MichMatters
There are techniques where you dry out an old line and repair it by relining. (I asked about it in my email.) This could be a sewer line, a copper line in your house or most any kind of water line and then recoat it with a waterproof compound to increase its usability.
I am a bit reluctant to say they will change the alignment. It would be beneficial to see the preliminary study and cost. Do they overestimate the extra pipe and underestimate tree removal costs? There could be some biases. Did they look at running a new pipe under different routes, or only at following the current route?
Doesn't the city have funds to repave the river trail here? Did they consider putting the pipe under the trail at the same time the trail could be repaved?
If I receive more details I will pass them along.
Thank you for writing about this issue. I think they may have been talking about relining the current drain pipe, which was not the best solution for them. I am very happy that people are shining a light on the project. These places belong to the people, the City is the people. Maybe they could use some of the money the City is getting from the sale of the Waverly and Red Cedar golf courses and the parking ramp for this project and then they could choose the best least distortive solution, not just the cheapest. I think that the citizens of Lansing would not mind paying a little more the save the trees in Scott Park. We do not always have to choose the cheapest solution.
It's good to hear they're considering a less intrusive route. I wonder if tunneling the pipe is a realistic option? I would think that they could do that relatively easily with a 12" pipe.
The following is pulled from the MDNR website.....showing this year's grants awarded to our region (announced in December '18):
It's worth noting that these are matching grants, so the City or County is putting money in too, making these larger financial investments than what is shown below.
Land Acquisition:
Ingham County – City of Lansing, East Willard Avenue Acquisition - $17,300
Acquisition of approximately 3.47 acres adjacent to Scott Woods Park, which is located along Sycamore Creek. The acquisition of this property will allow the City of Lansing to own the property on both sides of the trail leading to the River Trail from Willard Avenue. This property is wooded and borders Mount Hope Cemetery and Scott Woods Park on the north, west and south.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Hunter's Ridge Drive Acquisition - $82,500
Acquisition of approximately 1.6 acres within Hunter's Ridge Park along the Grand River. This acquisition will provide scenic frontage along the Grand River and expand recreation
opportunities at the park.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Wise Road Acquisition ‐ $20,500
Acquisition of approximately 0.59 of an acre adjacent to the northern property line of Davis Park along Wise Road, will provide a much-needed buffer between the ball field and adjacent residential property.
Development:
Ingham County – City of East Lansing, Bailey Park Improvements - $219,000
Development to renovate Bailey Community Park and improve accessibility, increase
recreational offerings and replace obsolete park features. Under this project, the 5-12-year-old children's playground will be resurfaced to meet playground safety standards and a new play structure will be provided for children 2-5 years of age. The park will be beautified with landscape gardens that demonstrate the use of native, pollinator friendly plants in the suburban environment. New shade trees will be provided throughout the park and a paved plaza with a shade structure will provide a social gathering space for park users. A walking path, bicycle loops, drinking fountain, and fencing will be installed as well.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Cambridge to Frances Park River Trail Connection -
$300,000
Development of a connection from Cambridge Road to the Frances Park River Trail. With the increasing interest in biking, hiking, canoeing and kayaking supported by the River Trail along the Grand River, this project will help the city to better meet these needs by providing better connectivity. The larger plan calls for installing the pathway connection along Moores River Drive. The completion of this connection will provide more access to the River Trail, Frances Overlook, and the Waverly Road Path, which leads to the newly constructed River Trail South Extension.
Ingham County – Lansing Township, Gould Park Redevelopment - $26,800
Development to include the construction of an asphalt driveway with the addition of parking spaces, one of which will be ADA-accessible, access pathways between all of the park amenities, expansion and/or rehabilitation of the park's playground equipment, resurfacing of the basketball court, and the addition of educational materials focused on the importance of our groundwater.
And here are the links for the full listing of awards, statewide. Definitely some great stuff that the DNR is funding. Detroit got a huge $3M for a much needed easement along the water around the Riverfront Towers that will allow a boardwalk to run 1/3 mile to connect two portions of the riverwalk trail. Detroit is really turning it up
The Frances Park trail portion of this is really exciting to me. Not only because I live in that area, but because there was a significant will donation (I want to say around 200k) left for renovations of Frances Park itself. That in conjunction with this grant (and maybe some kind donors) will hopefully result in a major overhaul of one of the nicest parks in town.
I would really like to see some of the massive greenspace developed a bit more. I don't hold my breath for it, but early sketches I saw last year had a band shell, a sensory garden, water garden and childrens garden. I think there is a strong contingent that would like to see that space remain open, but to me it is so big that it's kind of a barrier to everything else.
What is the address or parcel # for the Willard acquisition?
There was a house at the corner of Willard and Ruth that was torn down the past couple weeks but that lot is not wooded. There is a parcel running along the creek and the cemetery that was used by the adjacent house for 4 wheeling. While they really did destroy the parcel by riding when the soil was inundated it will be nice if that use is not permitted anymore.
Covered these acquistiions as part of my summary of the planning board agenda for this month in the general development thread:
A square parcel of land at the end of East Willard on the northwest side adjacent to Mt. Hope Cemetery and Scott Woods Park.
It's to the northwest of East Willard and Ruth. Looking at the gis zoning map, it was apparently the only part of Scott Woods that was privately owned. I wonder if this has anything to do with the sewer project, though? Technically, this land is north of the Willard Street ROW, but having this city owned would definitely make it easier like if they wanted to stage construction or something.
BTW, LAN, what parcel are you talking about that was used for 4 wheeling? I ask, because this private parcel doesn't back up to the creek? What I have found interesting as someone who has some folks buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery near the back is that I've noticed that some people who live on the properties backing onto the cemetery along Ruth have what I figure are some illegal driveways through the cemetery. I don't know how many times I've been there and seen people drive off onto a little dirt path into the woods. I don't know if it's one property of multiple, but it's always amused me to see people treating the auto paths in the cemetery as through-streets.
Also, has anyone ever been to the long pond that stretches along and behind Ruth? I don't think it's directly accessible from the River Trail, and I've never been down Willard of Ruth over that way, but it's clearly city park property. Seems weird to me that when they drove the River Trail through that they didn't offer a path to this pond. It appears that like Hawk Island lake directly the south it has a little island in it and everything.
MichMatters I think that you're talking about the pond inside the dog park. There's access to that area through Scott Woods.
I've seen people that live in the house adjacent to the Willard property driving ATV's through that land the city bought. I remember seeing trails that they had made through there. I'm glad that the city is able to purchase that land. Hopefully they will be able to keep people from four-wheeling on it.
So apparently the River Trail does not connect up with it, but there are some unpaved paths that you can reach it from Scotts Woods? I'm going to have to go down that way and explore some time. I've always stayed on the River Trail, and the last time I was down that way it may have been possible they'd have not made footpaths to the pond in the dog park.
I'm also reading that access to Soldans Dog Park is controlled by key fob, but I wonder if that's only at its border with Hawk Island or if it's controlled access all the way around?
BTW, the River Trail page has some great updates from just a few days ago of the rehabilitation projects (https://lansingrivertrail.org/LRT-Rehabilitation-2018). First, the new south stair access at the Lansing Center:
From last month, the new north stair access:
From November showing what I think is the new span for bridge 16:
Comments
MichMatters
There are techniques where you dry out an old line and repair it by relining. (I asked about it in my email.) This could be a sewer line, a copper line in your house or most any kind of water line and then recoat it with a waterproof compound to increase its usability.
I am a bit reluctant to say they will change the alignment. It would be beneficial to see the preliminary study and cost. Do they overestimate the extra pipe and underestimate tree removal costs? There could be some biases. Did they look at running a new pipe under different routes, or only at following the current route?
Doesn't the city have funds to repave the river trail here? Did they consider putting the pipe under the trail at the same time the trail could be repaved?
If I receive more details I will pass them along.
Thank you for writing about this issue. I think they may have been talking about relining the current drain pipe, which was not the best solution for them. I am very happy that people are shining a light on the project. These places belong to the people, the City is the people. Maybe they could use some of the money the City is getting from the sale of the Waverly and Red Cedar golf courses and the parking ramp for this project and then they could choose the best least distortive solution, not just the cheapest. I think that the citizens of Lansing would not mind paying a little more the save the trees in Scott Park. We do not always have to choose the cheapest solution.
It's good to hear they're considering a less intrusive route. I wonder if tunneling the pipe is a realistic option? I would think that they could do that relatively easily with a 12" pipe.
The following is pulled from the MDNR website.....showing this year's grants awarded to our region (announced in December '18):
It's worth noting that these are matching grants, so the City or County is putting money in too, making these larger financial investments than what is shown below.
Land Acquisition:
Ingham County – City of Lansing, East Willard Avenue Acquisition - $17,300
Acquisition of approximately 3.47 acres adjacent to Scott Woods Park, which is located along Sycamore Creek. The acquisition of this property will allow the City of Lansing to own the property on both sides of the trail leading to the River Trail from Willard Avenue. This property is wooded and borders Mount Hope Cemetery and Scott Woods Park on the north, west and south.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Hunter's Ridge Drive Acquisition - $82,500
Acquisition of approximately 1.6 acres within Hunter's Ridge Park along the Grand River. This acquisition will provide scenic frontage along the Grand River and expand recreation
opportunities at the park.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Wise Road Acquisition ‐ $20,500
Acquisition of approximately 0.59 of an acre adjacent to the northern property line of Davis Park along Wise Road, will provide a much-needed buffer between the ball field and adjacent residential property.
Development:
Ingham County – City of East Lansing, Bailey Park Improvements - $219,000
Development to renovate Bailey Community Park and improve accessibility, increase
recreational offerings and replace obsolete park features. Under this project, the 5-12-year-old children's playground will be resurfaced to meet playground safety standards and a new play structure will be provided for children 2-5 years of age. The park will be beautified with landscape gardens that demonstrate the use of native, pollinator friendly plants in the suburban environment. New shade trees will be provided throughout the park and a paved plaza with a shade structure will provide a social gathering space for park users. A walking path, bicycle loops, drinking fountain, and fencing will be installed as well.
Ingham County – City of Lansing, Cambridge to Frances Park River Trail Connection -
$300,000
Development of a connection from Cambridge Road to the Frances Park River Trail. With the increasing interest in biking, hiking, canoeing and kayaking supported by the River Trail along the Grand River, this project will help the city to better meet these needs by providing better connectivity. The larger plan calls for installing the pathway connection along Moores River Drive. The completion of this connection will provide more access to the River Trail, Frances Overlook, and the Waverly Road Path, which leads to the newly constructed River Trail South Extension.
Ingham County – Lansing Township, Gould Park Redevelopment - $26,800
Development to include the construction of an asphalt driveway with the addition of parking spaces, one of which will be ADA-accessible, access pathways between all of the park amenities, expansion and/or rehabilitation of the park's playground equipment, resurfacing of the basketball court, and the addition of educational materials focused on the importance of our groundwater.
And here are the links for the full listing of awards, statewide. Definitely some great stuff that the DNR is funding. Detroit got a huge $3M for a much needed easement along the water around the Riverfront Towers that will allow a boardwalk to run 1/3 mile to connect two portions of the riverwalk trail. Detroit is really turning it up
[https://michigan.gov/documents/dnr/2017_MNRTF_Recommendations_List_Project_Description-Acquisition_608179_7.pdf]
[https://michigan.gov/documents/dnr/2017_MNRTF_Recommendations_List_Project_Description-Development_608180_7.pdf]
The Frances Park trail portion of this is really exciting to me. Not only because I live in that area, but because there was a significant will donation (I want to say around 200k) left for renovations of Frances Park itself. That in conjunction with this grant (and maybe some kind donors) will hopefully result in a major overhaul of one of the nicest parks in town.
I would really like to see some of the massive greenspace developed a bit more. I don't hold my breath for it, but early sketches I saw last year had a band shell, a sensory garden, water garden and childrens garden. I think there is a strong contingent that would like to see that space remain open, but to me it is so big that it's kind of a barrier to everything else.
What is the address or parcel # for the Willard acquisition?
There was a house at the corner of Willard and Ruth that was torn down the past couple weeks but that lot is not wooded. There is a parcel running along the creek and the cemetery that was used by the adjacent house for 4 wheeling. While they really did destroy the parcel by riding when the soil was inundated it will be nice if that use is not permitted anymore.
Covered these acquistiions as part of my summary of the planning board agenda for this month in the general development thread:
It's to the northwest of East Willard and Ruth. Looking at the gis zoning map, it was apparently the only part of Scott Woods that was privately owned. I wonder if this has anything to do with the sewer project, though? Technically, this land is north of the Willard Street ROW, but having this city owned would definitely make it easier like if they wanted to stage construction or something.
BTW, LAN, what parcel are you talking about that was used for 4 wheeling? I ask, because this private parcel doesn't back up to the creek? What I have found interesting as someone who has some folks buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery near the back is that I've noticed that some people who live on the properties backing onto the cemetery along Ruth have what I figure are some illegal driveways through the cemetery. I don't know how many times I've been there and seen people drive off onto a little dirt path into the woods. I don't know if it's one property of multiple, but it's always amused me to see people treating the auto paths in the cemetery as through-streets.
Also, has anyone ever been to the long pond that stretches along and behind Ruth? I don't think it's directly accessible from the River Trail, and I've never been down Willard of Ruth over that way, but it's clearly city park property. Seems weird to me that when they drove the River Trail through that they didn't offer a path to this pond. It appears that like Hawk Island lake directly the south it has a little island in it and everything.
MichMatters I think that you're talking about the pond inside the dog park. There's access to that area through Scott Woods.
I've seen people that live in the house adjacent to the Willard property driving ATV's through that land the city bought. I remember seeing trails that they had made through there. I'm glad that the city is able to purchase that land. Hopefully they will be able to keep people from four-wheeling on it.
It's a little confusing, but here is a map:
https://lansingrivertrail.org/Map/
So apparently the River Trail does not connect up with it, but there are some unpaved paths that you can reach it from Scotts Woods? I'm going to have to go down that way and explore some time. I've always stayed on the River Trail, and the last time I was down that way it may have been possible they'd have not made footpaths to the pond in the dog park.
I'm also reading that access to Soldans Dog Park is controlled by key fob, but I wonder if that's only at its border with Hawk Island or if it's controlled access all the way around?
BTW, the River Trail page has some great updates from just a few days ago of the rehabilitation projects (https://lansingrivertrail.org/LRT-Rehabilitation-2018). First, the new south stair access at the Lansing Center:
From last month, the new north stair access:
From November showing what I think is the new span for bridge 16: