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New bus service is bone of
contention between
Gurudwara managers, locals
WSN Network
FREMONT: Locals have protested against a bus service which had made
it possible for the large number of Sikh devotees to reach the
gurdwara nearby in the California Terrace neighbourhood. A number of
local residents have joined together demanding that the bus service
which traverses areas in Mission Boulevard connecting the Fremont
BART station to Bayfair station in San Leandro be scrapped.
The Route 99 bus service was introduced only four months ago.
Demands to scale down a service are extremely rare. In view of the
fact that the gurdwara draws crowds of some 5,000 plus, the bus
service was deemed to be needed by the Sikhs. Neighbours say because
of their huge size, the buses were too big for the streets.
AC Transit officials have reacted to the protests aimed at City
Council members and the bus agency is calling a community meeting
Thursday. Reports are trickling in that the dispute over the buses
has strained the relations between the community and the locals.
After pleas by the administration of the local gurdwara, the Route
99 buses were rerouted off Mission for several blocks and looped
around the North Fremont neighborhood, thus enabling stops at
Gurdwara Avenue and Terrace Drive.
Some residents said the buses often could not be contained on to
their side of the road and straddled the opposite traffic lane.
Besides, the residents fear for the children who often play outside
the gates.
Incidentally, the bus service was started after two years of
pleading by the local Sikh community.
Gurdwara vice president Sarabjit Singh Cheema said the bus service
was of great use to the older people and those who could not drive.
A similar Sunday bus service operated with smaller buses by Union
City transit averages about 36 daily passengers, the local media
reported.
AC Transit's proposed solution to the impasse is to curtail service.
Buses now stop outside the gurdwara roughly every 15 minutes in both
directions from 5 to 9 a.m. and from 3 to 11 p.m., as well as all
day on weekends. The bus agency is proposing eliminating that
service and replacing it with daily service only between 9 a.m. and
3 p.m.
The one solution that both sides would gladly accept — placing the
stop on Mission at Gurdwara Drive — won't work, at least for now,
transit officials said, because there is no traffic signal or
crosswalk at the intersection.
31 October,
2007
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