With all the attention the presidential election is getting it’s easy to forget about the other races going on a little bit closer to home. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain won’t be the only names on the ballot for University students registered to vote in Baton Rouge. Other than the U.S. Senate and Congressional elections there are also the more local Metro Council and mayor-president races. Current Mayor-President Kip Holden, a Democrat, is seeking a second term while Republicans Wayne Carter and Dan Kyle and Democrat Ron Johnson are trying to win their first term. All four candidates will first run in an Oct. 4 primary. If no one candidate receives a majority of the vote, there will be a run-off on Nov. 4 along with the major presidential, senate and congressional elections.One of the issues that has come to the forefront of the mayor’s race is the proposed Baton Rouge loop.The loop would be designed to reduce traffic congestion. It could pass through five different parishes and has been pushed by Holden during his first term.The biggest problem currently facing the loop is funding. The loop’s estimated cost is approximately $4.5 billion. The mayor has already persuaded the Metro Council and the state legislature to give a combined $6 million to keep the loop implementation plan going. To pay for a majority of the loop a 15-cent per mile toll will be charged. Even with the toll another $1.4 billion will be needed from state and federal government. Though the city is short on money, Holden is optimistic the project can be done. Carter, who is probably Holden’s biggest competition for office, calls the loop a huge waste of tax dollars. Carter criticizes the plan, saying the part of the loop south of Interstate 10 is unfeasible because the area is too developed already. However, Carter said his administration would try to build a northern bypass along the proposed Comite River Division Canal all the way to Livingston Parish. Carter feels I-10 and Airline Highway should be widened before a northern bypass project is done. The other Republican candidate, Kyle, doesn’t see a loop as a project that’s going to be done anytime soon. Kyle cites the lack of funding and the fact that it is a multi-parish project as reasons for his doubts. Johnson, the other Democrat in the race, likes the idea of the loop but thinks implementing it might be difficult because most of the traffic is in the south part of East Baton Rouge Parish. Everyone seems to like the idea of a loop, and that’s because everyone has had to deal with the ridiculous traffic that is Baton Rouge. To me the promise of the BR loop from Holden is kind of like when we were in high school and students running for student body president would have these grand illusions of things that he or she could do that were completely untrue. Holden’s loop reminds me of the false promises of extended recess from elementary school. The project is beyond unfeasible. As anyone can see the southern part of the inner loop is cut right through the highly developed area south of campus. Even if the project were to be completed, it wouldn’t have a direct affect on University students. What would make our traffic a little better is widening Nicholson Drive from Burbank to Lee/Brightside because this seems to be a highly congested area especially around rush hour. In the end, the only thing that will make traffic better is to take more cars off the road. Like every other student I love my car. A man’s car represents his freedom. The only way to get more cars off the road and help improve traffic is through the city providing better public transportation. The bus system in Baton Rouge is all right at best. Capital Area Transit System (CATS) is the bus company in charge of Baton Rouge’s bus system, and many students can attest they are pretty terrible. If more buses ran from apartment complexes to campus, I feel students would gladly stop trying to deal with the nightmare that is trying to park on campus. Regardless, the whole thing is just a political maneuver. Holden is using the loop as a way to get votes. There are better ways to reduce traffic congestion, and I suggest the candidates for mayor start pushing these plans instead of a loop that’s never going to happen. —-contact Matthew Gravens at [email protected]