With the federal funds in place, East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, would fund the rest of the project.
Despite the fact that federal funding to accomplish this project is available, DDA should not rush to start this project because there has been no investigation of future impact the project could have on businesses and students.

There are obvious benefits to this program. If the city were able to secure the federal grant, it would not have to pay the full cost of redevelopment. Saving the city money while making a section of Grand River Avenue more attractive does seem like a win-win scenario.

Also, the project would have a visible impact on the city. The difference between the section of Grand River Avenue between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road and the section between Collingwood Drive and Abbot Road is striking. There are fewer walk-up businesses on Grand River Avenue between Collingwood Drive and Hagadorn Road.

Although lower quality sidewalks might not be the only reason for fewer businesses, the sidewalks certainly do not make the area attractive to pedestrians and businesses. Improving those sidewalks would make the area more appealing for pedestrian traffic, which in turn makes the area more appealing to businesses.

City officials know upgrading the sidewalk could “extend” downtown East Lansing. However, city officials also know DDA’s budget for 2013 is not set in stone, and it would be a mistake to immediately jump with both feet into a project that might or might not have federal funding backing it up. It’s nearly impossible for the city to recoup money from a road they can no longer afford to rebuild.

Granted, we are not experts on city planning. It seems prudent, though, for city officials to gauge the interest of businesses and students in replacing the sidewalk before committing hundreds of thousands of city dollars to this project.

Students who live off of that section of Grand River Avenue could be interested in businesses closer to where they live.

The combination of new sidewalks and lots of student housing directly across the street could be enough to attract new businesses to Grand River Avenue.

With the upgrades not projected to start until 2013, city officials have time to gauge residents and businesses’ interest in new sidewalks. The time for the city to have answers to those hypotheticals is before the DDA sets aside money for the project, not after.