GULA to fight the good fight against GUTS bus change
Posted by: Molly Redden in News, Vox Populi, tags: Georgetown, Georgetown Neighborhood, GULA, GUTS Buses, Town-Gown Relations
Solid: The Mass. Ave afternoon and evening route, 3.5 mi
Dotted: Q Street route, the “old” route and the most recent target of neighbor complaints, 2.1 mi
Thick: The route under University consideration, 4.7 mi
Last week, Voice News reported that the Unversity was testing a new GUTS bus route for the Dupont line that will potentially replace the Q Street route. The new route would more than double the trip length from Dupont to the University and, as the Voice reported, is under consideration totally at the behest of neighborhood residents. (Vox was outraged and gave you a form letter to email to the Office of Transportation Management.)
This week, GULA (Georgetown University Lobbying Advocates), the student group which lobbies on behalf of student interests, is joining the fray. They’ll be tabling outside of Leo’s today and Tuesday starting at 5:30 p.m. with information and opposition letters, so make sure you stop by and help them make some noise!
In his comment on the Voice’s article, GULA’s Andrew D’Souza (SFS `11) wrote the following:
As a student advocacy group, GULA (GU Legislative Advocates) is opposed to this possible alteration of the Dupont shuttle. It would represent a rather large inconvenience to the university’s students, faculty, and staff. The university lost the battle for a metro stop. How much more are we going to disadvantage the university community?
Right on, D’Souza!
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I’d like to see Angert get involved in this. Seems like a pretty easy thing to organize around.
Stopped by GULA’s table, looks to be a few dozen signed petitions so far. Good work!
Bravo, Andrew D’Souza, Reggie Greer and Nick Troiano!
You need to make unseating Aaron Golds, who has shown no interest in supporting his constituency at ANC meetings, a top priority. Georgetown students and employees, who do not have the priveledge of affording townhouses, cars and garages on Q Street, should NOT BE DENIED A BASIC RIGHT OF PUPLIC TRANSPORTATION.
How can you deny quick and efficient transport to poor and middle class, when Metro Buses take the same exact route? Or force them to spend another 30 minutes of their day (round trip) being re-routed through other parts of town?! This is ridiculous!
If the residents find A BUS loud or inconvenient, let’s SHOW THEM what happens when they push TOO FAR. Stand up and fight!
Whoa, Scott, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone this fired up about the ANC. Are you working with GULA on this? If not, you should start a blog or something, get people moving.
Will, I’ve had it with a handful of Q Street residents telling what a University community of 10,000+ can and cannot do – especially when it is disproportionately affecting the poor and underserved. If these people wanted to hear crickets, they should have moved to the suburbs. Fact of the matter is, they elected to reside along a main traffic artery in our nation’s capital. As such, they need to stop whining. And for his part, Aaron Golds needs to step up and defend his people.
[...] currently being tested in the weekends, is over twice the length of the shortest Dupont route. Even after a lobbying effort by the Georgetown University Legislative Advocates, the University has continued testing this new [...]
[...] That’s right: on the University’s “wish list” is a tentative plans to send all buses in and out Canal Road, with the exception of the Wisconsin Avenue bus. Most noticeably altered would be the Dupont Circle bus route. Instead of its traditional 2.1 mile route, would permanently follow the 4.7 mile test-route it has been using recently, despite student protestations. [...]