Regional — Develop.MetroLansing

Streets & Transit

TEXigander — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:37:21 +0000

I am surprised I didn't see anything about this information in the news. Right now it's pretty popular to talk about mass transit records in the news all across the country. Based on the press release the average weekday ridership for route 1 is about 6,500. The route was up more than 25,000+ riders form April 2007 vs. April 2008. Anyhow, I figured I'd post this information on here for discussion in case there are any other mass transit buffs like myself.

Record Numbers Turn to CATA for Transportation

Lansing, MI-CATA increased fares and pass prices on April 7, 2008. Ridership normally drops after fares go up. Contrary to that trend, CATA recorded its highest April ridership ever with customers taking 1,154,241 CATA rides. This marked the 6th time in 7 months that CATA monthly ridership exceeded 1 million rides. This total represents a system-wide (all services) increase of 5% compared with April of last year...

here is the link for the full press release:
http://cata.org/news/releases/recordnumbers.html

Lansing Area Parks, Trails and Nature

hood — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 18:14:36 +0000

A new thread to replace the lost parks thread...

Lansing Area Photos and Construction Updates

hood — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 00:23:20 +0000

I made this thread to aggregate pictures and construction updates from around the area.

I finally made it out and took some pictures around downtown and the Red Cedar area. Flickr album with pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmX8agT8

[Edit by Jared on June 1, 2024: I've had to remove these pictures from this post as our bandwidth is at peak levels and these are large images hosted on our server. The images that were on this post can be found in the flickr link above.]

Lansing Area Development Rundown (updated 4/7/2026)

hood — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 20:44:12 +0000

Thread Directory

hood — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 02:00:42 +0000

Below is a listing of various long running threads along with relevant links to local organizations and governments

- Lansing Area Development Rundown ...A listing of area projects with renderings, brief descriptions and relevant links to media and official sites

Lansing Area Development Threads

- Lansing Development

- East Lansing Development

- MSU Development

- Lansing Twp Development

- Okemos, Haslett & Bath Development

- Delta Twp, Grand Ledge, Western Suburbs Development

- Delhi Twp, Mason, Southern Suburbs Development

- St Johns, Dewitt, Northern Suburb Development

- General Michigan Development

Neighborhood Threads

- REO Town

- Old Town

- Frandor

- Southside Lansing

- The Stadium District

- Eastwood

- Lansing Community College

Local Non-Development Threads:

- Lansing Area News & Discussion

- Streets & Transit

- Lansing Area Photos & Construction Updates

- Natural Lansing: Parks, Forestry and Nature

- Lansing River Trail

- Lansing History

- Regional Politics

Off Topic and Website Related Threads:

- New Users Introduce Yourself

- Website Updates

- Off Topic

Regional Politics

Jared — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:31:13 +0000

This thread was started from an idea that MichMatters shared with me.

With this being an election year for Lansing's mayoral seat, it would be a good idea to have a place where people can discuss the politicians and policies that are being discussed. This is not restricted to Lansing, as I'm sure there are other communities that we'll want to discuss here.

Please keep this thread limited to local politics.

Ingham County's most dangerous intersections

Jared — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 07:21:10 +0000

The LSJ has an article listing the 10 most dangerous intersections based on traffic incidents per year.

Here's the list:
1. Grand River Avenue at Hagadorn Road: 68 crashes
2. Saginaw Street at Clippert Street, 58 crashes
3. Jolly Road at Cedar Street, 55 crashes
4. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Holmes Road, 52 crashes
5. Miller Road at Cedar Street, 41 crashes
6. Dunckel Road at Jolly Road, 41 crashes
7. Coolidge Road at Lake Lansing Road, 39 crashes
8. Grand River Avenue at Clippert Street, 37 crashes
9. Grand River Avenue at Howard Street, 35 crashes
10. Saginaw Street at Homer Street, 34 crashes

What do you think should be done to these intersections to make them safer?

Also, it would be helpful if the data said what type of accidents happen. Do they involve people turning right-on-red? Pedestrians? Left-turns? Protected lefts? etc.

Speaking on a couple here:
#1 The intersection isn't oddly shaped. It's a standard four-way intersection with protected left turns and no right-on-red. When I drive this intersection I usually see people rushing to make the left-turn because the light doesn't seem to last long enough.

#2 On Clippert just north of this intersection driving southbound there are some really bad humps in the road that throws off most people. High speed traffic on Saginaw combined with potentially slower traffic on Clippert (especially due to the humps) doesn't help. Saginaw is one-way here, and Clippert is two-ways. I know turning left from Saginaw on to Clippert can be a tight squeeze.

#8 This one is only about 360 feet away from #2. I think the heavy one-way traffic on both Grand River Ave and Saginaw Street make traveling this section of Clippert pretty scary. Crossing Grand River here along Clippert is very dangerous, as the road is 5 lanes wide and traffic is coming from Saginaw, Grand River, and also numerous businesses such as the Speedway and Burger King.

Bike lanes on major thoroughfares

Jared — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:16:54 +0000

Now that part of Saginaw Street has bike lanes, what other major roads would you like to see bike lanes added to?

There are a few roads in East Lansing that I would like to see converted from four lane (two in each direction) to one lane in each direction with a turn lane in the middle and bike lanes on the sides. These would be:[ulist][li]Abbot Road between Saginaw Rd and Lake Lansing Rd[/li][li]Harrison Road between Saginaw Road and Lake Lansing Rd[/li][li]Hagadorn Road from Grand River Ave to Haslett Rd[/li][/ulist]I'd also like to see markers placed on Grand River showing that the right lane is a shared bike/car lane.

Ideas for stopping sprawl

dogsdaddy — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:33:53 +0000

I would like to hear ideas on limiting sprawl and think a forum to discuss this topic would be good. A couple of ideas I have are a 1000 dollar an acre tax on green field development, and a law that no governmental entity can be less than 36 square miles or contain at least 50 thousand people. What do you think?

Possible Lansing & East Lansing merger?

Jared — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:11:43 +0000

If I didn't predict enough in the City Pulse article towards the end where I said sometimes it seems that Lansing would like to be East Lansing and vice versa, WILX reported last night that Virg Bernero has been talking now about a possible merge between the cities. East Lansing's mayor, Sam Singh, says that could possibly be a decade off.

Singh is waiting for Lansing to get under control its pensions and other liabilities first.

Virg would like to see this done within the next few years, but Singh is open to the conversation. Any such event would require voter approval.

Here is a link to the article: Mayor presses merging EL and Lansing
There is also the video portion as well.

Library Millage - good or bad idea?

Adieoz — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:38:57 +0000

I just finished reading the article in this week's City Pulse about the 0.96 millage proposed to help fund a $93 million dollar overhaul to the library system. This would be an Ingham County millage, the bulk of which would go to fund a brand new library and Impression 5 located at the current site of Oliver Towers (Shiawassee and Ionia) which has been vacant since 2000. As an owner of 8 rental units in Lansing, I cringe at the thought of any increase in property taxes, which I will not be able to offset by increasing rents. (I have actually had to lower rents lately) And after all, I have a computer and internet access already, right?

But on the other hand, I use the libaray and see the lines for people waiting to get online. This is perhaps their only opportunity to do so, not to mention the scores of other materials available. And in tough economic times, education becomes one of the most important investments we can make to improve life for the entire area.

The real reason I will be voting for this millage is because it is a perfect example of what I think we should be doing more of...regional tax sharing. What are your thoughts?

Regional green belt?

Jared — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:22:46 +0000

What do you think about creating a regional greenbelt. This is a thread for discussion from this post.

Labeled map of downtown

hood — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:38:41 +0000

I started making this map today at first just for bars & restaurants, figured it may be good to post here. I opened it up for anyone to edit, so any contributions would be appreciated (let me know if it will let you edit it or not.) Maybe when it gets complete enough it can go on the sites homepage or something.

Map

I tried to make a color code, but as I decided to add more it will likely have to change. As it is right now:
Blue = Nightclubs
Red = Bar/Restaurant/Nightclub combinations
Green = Bar/Restaurants
Yellow = Other stuff

As I said, I like this idea so I'm looking for input/help on expanding it and/or refining it. Let me know what your ideas are.

Jared - I tried to embed the map but it wouldn't work.

Corridor Improvement Authority for Michigan Ave

Jared — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:10:31 +0000

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.

Auto-Owners Insurance Headquarters

Jared — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:42:09 +0000

From WILX:

Major Office Complex Approved for Rural DeWitt
Auto-Owners Expansion
Tony Tagliavia

Amid an almost entirely rural landscape in DeWitt Township lies land now slated to host as much as 750,000 square feet of office space for Delta Township-based Auto-Owners Insurance.

The DeWitt Township Board of Trustees approved a zoning change making way for the development Monday night. The development as approved would come in two phases: One in 2010, another possible in 2016.

Some in the area aren't welcoming their likely new neighbor.

"My main concern is the massive change of the chracter that will accompany this project," John Arnsman said.

Arnsman says he's concerned about how roads surrounding the land might be expanded as the area develops.

The land in question is about 300 acres, extending from Stoll Road up toward I-69. The major entrances for the development are planned for DeWitt or Clark roads because of their proximity to the freeway.

If a second phase is developed, a service road could be built out to Stoll Road.

Loretta Spinrad with the DeWitt Area Community Alliance says the development is something the township needs.

"People don't want higher taxes, but you have to understand, In order to keep your tax rates down, you have to get revenue from various sources," Spinrad said.

That includes commercial developments, she says, like the one planned by Auto-Owners.

A company vice president says the insurer's current Delta Township headquarters leaves no room to expand, but Stuart Birn says the company hasn't decided whether to vacate its enormous corporate campus there. If it does, it could leave Delta Township with hundreds of thousands of square feet of vacant office space.

"They don't feel that they're going to pick and leave," Delta Township Manager Richard Watkins said.

Watkins says Auto-Owners has led him to believe the process will be more long-term. But he says the township has to consider the idea that the buildings will become vacant -- buildings that, given their freeway acess and visibility could be attractive to other businesses.

"But it's an awful big building," Watkins said. "Sometimes those are difficult to get a large user."

A difficult task Delta Township may face in the next 10 years.

The CATA Thread

rooor — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:27:34 +0000

CATA seems to come up quite a bit in other threads, but I thought it was about time that it got it's very own.

Two notable items:

1. The November Millage: the agency predicts a rather doomsday-esque scenario if voters fail to approve a 0.787 mill increase for operations for the next five years (2008-12). From their site: "For a $100,000 home, that equals $39.35 per year, or less than most people pay for a tank of gasoline. All the money raised would be used to operate the CATA system."

More info here: http://cata.org/news/releases/november_millage.html

Meanwhile, #2: Record Ridership -- over 0.5 million rides just for the month of July.

Given the failed library millage, I'm concerned about CATA's chances for success. That, and I really haven't seen much PR on it, aside from direct marketing on the bus. What does everyone else think about it's chances? I'd love to see them shore up operating money so that we can start bugging them more about their five to ten year vision.

Lansing area media

jwswrites — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:24:49 +0000

Issue Media Group LLC has launched Capital Gains Media, an online newsletter of development-related news in the Lansing area.

Find Capital Gains online at www.capitalgainsmedia.com.

Issue Media also publishes Rapid Growth in Grand Rapids and Model D in Detroit, among others.

Possible Sobering Center in the works

Jared — Wed, 16 May 2007 08:42:33 +0000

The City of East Lansing is willing to put forth some money to get a sobering center constructed. They are planning on working with the Lansing City Rescue Mission and hopefully others (hint: Lansing, Lansing Township) to get a place built. The use will be for individuals that don't need to go to the hospital or jail for their alcohol, just need to kill time to burn the alcohol off.

A link to the State News article is here: http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=41011

Meijer plans to expand

Jared — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:04:20 +0000

There are plans for Meijer to spend $18 million to expand it's Delta Township distribution center. The grocer will add about 159,000 sq ft, to bring the center to a total of 2.5 million sq ft over 300 acres, as reported by the LSJ.

Here is a link to the article: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWS03/703210350/1004/RSS10

At the end of the article, they mention that Meijer has bought land in Bath Township for another location, but doesn't mention where. Is this supposed to be located by the proposed I-69 interchange in Bath?