Increasing safety concerns along Chandler Road in the Northern Tier have prompted officials from East Lansing and Bath Township to team up and examine potential improvements.

A possible traffic and road study comes more than a year after the death of MSU student Clare McCormick, who was hit by a car while walking along the same area up for inspection.

The purpose of the study is to investigate traffic patterns on Chandler Road, from Lake Lansing Road in East Lansing to Stoll Road in Bath Township. It will be conducted jointly between the two municipalities.

Jim van Ravensway, East Lansing's director of planning and community development, said officials hope to determine long-term improvements that would accommodate increasing traffic and developments during the next 10 to 20 years. Traffic signals, curbs and gutters, sidewalks and better lighting are possible additions.

Officials hope to begin the study in January and expect it to cost $20,000. Van Ravensway said a final cost estimate will be available once engineering consultants have been chosen to conduct the inspection.

Bath Township trustees discussed the issue at their Monday meeting and voted 5-2 in favor of a resolution that will allow the project.

Those opposing the resolution cited financial concerns and felt it was unnecessary to conduct the study jointly with East Lansing. But township trustee Steven Wiswasser said it was time the board took action and voted in favor of the resolution.

"I don't think money is an issue, because it's only a study," he said. "We have to start somewhere. We can't keep wrestling with it."

East Lansing City Council members are expected to vote on a similar resolution during its meeting at 7:30 p.m. today at City Hall, 410 Abbott Road. The council needs to make its decision before a green light is given on the project.

Mayor Pro Tem Sam Singh said the council will discuss how to conduct the study and where to get financial resources.

"We're looking forward to a study that can help us get a better sense of where the growth is," Singh said. "It's a great concern to us."

But the study is long overdue for Karen McCormick. Her daughter Clare was an MSU sophomore when she was hit by a car on Chandler Road last October and died the next day. Clare's friend, former MSU student Ashlee Nichols, also was injured in the accident that happened near the Village at Chandler Crossings apartments, 3839 Hunsaker Dr.

"I don't understand why it took over a year