It may be due to the crap economy bringing people back to school or because of a tighter enrollment process at UCLA and USC, but Santa Monica College has seen an 8% increase in students this semester, reports the Santa Monica Daily Press. Also possibly because of the economy, that's translated to more students taking the Big Blue Bus to campus, satellite campuses, and parking lots, especially since the Santa Monica bus service is free to SMC students—ridership is not only up, but parking permits at SMC are down. The BBB has added more buses to deal with the demand, and some residents are none too pleased. "The amount of buses is insane," a homeowner who lives near 20th and Pearl, tells the Press. Another homeowner says car traffic remains just as bad. Maybe it's time to offer a bike-sharing program at SMC? This will most likely remain a problem even when the Expo Line connects to Santa Monica (in 2015, maybe); SMCers will still have to cross the 10 freeway and walk about 3/4 of a mile to get to campus. (Pictured: the SMC library)
· Neighbors Complaining of Traffic [SMDP]
· Big Blue Bus [Official Site]
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