The boundary between East Lansing and Bath Township quickly has become a new center for student housing. But the developments, some of which are in East Lansing’s sprawling Northern Tier, might also have created a safety hazard on Chandler Road.
Two 19-year-old women - one an MSU student - were struck by a car while walking along Chandler Road, near Coleman Road, in Bath Township about 5:05 a.m. Saturday. The MSU student died Sunday at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital and the other remained in critical condition there Monday.
Township police say the women had been drinking.
The 21-year-old driver, who also is an MSU student, was released from Sparrow.
As most who live in the area know, Chandler Road is narrow and does not have street lights in some areas north of Lake Lansing Road - where the road goes from 35 mph to 55 mph.
More tragedies such as this weekend’s are bound to occur unless more precautionary measures are taken to improve safety along the roadway.
The Northern Tier, stretching from Saginaw Street to East Lansing’s northern boundary, includes 1,700 acres of previously undeveloped land north of Lake Lansing Road.
The area is also home to three golf courses, a soccer field, single-family subdivisions, a softball field and the city aquatic center.
These new establishments, coupled with four new apartment complexes off Abbott and Chandler roads, new retail centers and road construction, have changed the dimensions of an area that was undeveloped just a few years ago.
The apartment complexes have the potential to house nearly 3,000 MSU students in a “mini-city” of their own. East Lansing and Bath Township must work together to make sure developments are pedestrian-friendly and put safety first. Sidewalks, street lighting and safe roadways must be a priority.
Students are known to walk a lot and they should have the opportunity to do so safely.
Bath Township officials say they have no plans to add sidewalks to connect the new apartment complexes in area. That is unacceptable.
Another cause for concern in the newly populated area is speed. The speed limit goes quickly from 35 to 55 mph through the newly developed region. City and township officials should look to slow down traffic in this increasingly busy area.
Decreased speed limits might give drivers more of an opportunity to see people walking in the road. Township police said the women involved in Saturday’s accident were walking in the center of the road in an area without sidewalks or streetlights.
Providing sidewalks, wider traffic lanes, crosswalks and decreasing the speed limit in that area should have happened when those developments were in the planning stages. City and township leaders are responsible for the safety of their citizens.
After an updated version of the Northern Tier Land Use Plan is finalized, the city’s planning commission will determine use of more than 1,000 acres of land east of Chandler Road.
With so many more people flocking to the territory already, there is no better time to determine ways to aid safety in the area and help ensure accidents like Saturday’s don’t become commonplace.
