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{click here) . â€" uppasen*"" BA Motors Authorzed BMW Retorler â€" 527 Xang St. N. Wer Telephone (519) 8855090 _ £ mad to@b kmo Looking For a New Eastbridge bus service pilot project proving §E§:cessful ome don‘t want it; others don‘t Suse it. Yet, if preliminary numâ€" bers are any indication, a oneâ€" year pilot project, which introâ€" duced Grand River Transit bus serâ€" vice to a sleepy Waterloo neighâ€" bourhood last fall, could be here to stay. As of next week, the project will have six months of service in the Eastbridge area under its belt, and, according to officials at the Region of Waterloo, the first half of the endeavor proved to be quite sucâ€" cessful. "The feedback from our drivers is fairly positive," said John Cicuttin, manager of transit develâ€" opment at the Region of Waterloo. "Ridership for the Lancaster 5 route, which goes through the area, is up 35 per cent, which equals MacGregor school students fare well at University of Waterloo engineering competition Building Bridges uilding bridges to Bfulure careers _ is just _ one _ reason MacGregor public school teacher Don Nicholson has entered his students in a University of Waterloo engiâ€" neering competition for the past eight years. Having students apply what they‘ve learned and sharing in the joy of conâ€" structing those bridges has been the real reward for the 30â€"year design and technolâ€" agy teacher, as six of those projects have gone on to win the competition. "The whole idea is to apply principles of engiâ€" neering," said Nicholson. "The students do their own research and use their own resources to build their bridges in the strongest possible manner. "I‘m not an engineer, but 1 certainly encourage them and help them along the way, and obviously it‘s worked." The latest winner in the UW bridgeâ€"building comâ€" Bos VrBaNac Chronicle Staff By Anprea Baicey Chronicle Staff £ mad unfo@b kmators.com petition from MacGregor is Grade 8 student April Ross, whose cardboard, pencil and string creation outlastâ€" ed the competition in the latest challenge. Her final design didn‘t buckle until it held 15.5 kg of weight, finâ€" ishing first in the 20â€"bridge competition. It was an inspiring sight for Ross, who finished third in the competition last year and was the first competiâ€" tor to be tested this year. "I think the pencils helped in holding up more weight," said Ross about a new element added to the competition. "This year it held five times more weight than it did last year." In addition to the coachâ€" ing of Nicholson, Ross also received some gentle prodâ€" ding from her dad Gerald, who is an engineer. They constructed the bridge out of pencils used as intersecting beams and then tested the whole conâ€" traption by putting more weight in a plant holder balanced on top of the conâ€" struction. "It was fun to test," said about 350 more riders on an averâ€" age weekday. . â€" "But, at this point, we‘re not sure if that can be attributed to the Eastbridge area, or just natural growth." Last year, Waterloo regional council voted to extend the existâ€" ing Lancaster 5 route along a numâ€" ber of residential streets in the area, including Auburn Drive, Canterbury Drive, Dansbury Drive, and Meadowvale Road. According to the region‘s transâ€" portation department, the chosen route was most viable in terms of maximizing bus ridership and minimizing walking distances for users. The decision also included the provision that service to the neighâ€" bourhood would only be available during peak periods of the day, Monday through Friday. As well, the new service meant Ross. "The bridge just kept disappearing, it was kind of funny. â€" "In the competition I lost count of how many weights 1 put on. When it finally started to buckle, the cardboard started to wrinâ€" kle, and it just collapsed." While the competition and her success haven‘t interested Ross in engineerâ€" ing as a career, they have caused her to think about a scienceâ€"related field. Ross said shed like to be a marine biologist. "I look forward to doing more of this in the future, not so much as a job, but for fun," said Ross about the experiment. "I guess it just runs in the family." That type of lifelong interest in learning, specifiâ€" cally in the field of science and technology, is what gets Nicholson excited about the bridgeâ€"building proâ€" gram. The program was estabâ€" lished at MacGregor school with a push to get girls interested in structures and engineering. It has grown to the point PAGE 3 the demise of the school specials _ sion upset a number of nearby resâ€" which, prior to this year, brought _ idents and local councillors who it believed the addition of the route I want to be able t0 _ would increase noise and air polluâ€" tion in the neighbourhood, as well compere oTf les to as put the saiegty of many children apples. All I know _ avisk. students of the area to and from Bluevale Collegiate Institute. _ _ an empty bus shooting up and down these streets. And it will be even worse in the summer when the students are out of school." "I want to be able to compare apples to apples. All I know now is that there‘s However, at the time the deciâ€" â€" Bruce Anderson East ward councillor MacGregor public school students had another strong showing at this year‘s University of Waterloo bridge building competition. Members of the team that competed were Michelle Fernande, teacher Don Nicholson, winner April Ross, Kevin Minnes, Erik Tiidus and Angela Zhao. sos vssanac roto where any interested stuâ€" _ for applied learning may kids really like â€" they like dent can explore the engiâ€" â€" wane with the elimination â€" the handsâ€"on experience." neering involved in buildâ€" of design and technology Nicholson said he couldâ€" ing and design. Nicholson _ programs by the Ministry of n‘t think of a better way of finds that interest contaâ€" Education. The program â€" spending a teaching day gious. will become a science and _ than dealing with the â€" I 1 T . CV EW e n "I try to show enthusiâ€" asm, interest and motivaâ€" tion myself, and that carries over to the kids," he said. "If you‘re not enthusiastic, they‘re not." Nicholson‘s only conâ€" cern is that the enthusiasm But Cicuttin assured since the route‘s first day of service in the area, few complaints have been heard. "When we sent out a letter letâ€" ting everyone in the area know about the service, we received one teply from a resident who wasn‘t pleased about being awakened so early by the bus," he said. "But we haven‘t received anything since. "We‘ve actually had requests to extend the service beyond just the peak periods, and have midâ€"day and weekend service as well." But decisions of this nature, he said, won‘t be made until a formal analysis of the route is done someâ€" for applied learning may wane with the elimination of design and technology programs by the Ministry of Education. The program will become a science and technology course with 30 students jammed into forâ€" mer industrial arts rooms at area schools. "It‘s a suitable applicaâ€" tion as long as the applied part stays intact," said Nicholson. "That‘s what the B (cick hare) Te U K Motors Authorized BMW Resoiles â€" 527 King St. N. Wat. Telephone [519) 8855090 â€"â€" mail info@hkmotors.com Looking For a New riw. bâ€"kmotors.com time in April. That may not be soon enough for _ Waterloo _ Coun. Bruce Anderson, who has asked Mayor Lynne Woolstencroft to provide him with exact numbers of people riding the bus through the Eastbridge area on a regular basis. For comparative purposes, he also asked for the number of Bluevale students who used to make use of the school specials. "I want to be able to compare apples to apples," said the East ward councillor. "All I know now is that there‘s an empty bus shooting up and down these streets. And it will be even worse in the summer when the students are out of school. "It‘s proving that an increase in transit doesn‘t necessarily mean better transit service. "But at this point, all I want is to see the numbers." 4 Nicholson said he couldâ€" n‘t think of a better way of spending a teaching day than dealing with the handsâ€"on learners. "This is the only experiâ€" ence I‘ve had where kids actually walked out of my room at the end of the periâ€" od and said, ‘Thankâ€"you,‘ liked I‘d done something for them."