I was kind of surprised when I saw this building seemingly jump up over night from the car on 127, so am glad to be reminded of what it is going to be. It does look large but it also sits on kind of a high ridge on that side of the street so it maybe looks taller than it is.
The photo illustrates really bad [organic perhaps] zoning and street planning of this area. Is this area in Lansing or Lansing Township? I did not really know the 2016 area [it looks a lot different] and I really got lost just trying to get to that roasted chicken place across from Frandor, What a mess of one ways and lights and traffic. It is nice to get a bit down the street in Lansing were the streets have curbs and sidewalks.
This is just an observation from my first trip down M-99 to Eaton Rapids. First the road itself is really bad, and the sprawl down that corridor is not really of the quality you see north and east and west. Eaton Rapids looked kind of left behind with unkempt houses and empty mills. Downtown was bit nicer but there was not anything that made me want to get out stop and check out. Just looking at the surface it does seem like southern Eaton county is not growing like Clinton or Ingham.
Yeah, great info and analysis. That +2,059 international immigration number is interesting to me. I wonder how many of these are related to the university....or what other things that are attracting international immigrants (jobs, resettlement programs, family connections). It seems like a really great trend and a significant number of people. In a few years time this could really change the face of the region and in my opinion, make it a more vibrant place.
The last time I was in Toronto I was blown away by how diverse it was, I'd really like to see that here on a smaller scale.
I just received a notice that the feds. approved American Airlines coming to Lansing for a non stop flights to Washington DC and to their Chicago hub. That's great news!
I travel a fair amount and 9 times out of 10 it's significantly cheaper to fly out of Grand Rapids, cheap enough to justify the extra 40 minute drive. I want to fly out of Lansing, but I'm not willing to subsidize it with excessive airfare. I do check both GRR and LAN when booking, so I give Lansing a chance.
I think this will help the airport a great deal, if like you say, the fares in Lansing are the same or better here as in surrounding communities. I see the ads for Flint and their passenger terminal looks more modern and sleek. Lansing's looks pretty much like it did 20 years ago. Now our train station looks better than the airport terminal. I think we can do better here and with American coming in maybe people will change their thoughts about flying from Lansing. One thing when looking at fares, they could remind people the cost of parking, fuel to get there and back, perhaps even the cost of eating a meal in other cities airport as opposed to eating at home. Add all the expenses of going to another airport and see if the other fare is still better. If it is I guess you would really have to go there. Of course one could look at it as paying extra for the convenience of departing and arriving in your hometown instead of an hour or more away. I think however the airlines should offering similar fare from each Michigan airport.
I could see Lansing becoming more of a mini-hub, with passengers flying in from small airports in Northern Michigan to transfer to the DC flight and others. Out east there is a very successful airline called Cape Air, they use small planes that serve the towns on Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as other small towns in New England connecting them with Boston. I think Lansing is, as capital a destination for Michiganders doing state business or going to MSU, those folks plus others who want to connect non-stops from here, a small airline could bring a lot of passengers to Lansing. It is surprising how many people can afford to take a short flight from their small town, rather than the often difficult drive to the distant airport. It is also easy to fill up a twelve set plane. Just a thought.
A couple of things I have noticed from being out and about. I was happy to see a big crane lifting huge tree size branches out of the Red Cedar that had collected under the small rail road bridge east of Elm street. It was very unsightly there and it is nice to see they are cleaning it up, also just up from there I noticed several small trees had been felled by beavers, right along the River Trail. I was surprised to see this right in the middle of the city, but it also seems like kind of a large river for beavers to damn. Maybe they were going to build upon the branches already at the bridge. I thought it was cool anyway, that plus the big turtles have come out of hibernation.
At Moorse Park the cranes and trailers are still there by the damn.Maybe they are working on the other side. I also went to Brancroft Park after reading about the changes they were making. It really is the mountains of Lansing over there. It was a little spooky looking in the March gray light,I thought this is how Lansing must have looked like before the Europeans arrived. The golf course pond project is huge. I am with the folks who don't want the trail paved it would take away from the primeval look of the place. There is already a paved drive that could be repaved.
I agree on the airport comments above. Posted similar things in the Airport thread.
Regarding flights from small northern MI airport from Lansing, that has been tried recently. Most notably Marquette/Sawyer to Lansing. That never materialized (Marquette applied for a USDOT Small Community Air Service grant that was not approved.) There are two scheduled weekly flights between the two airport for state gov't.
I think Cape Air participates in the federal Essential Air Service program out East, but I could be wrong.
In brief, I think the biggest challenges for Lansing's airport is location -- it's nice Lansing is centrally located in the state, but there are three larger airport within ~ 1.5 hours drive. Also perception, people often believe the airport is more expensive, which is often case, but not always. I remember my years at MSU (late 90s-early 2000s), I was surprised that so few people were aware of the local airport -- either didn't know where it was located or assumed it was expensive and just looked at Detroit only.
Lansing is trying to secure weekly China non-stop flights (in support or MSU students, FRIB, and local tech firms).
What may help Lansing slightly is Southwest's cutbacks at Grand Rapids and Flint. Flint used to be served by ValuJet/Air Tran, bought out by Southwest. All of Flint Southwest's flights (Vegas, Baltimore, Florida) are going away this month and are being replaced with Chicago Midway.
Grand Rapids is seeing some cut backs with Southwest, but not as many. This may encourage mid-Michigan residents/businesses to fly Lansing more. Seems like air service cyclical. Flint or GRR acquires a new carrier, Lansing traffic declines. Lansing's traffic goes up (arrival or Sun Country/Allegiant), Flint traffic declines, etc.
I've been on-the-watch for cheap weekend flights to Cincy lately and have been finding LAN<->DTW<->CVG cheaper than DTW<->CVG. Don't ask me why. But my wife, who flies more often, said "yeah, flights out of Lansing are cheaper again suddenly for some reason".
Comments
The photo illustrates really bad [organic perhaps] zoning and street planning of this area. Is this area in Lansing or Lansing Township? I did not really know the 2016 area [it looks a lot different] and I really got lost just trying to get to that roasted chicken place across from Frandor, What a mess of one ways and lights and traffic. It is nice to get a bit down the street in Lansing were the streets have curbs and sidewalks.
The last time I was in Toronto I was blown away by how diverse it was, I'd really like to see that here on a smaller scale.
I could see Lansing becoming more of a mini-hub, with passengers flying in from small airports in Northern Michigan to transfer to the DC flight and others. Out east there is a very successful airline called Cape Air, they use small planes that serve the towns on Cape Cod and the Islands, as well as other small towns in New England connecting them with Boston. I think Lansing is, as capital a destination for Michiganders doing state business or going to MSU, those folks plus others who want to connect non-stops from here, a small airline could bring a lot of passengers to Lansing. It is surprising how many people can afford to take a short flight from their small town, rather than the often difficult drive to the distant airport. It is also easy to fill up a twelve set plane. Just a thought.
A couple of things I have noticed from being out and about. I was happy to see a big crane lifting huge tree size branches out of the Red Cedar that had collected under the small rail road bridge east of Elm street. It was very unsightly there and it is nice to see they are cleaning it up, also just up from there I noticed several small trees had been felled by beavers, right along the River Trail. I was surprised to see this right in the middle of the city, but it also seems like kind of a large river for beavers to damn. Maybe they were going to build upon the branches already at the bridge. I thought it was cool anyway, that plus the big turtles have come out of hibernation.
At Moorse Park the cranes and trailers are still there by the damn.Maybe they are working on the other side. I also went to Brancroft Park after reading about the changes they were making. It really is the mountains of Lansing over there. It was a little spooky looking in the March gray light,I thought this is how Lansing must have looked like before the Europeans arrived. The golf course pond project is huge. I am with the folks who don't want the trail paved it would take away from the primeval look of the place. There is already a paved drive that could be repaved.
Regarding flights from small northern MI airport from Lansing, that has been tried recently. Most notably Marquette/Sawyer to Lansing. That never materialized (Marquette applied for a USDOT Small Community Air Service grant that was not approved.) There are two scheduled weekly flights between the two airport for state gov't.
I think Cape Air participates in the federal Essential Air Service program out East, but I could be wrong.
In brief, I think the biggest challenges for Lansing's airport is location -- it's nice Lansing is centrally located in the state, but there are three larger airport within ~ 1.5 hours drive. Also perception, people often believe the airport is more expensive, which is often case, but not always. I remember my years at MSU (late 90s-early 2000s), I was surprised that so few people were aware of the local airport -- either didn't know where it was located or assumed it was expensive and just looked at Detroit only.
Lansing is trying to secure weekly China non-stop flights (in support or MSU students, FRIB, and local tech firms).
What may help Lansing slightly is Southwest's cutbacks at Grand Rapids and Flint. Flint used to be served by ValuJet/Air Tran, bought out by Southwest. All of Flint Southwest's flights (Vegas, Baltimore, Florida) are going away this month and are being replaced with Chicago Midway.
Grand Rapids is seeing some cut backs with Southwest, but not as many. This may encourage mid-Michigan residents/businesses to fly Lansing more. Seems like air service cyclical. Flint or GRR acquires a new carrier, Lansing traffic declines. Lansing's traffic goes up (arrival or Sun Country/Allegiant), Flint traffic declines, etc.