transit District, the city will be able to provide a forum and framework for new services to fill gaps created by the end of the rural transit services (CARTS) within the urbanized area,” Porterfield said. “It will also play a major role in developing a high capacity transit and commuter rail to serve the region.” Laurie Moyer, managing director of community services for the City of San Marcos, said there are three possible ways San Marcos can handle the formation of an urban transit district. The city could choose to create an urban transit district with a governing body consisting of the San Marcos City Council and representatives from two or more of the jurisdictions located in the urbanized area (Martindale, Hays, Caldwell and Guadalupe counties). The City Council would outline control of funding and cooperate with CARTS and Texas State. The second option would be for the city and surrounding governing entities to let the Texas Department of Transportation handle funding with CARTS, who would be responsible for public transportation adjustments. Lastly, the city could create a separate transportation district with its own board, which would have a large amount of control but limited funding and staff. Marsh said he is working closely with the Texas Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration and Austin Capital Metro to find solutions that will prevent disruption of service to customers. Moyer said the City of San Marcos does not want to alarm the public and make any drastic changes to public transportation with short notice. The public can expect to see changes in the fall of 2013.
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