Corridor Improvement Authority for Michigan Ave
A corridor improvement authority has been created between the City of Lansing, Lansing Township, and the City of East Lansing to strengthen and improve the Michigan Ave corridor for the next 10 years. This is the first collaboration between municipalities of this character in the state of Michigan.
The authority's goals include beautifying the streetscape, strengthening the roadway and utility systems and drawing more innovative business to the region, East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh said.
East Lansing, Lansing and Lansing Township are collaborating to revitalize the 3-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue from the Capitol to MSU.
The Corridor Improvement Authority — which is the first of its kind in Michigan — is expected to improve the avenue's landscape and economy during the next 10 years by drawing in more businesses and developing a more appealing visual atmosphere.
cite: http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=40357
This is pretty amazing news to hear, especially since Lansing Township signed on. I wasn't sure if both cities could get the township involved, as many times it appears that the township is a thorn in the back for creating regional partnerships. With what East Lansing has been getting in terms of developments on it's stretch of Michigan Ave, maybe those same types of developments and other mixed-uses can spread down to Lansing Township. And possibly the other direction, with Lansing's stadium district development hoping to spur more growth heading eastward on Michigan Ave. A strong Michigan Ave from East Lansing heading towards the new roundabout in downtown Lansing will just put the icing on the cake.
The authority's goals include beautifying the streetscape, strengthening the roadway and utility systems and drawing more innovative business to the region, East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh said.
East Lansing, Lansing and Lansing Township are collaborating to revitalize the 3-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue from the Capitol to MSU.
The Corridor Improvement Authority — which is the first of its kind in Michigan — is expected to improve the avenue's landscape and economy during the next 10 years by drawing in more businesses and developing a more appealing visual atmosphere.
cite: http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=40357
This is pretty amazing news to hear, especially since Lansing Township signed on. I wasn't sure if both cities could get the township involved, as many times it appears that the township is a thorn in the back for creating regional partnerships. With what East Lansing has been getting in terms of developments on it's stretch of Michigan Ave, maybe those same types of developments and other mixed-uses can spread down to Lansing Township. And possibly the other direction, with Lansing's stadium district development hoping to spur more growth heading eastward on Michigan Ave. A strong Michigan Ave from East Lansing heading towards the new roundabout in downtown Lansing will just put the icing on the cake.
Comments
I'm also excited about that there has finally been a grouped formed for Michigan Avenue. There has been a lot of good things in the last few years going on on The Avenue, and I'm hoping that this group will study transit options for this route since the CATA #1 line is the busiest of the authorities routes. I've always said it, but big things could become of Michigan Avenue simply because it's such a heavily traveled route for pedestrians and buses, alike. It's the only street of its type that connects two major nodes (i.e. Downtown and MSU).
BTW, Lansing Township isn't like your typical township. Because of their unconvetional setup, they realize that their future directly correlates to the rise and fall of Lansing, so, they are a lot more sensitive to the city's issues. It seems to me that it's really only a matter of time before the two become one, especially in these tough economic times. The GM plant closings a few years back hurt Lansing, no doubt, but they made up a much larger chunk of Lansing Township's budget, so they got hit even harder. This a rare example of where the central city may actually be better off than a neighboring charter township.
LMich: I agree, and from what I have heard, the idea of building better transit options on the corridor (e.g. BRT line or light rail) is being considered by CATA. I am constantly amazed at how underutilized the corridor is certain areas -- there are commerical properties in Lansing on Michigan going for $50K right now. Fast forward 10-15 years, add light rail to the mix, and I think the result would be a real, real nice ROI.
From what I understand, that idea that CATA was formally studying BRT or light rail was only a rumor. I remember emailing them a few months back, and they said that they had spent no money on a study, which was really disappointing as I thought they were.
We'd have heard about a formal study for such a line. Alas, I think the ridership numbers on the #1 and the fact that CATA is an award-winning agency should reassure us that the idea is flowing somewhere down the pipeline. I can't fathom such an agency would be just planning to run the same bus routes from now to eternity. (Or at least, I hope!)
Something like light rail on route 1 is just the kind of thing that would garner real attention from outside of metro lansing, and probably outside MI...good, positive attention to say great things are happening here. The funny thing is, even if they put a line in place of route1, it would be longer than Detroit's line (~2.9miles I think). Maybe it could spur Detroit to improving the People Mover, that kind of momentum would be good for MI. Alas though, nothing soon probably.
I will try to make it to the meeting, but I doubt I have any good ideas...I'll be a good listener though.