University of Massachusetts Lowell - Sojourn / Knoll Yearbook (Lowell, MA)

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Q, ,14 K1 cf' ai i aww'-3+ ' .-.-a-uv'- ': ' ii ,H zfiiil ' .Aa A - 'Z' ' - .WLM F 'W -1 - ' .3 lb ' J'-- x -' .LI , 5 , vm- +- - Q , ',, +.'qr- QL ll- x ,J 4 was ap. bmw ,342 Arm mn wavy!! H .110 Q - YM. --Vx .A - SQ LoweII's Infamous Bottleneck DNOTO f Peggy Shanahan 1 x Q m NSF' '41- xisr I' 5 M nr A ,f 1 Q , . . A --' . ,ibn x,k.hQ .3.:QQ,m i X .,x- , it P' 'i H -- X ul . 'g d , .QX 'Q 'Q L, 5. -f X Y Us x-n Y ,Q I .ax .E ,Q Q ... 5 nw gy v 'V N. 'xl'4

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tr up Rapid Transit for U. Lowell: A Proposal What exactly is Group Rapid Transit? Are we going to get it? Where will it be located? How much will it cost? ls funding available? Group Flapid Transit lGFlTj con- sists of electrically propelled cabin- like vehicles that can transport up to 20-25 people per vehicle at 30 mph. These vehicles cruise on elevated guideways which can span a variety of configurations. The first of these systems was supported by the Urban Mass Transit Administration lUlVlTAj as a dem- ...-1- onstration project at the college campus of the University of West Virginia in Morgantown. Though this project experienced many problems at first and far exceeded initial esti- mated costs, its present operation has proven successful. The Federal Department of Trans- portation will be allocating millions of dollars towards the implementa- tions of these systems in major cities in the U.S. as part of the people mover project . Can the city of Lowell qualify for -qnnnin--'Q' V E l l l j 5, --Y-1 suc federal spending? And if so, ca the local and state government me up with 2070 of the cost to i upport the project? lf the money is available, the U. Lowell site would be the optimum location for Phase l of the system, considering the patron- age it would receive. An earlier proposal, lFaIl, 1975j was not effec- tive in finding enough reasons to warrant the cost of such a system. However, present and future statis- tics indicate substantial increases of student overflow in the next decade that will exceed its capacities. There- fore, with increasing numbers travel- ling between dorm and campus areas, more attention should cer- tainly be given to assessing future transportation needs for the area. The principle advantages of this type of transport is not only found within the ease and quickness of travel itself, but in addition, the 1 duction of noise and air pollution will undoubtedly be of great signifi- cance. But probably more significant is the conservation of energy. The electric propulsion that the system will run on uses negligible amounts of energy in comparison to present gasoline consumption of today's au- tomobiles. Considering the sky-rocketing costs of car ownership, GRT is an at- tractive form of public transportation that can approach and exceed present automobile use, which is so highly valued by the American pub- lic. It would undoubtedly make transportation through Lowell safer and easier for all University of Lowell students and personnel. Randall P. Hecht '77 'l .iq YY -, vw' R66 V 'vi l 5' ' a '96 J., tj '4..i,i??f- 'H ' Q 7 :34 l' l f' j Wx 0-u1'inut h

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---- ot Dog Days I .li , V .',.- u'4 . le-11115 psdhwvbv-4 f I .. N.: , I ww' W., '9!'I'3v ,t '----ef' A4 ,, , A -, iq nf M ., J 1' A 45? rt, 54 , 4- 0 N. I . ef---'sw 3 unusual- l . Joe Veccnione ust about every other week some organization sponsors a Dog Day, where one can usually buy two hot-dogs, a bag of chips and a Polar cola for .99gt. Most sports let the vendors keep the change on a dollar. 28 ll