The Michigan-Grand River Avenue Corridor Study, conducted by Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, will evaluate public opinion and other data to determine a better transportation system from the Capitol to Marsh Road along Michigan and Grand River avenues.

CATA, city officials and residents said they believe a new mass transportation system will kick the Lansing area’s economic development into ignition as people will be able to move more easily from one end of Grand River and Michigan avenues to the other.

Public forums were held this week in East Lansing and Lansing, with a final forum 5 p.m. tonight at Meridian Township Hall, 5151 Marsh Road, in Okemos. CATA is considering several different modes of transportation to improve efficiency, such as a light rail, trolleys, bus rapid transit — which would provide an express lane only for bus use — and bicycle lanes.

Many area residents and students were excited about the project’s prospects while highlighting frustrations and complications with the current system.

Joshua Croff, an urban and regional planning junior, said the overstretched CATA Route 1 route makes shopping at stores such as Target and Meijer a two-hour process.

“I feel like I would be less restricted to the campus area,” Croff said. “I would have many more options, I could maybe apply for jobs in the downtown area.”

Revving up the economy

One of the project’s goals also is to spur economic development, primarily through mixed-use structures to serve residential, commercial and retail purposes.

“If you provide more transportation and it’s easy for people to get around in that corridor it draws interest of developers,” said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing planning and community development director. “Because they have a way to maybe not have to do as much parking if they’re close to the transportation line, the businesses that are in those development projects can access employees from both Lansing and potentially the eastern suburbs.”

Population in the corridor is expected to increase nearly 20 percent by 2035, which could increase demand for housing along Grand River and Michigan avenues, according to the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission.

Beth Miller, a plant biology doctoral student who was raised in East Lansing and now lives in Lansing, said improved transportation could lead to development, giving ugly places a makeover.

“Now as you get off the highway into East Lansing or Lansing up (U.S. 127) and you come off into this horrible, congested parking lot, crappy, horrible place of (Frandor Shopping Center) and it’s just so off-putting,” she said. “And I know so many people that that is their first impression of this area when they come here. And they’re like, ‘Oh, this is a strip mall.’ And nobody wants to live in a strip mall.”

Lansing also could take advantage of the anticipated economic benefits. Hundreds of students already travel to the city each day for internships and jobs — 4,873 daily work trips were made from East Lansing to Lansing, according to the 2000 U.S. Census — and are unsatisfied with the 30 to 45 minute bus rides from campus to the Capitol, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said. A 2008 CATA study found Route 1 often was late by 10 to 25 minutes, which burdened students and professionals who run on tight schedules.

Two-wheel accessibility

Many residents also were pleased to see bicycle lanes as a component of the study, as most of Grand River and Michigan avenues do not include them. This has made bicycle transportation difficult and dangerous during peak traffic hours, and sidewalks on the avenues cutting through MSU often are too populated and narrow to accommodate both bicyclists and walkers.

Williamston resident Brian Bird said he tries to commute to work at MSU Cyclotron from his home by bicycle, but usually has to avoid Grand River Avenue, his most direct path, because of automobile traffic on his return trip.

Tim Potter, MSU Bikes coordinator, said transportation adjustments must acknowledge bicyclist safety concerns before implementing a new system. He advocated for more bike lanes protected by a cement barrier or rumble strips between road and bicycle lanes, which has been done in some larger cities.

“When you’ve got lanes of high speed traffic, a lot of people are intimidated by that,” he said.

Logistical issues

If any transportation revitalization happens, it could be subsidized by the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts grant. A detailed analysis of the area’s needs must be submitted to the FTA in order
to qualify for a New Starts grant.

But it is far from guaranteed that CATA will receive a New Starts grant — and even if it does, January 2010 is merely the project’s infancy. Still, the grant might not be enough to cover the entire seven-mile scope or some of the more expensive means of transportation discussed, said Debbie Alexander, CATA assistant executive director.

Given the political wrangling in Washington that is sure to occur after predictions the budget deficit will worsen in 2011, funds for New Starts will be debated.

Staton said the project’s target area could be flawed, as he spoke with transportation consultants who said that anything involving railways should end at Hagadorn Road rather than Marsh Road because it would dilute a dense urban core between East Lansing and Lansing.

Dempsey said the project is feasible but the difficulty is getting a community consensus and support.

Although supportive of the project, Staton worried about what a light rail or trolleys would do to Grand River Avenue’s aesthetic qualities, specifically the median.

“We went through great pains 15 years ago to redesign Grand River Avenue,” he said. “I fear we would not get consensus to fundamentally redesign Grand River Avenue that would destroy the median in some way.”

Staff writer Andrew Krietz contributed to this report.