At an East Lansing City Council meeting that many hoped would be finished quickly Tuesday evening, speeding was, ironically, the topic that slowed conversation.
Residents and council members voiced safety and traffic concerns to representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Michigan State Police after the two organizations planned to increase speed limits by 10 mph on two East Lansing streets. The meeting was rescheduled for a 4 p.m. start so city officials and residents wouldn't miss the men's basketball game against the University of Wisconsin.
The public comment portion of the meeting, which lasted for nearly two hours, involved opposing statements from state Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, area cyclists, school officials, local police, neighborhood associations, business owners and crossing guards.
Rosemary Terres, a guard who crosses children at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Kensington Road, said the increased speeds will bring her job more grief.
"It's extremely dangerous," she said. "I have a wonderful job, but I'm very concerned for the kids."
Under the new decision, westbound Saginaw Street from Hagadorn Road to Coolidge Road will change from 35 to 45 mph. Eastbound Saginaw Street from the city limits to Hagadorn Road already has been changed. Also, East Grand River Avenue will increase from 25 to 35 mph between Cowley Avenue and Delta Street and between Bogue Street and the eastern city limits. The Grand River Avenue speed limit through downtown East Lansing will remain at 25 mph.
In November 1983, Saginaw Street was changed from 45 to 35 mph after two fatal pedestrian accidents.
The changes are the result of studies conducted on the two state highways by the Department of Transportation and the State Police. The studies, conducted by the police in June, clocked drivers on both roadways and then used the 85th percentile speed to determine the new speed.
Sgt. Gary Megge of the State Police said a simple way of thinking of the process would be to use the 15th fastest speed out of 100 drivers to determine the ideal speed.
"It is a nationally recognized number in estimating speed laws," Megge said at the meeting.
Megge said new speed-limit signs on Saginaw Street and Grand River Avenue could be posted as soon as March 16.
Megge walked out of the meeting after Councilmember Beverly Baten read an e-mail describing the 85th percentile process as "slimy" and "sleazy."
Mayor Mark Meadows said he doesn't understand the effectiveness of a study conducted in June when most MSU students are away for the summer.
"I'm not able to correlate the methodology used," Meadows said to Megge at the meeting. "You've excluded 45,000 of the residents in this community who don't drive here in June."
Meadows invited State Police and Department of Transportation officials to the city council work session on Tuesday to discuss the changes further.
But some residents agreed with the State Police's reasoning, urging city officials to embrace the changes.
"Under the current speed limits, 95 percent of people on (Saginaw Street) are a technical criminal," said Arthur Slabosky, former chairperson of the East Lansing Transportation Commission. "We should have the right to be able to drive at reasonable speeds."
Don Jordan can be reached at jordand3@msu.edu.
