The study recommended the city implement the Bus Rapid Transit System, or BRT — a comprehensive plan including designated bus lanes.

Some of the concerns about the BRT plan included the width and preservation of the median, safety of the proposed changes and costs of the project.

Debbie Alexander, assistant executive director of CATA, said 80 percent of funding would be generated from federal funds.

Other potential sources of money include local and state funds and private investments.

The capital costs of the project likely are to be about $194 million, Alexander said.

She said because the project was so expansive, the cost should not be looked at as just an expense to build new bus lanes, but also as one that encompasses road improvements.

“This is more than just building two bus lanes,” Alexander said.

“This is literally rebuilding two portions of roadway.”

Alexander also stressed the importance of community involvement in the project as it continues to develop.

Councilmember Nathan Triplett said he was glad to get some more clarity on the project and looked forward to seeing it in further stages.

“This project has a lot of potential,” Triplett said. “I remain supportive of moving it forward.”

Council also was shown a presentation regarding PASER street ratings, a rating system of major and
minor streets done every two years.

The streets are rated by determinants such as amount of cracks in the road, and are graded on a scale of one to 10, with roads rated eight, nine or 10 considered to be in good condition.

When presenting the results of 2010’s PASER street ratings, Engineering Administrator Robert Scheuerman said 7 percent of streets in the city had a good condition rating, a significant decrease from the 19 percent of streets in good condition from the last PASER street rating in 2008.

East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said this decrease in ratings could be attributed in part to the fact that all three sources of funds the city has used — federal, state and local — have declined dramatically.

Scheuerman said in future road repairs, preventative action should be taken in order to alleviate costs in the long run.

“We need to be looking at all of the systems together, not a piece at a time,” Scheuerman said.
“What we want to do is keep (roads) in good condition before they get to fair.”