Four day school weeks are bad? At least San Marcos roads are getting better.

“Mic check,” said an anonymous technician in room 3-14 of the student center. It was 7:20 in the evening, a scant 10 minutes before the Associated Student Government (ASG) meeting was set to begin, and I was the only other person in the room. “Mic check,” the technician repeated a few more times. The sound was fading in and out, he seemed to be having trouble getting the microphone set up.

“Can you hear it alright?”

I could hear it perfectly, which is what I told him. Another 10 “mic checks” was his reply. This time the sound didn't fade.

He pointed at a closet and asked, “If the sound goes out during the meeting can you let the people up here know there's a backup microphone in this closet?”

Great...I wanted to sit in here unnoticed while I wrote, and before I had anything to write about a new responsibility was being handed off to me. “Yeah, if the mic goes out during the meeting I'll let them know,” I said, though I knew I wouldn't.

Around 7:30 people started to show up, senators of the ASG. A group sat down together, forming a cluster in the aisle in front of me. They talked about their weekends, what they had done and who they had seen. Then, they talked about legislation to be discussed at the coming meeting. Suddenly, I was glad I arrived early.

“Everyone knows these four day school weeks aren't working,” said one of the women. “Local businesses are calling and complaining about losing business.”

Chartwell's, the food service company used by Texas State University, has reported a $7,000 loss on Thursdays and Fridays compared to this time last year. The University does receive a commission from the sales Chartwell's makes, but with tuition on the rise...every semester...and more and more fees popping up out of nowhere, I'm sure the school can take that financial hit. And even if the rumors that local, not to mention private businesses are losing money...well, since when did the earnings of local businesses receive even an infinitesimal say in when students should or should not attend classes...or any student centered issue for that matter (HEB wants to sell more beer...Friday classes are back)?

- - -

The reason I went to the ASG meeting was to listen to a presentation made by guest speaker Gaylord Bose. Bose is a member of the San Marcos City Council, and he was there announcing plans to improve transportation in San Marcos.

The traffic congestion problem has been a popular topic of conversation recently. In the last month I have had or overheard many conversation about how overwhelming San Marcos traffic is, specifically the poorly synchronized traffic lights. Beginning at 10 a.m. and lasting through 6:30 p.m. getting anywhere in town is an exercise in patience. A driver is lucky if they hit all green lights on a drive through most cities. A San Marcos driver can hitting every traffic light red, a lucky driver is one who isn't behind countless other cars stopped at the same light.

The primary cause of the endless traffic is bad timing. Traffic lights in most cities are set to change at certain intervals depending the distance between each traffic light and the speed limit. This allows for better traffic flow, as the timing of each light depends on the one before it.

This has not been the case in San Marcos...until now. Bose said during his presentation, “We're having the traffic lights synchronized, so driving around town you won't be hitting all the red lights and traffic won't be as much of a problem.” I nominate the double light at I-35 and Aquarena Springs Drive to be the first to change. Driving through that intersection is a despicable chore.

Bose also spoke about recent and future road closures. The reason behind the Sessoms street closure is a new city wide plan to build sidewalks along both sides of every main road, in addition to bike paths (again, on every main road). No information was given regarding how long this process will take, but Bose did say that the next major road closure would be Commanche.

The final improvement Bose spoke of was a commuter rail. “We're putting in a commuter rail from here [San Marcos] to Austin,” said Bose. “And there will be plenty of parking, so you won't have to worry about finding a parking space or getting a ticket if you park in the wrong spot.” Bose did not comment on when construction is expected to begin, how much the project would cost or where the funding would come from.