The bus system would run along the Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue corridor, replacing the Route 1 bus and designating a certain lane for the multi-cab bus to travel upon.
Community members built their ideal systems on a map of East Lansing Wednesday night in two interactive exercises during the first of a five-day series of charrettes.
They placed ideas for bus lanes, bike lanes, speed limits, medians, trees and bus stations where they thought they should belong on the map.
“The purpose of this project is to visualize how the place that you know could turn into a different kind of place over time,” CATA environmental consultant Victor Dover said.
This series of charrettes focuses only on the system section from Abbot Road to Hagadorn Road in East Lansing. The event also focused on the planning component of this area rather than the transportation component of the new system.
CATA held the event at East Lansing High School where residents addressed their thoughts, ideas and concerns about the new system, as well as participating in the design.
“It can help encourage economic development in the region and help create aesthetic,” East Lansing resident Shanna Draheim said. “Buses and infrastructure that are modern and attractive will really get people to want to leave their car behind.”
Community members also addressed concerns about federal funding, cars driving in dedicated bus lanes and safety for pedestrians and bikers.
Lansing resident Stephen Robertson said he’s most worried on whether or not officials will follow through with the project.
“I don’t have any concerns, I just hope it happens,” Robertson said. “We hear so much about the potential system, so my biggest concern is the follow through.”
The charrettes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be held in the design studio at the Michigan Energy Options building where residents are invited to consult with the design team about the potential implementation of a new bus rapid transit system.
The charrette on Sunday will be a work in progress presentation showing all the new plans made and new design options.
