Corridor Improvement Authority for Michigan Ave

edited March 2007 in Regional
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.
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Comments

  • I can't wait to see how this plays out and see how much it will actually help. If they can really get things done this could be very big for the communities involved.
  • For anyone interested, this process is moving forward. The first of 3 public workshops will be held at the new MSU Center for Economic Development location (1615 Michigan Ave.) from 5:00 - 7:00PM.
  • Forgot: 5:00 - 7:00PM on Thursday, August 14.
  • Here is the website for the authority: michiganavecorridor.com
  • I'm planning to attend. Anyone else going? It would be cool to transfer some of this electronic enthusiasm into some face-to-face support for smart, sustainable economic development in Greater Lansing.

    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.
  • I wish I could go and voice my opinion too - unfortunately that can't happen, so somebody go and repeatedly shout 'LIGHT RAIL! LIGHT RAIL' throughout the proceedings for me please. Thanks.
  • edited August 2008
    Yeah, you're right, but we can all dream, can't we?

    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!)
  • That would be awesome! Seriously, what do the more knowledgable people on hear think about the viability of a light rail line replacing route 1? From strictly a standpoint of sustainable numbers, where the track would be, etc. There certainly are alot of regular customers on route1. (I ride route 14 daily and there's decent regular numbers there...probably not the kind for any line).

    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.
  • edited August 2008
    For anyone that is curious, here is a youtube video showing what a light rail in Detroit on Woodward would look like. It was put together as a part of the Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study by DDOT and URS.
    If someone could find how many days CATA runs out of the year, you could calculate a daily ridership number for Route 1.
    "CATA services do not operate on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day."-http://cata.org/faq.html

    Since Route #1 operates 7 days a week, in a regular year that means it would run 358 days a year. Based then on the 2007 number in your post, LMich, ridership over the course of a year for #1 averages to almost 4,486 daily but really that number would vary a lot. Obviously there are likely many more riders during the spring and fall due to students. Same with the day of the week as weekends have different schedules, and then there is Spartan Service as well, which only operates during the spring and fall semesters. Those would make my number quite skewed but it still gives you a general idea.
  • Well that would've been very hard, LMich, given all that would need to be taken into account, so you almost had me beat until I found this gem:

    Average weekday rides for April 2008 on Route #1: 6,500
    So that's what it was for at least April of this year. I'd also note that that's 25,000+ for April ’08 vs. April ‘07 rides.
    source -Cata.org
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