The mayor of East Lansing will plead his case to state officials at a meeting today, in hope of preserving existing speed limits on two East Lansing roadways.
Michigan Department of Transportation representatives and Mayor Mark Meadows will discuss the increase, which raises the speed limit 10 mph on sections of Saginaw Street and Hagadorn Road.
East Lansing residents, city staff and elected officials all have expressed overwhelming opposition to the possible change, fearing traffic accidents and fatalities.
Under the proposed change, westbound Saginaw Street from Hagadorn Road to Coolidge Road will change from 35 to 45 mph; East Grand River will increase between Cowley Avenue and Delta Street and between Bogue Street and the eastern city limits. Eastbound Saginaw Street from the western city limits to Hagadorn Road already has been changed.
The proposal came after the Michigan State Police conducted a traffic study last summer showing that the 85th percentile of drivers drove the speeds suggested in the changes.
The 85th percentile test is the standard test used by the State Police to determine the ideal speeds of Michigan roadways. The test uses the 15th fastest speed out of every 100 drivers to find the perfect speed.
The police then reported the findings to MDOT, which is responsible for instituting the changes.
But Meadows said the study, conducted in June, is not a good representation of traffic flow on the two roads.
"In any summer months, you'll probably see lower traffic on any street because of vacations," he said. "And obviously, in East Lansing, there is substantially less traffic once university classes are over."
Meadows said he hopes to dissuade the MDOT officials from making the change, but urges that legal action will be taken if they do.
"We're a long way from getting those signs put up," he said.
MDOT spokesperson Kari Arend said she looks forward to hearing what city officials have to say, but didn't promise that any changes to the plan would be made.
"A decision has been made, but we don't want to take any action until we hear what the city wants to say about this," she said.
Former East Lansing Police Chief Bob Foster said he remembers a time when the speed limit on Saginaw Street was 45 mph; a time when city police faced about six traffic fatalities every year.
Foster was one of the staunchest supporters of getting that speed lowered to its current 35 mph speed in the 1980s.
"I fought too hard to help get (the speeds) lowered," he said. "There was a high body count.
"History will repeat itself as far as I'm concerned."
