The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is considering a Web site that would list the estimated wait at fitness centers across campus.

This is an alternative option while USG waits for final word on the cost of a webcam that would perform the same function.

The site would be updated by gym staff members at regular intervals to indicate the length of lines at the various fitness facilities.

USG Vice President Luke Adams said the idea for the Web site developed after initial estimates for installing a camera at the MBNA Fitness Center were too high. He and President Galen Foulke listed the Web camera as a platform goal when they campaigned last spring.

Adams said an estimate from the Office of Physical Plant earlier this semester put the cost of installing the camera at about $10,000, a price he said was prohibitively expensive, even if USG were to split that cost with the Penn State Athletics Department.

"We might just have to bite the bullet and take what we can get," Adams said, adding that he intends to work out details about the Web site with officials. He said he wanted to launch the site as quickly as possible.

Chip Harrison, head strength and conditioning coach, said he liked the idea of listing the wait times for each facility.

"The waiting estimate is probably better information than the picture because the picture could be misleading," he said. "Twenty-five people waiting at the White Building is a three minute wait."

Foulke said he wants to pursue the Web site idea, but has not given up on the cameras.

"We thought that it would be a good idea to go ahead and work on this, since it doesn't look like the webcam price will come down," he said.

He said the idea for the webcam installation came from University of Florida's Student Government, which installed four cameras at a fitness facility there. He said talks with representatives there suggested the camera would cost a few hundred dollars.

Foulke said he would consider alternative funding sources if the price remained higher than USG is willing to pay.

"There are some other avenues to pursue," he said, including the possibility of asking a camera manufacturer to sponsor the project.

Adams said the list of wait times offers an additional advantage over the camera because the Web site would include every on-campus facility. This year, USG wanted to install a camera at only one fitness facility.

Craig Henninger, Office of Student Affairs network analyst, said the idea for the Web page is preliminary and still needs to be worked out with the people who manage the fitness centers.

He could not offer specifics on the project.