Part of Lake Lansing Road could go from 4 lanes to 3. Here's your chance to comment
The Ingham County Road Department is considering converting four lanes to three on a portion of Lake Lansing Road next year.
A virtual public hearing on the project will be held via Zoom at 5 p.m. Oct. 4, according to a notice on the department’s website.
The Ingham County Road Department is planning the milling and resurfacing project in 2023 on Lake Lansing Road from Abbot Road to Hart Street, west of Hagadorn Road, on the border between Meridian Township and East Lansing, according to the notice.
Currently the roughly mile-long section of road is four lanes, two in each direction. The road department proposes converting the four lanes to three: one in each direction, a third for a center left turn lane and adding paved nonmotorized paths on each side of the three-lane road.
“The 3-lane configuration typically exhibits significantly fewer left turn crashes compared to the current 4-lane configuration without significant loss to through traffic capacity, based on experience with similar road conversions,” the notice states.
The proposed project also includes reconfiguration of the intersection between Lake Lansing Road, Towar Avenue, and Birch Row Drive. That portion of the project will include a signal intersection along Lake Lansing Road with push-button actuated, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, pedestrian crosswalks for pedestrian crossings of Lake Lansing Road, according to the notice.
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East Lansing Department of Parks, Recreation & Arts Assistant Director Wendy Wilmers Longpre said she is excited for the project and non-motorized transportation will be improved on the whole stretch of the road.
“That has been a real challenging place for pedestrians to cross,” she said of the intersection, and it's "been a very unfriendly pedestrian crossing."
Ingham County Road Department Director of Engineering Neal Galehouse said the ballpark estimate for the project's cost is about $1 million for the road and intersection work.
About 11,000 vehicles travel on Lake Lansing Road per day, according to the department, which started working on reconstructing different segments of the roadway back in 2015. Additional changes were made in 2016 and again in 2020, he said.
This next section of the roadway is the final one in the road department's jurisdiction for this long-term plan, Galehouse said.
“This is the last piece,” he said.
He said over the next couple months the department will finalize the project's design and the department sent notices to people who have property along the portion of the roadway involved in the project to let them know about the public hearing.
One of the current businesses on Lake Lansing Road is Constellation Cat Cafe, though the cafe has plans to move into Lansing's Old Town.
Co-owner and Executive Director Kelsey Maccombs said in the long-term the project appears be better for the area, but in the short-term businesses are still feeling the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes everyone in the area is able to stay open, “because it’s been hard.”
Even if the cafe does move out of its Lake Lansing Road location before the construction starts, Maccombs said she will still be paying for the lease. She was hoping to have someone sub-lease, but she doesn't think people will be interested if they can't access the building due to traffic.
But in general she trusts the people who did the research and planned the road project to know more than she does. If it's safer and prevents even one less car crash it'll be worth it.
“So, I’ll take the traffic and paying lease on an empty building if it does mean more people are safe,” Maccombs said.
The proposed reconfiguration will also enhance connectivity to the Northern Tier Trail in East Lansing and the Meridian Township pathway system, Longpre said.
She said the city is considering installing a rain garden in partnership with the Ingham County Drain Commission and the road department at Albert A. White Memorial Park near the project to help with post-construction stormwater runoff and that the city is also considering installing a sculpture there.
Longpre said she thinks that by making the roadway more pedestrian friendly and easier to cross the East Lansing park and trails will get more people using them. She specifically envisions more access to the park from the Towar neighborhood.
Whenever you remove barriers to crossing, you “improve access and use,” she said.
Meeting details
People can join the 5 p.m. Oct. 4 Zoom public hearing the following ways:
Weblink: https://ingham.zoom.us/j/86443955602?pwd=WHRDbW85YTNManpxQjMwTTVJOTFiQT09Passcode: 013271
By phone:
Dial: 312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 864 4395 5602
Passcode: 013271
A hyperlink to the public hearing will also be maintained on the Ingham County Road Department’s website at https://roads.ingham.org.
Following the public hearing, public comment will be accepted by the road department until 5 p.m. Nov. 4, by letter, email or phone:
Mailing Address: Ingham County Road Department, 301 Bush St. P.O. Box 38, Mason, MI 48854
Email: roads@ingham.org
Phone: 517-676-9722
Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Ingham County could convert part of Lake Lansing Road from 4 lanes to 3
