Some Westside residents fear a loss of safety, history if median on MLK Jr. Boulevard goes

LANSING — A major Lansing road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, could be dramatically reshaped in the next year but not before residents voice their concerns.

The city of Lansing will be leading the reworking of the road, which serves as a separation between the state Capitol campus and west side neighborhoods. The work would start north of Interstate 496 and Union Missionary Baptist Church and finish near Ionia Street, where the median now ends.

The work would include taking out the green space median and condensing the number of lanes, converting the divided road with one-way lanes in each direction to a normal two-way street and adding significant green space to the sides of the road.

The plan is stirring up some controversy among Westside residents, who are upset for various reasons including safety and local history, said Heath Lowry of the Westside Neighborhood Association.

"I am hearing neighbors on both sides, supporting and opposing this," Lowry said.

He said the association was to have its monthly meeting Wednesday evening at the downtown Capital Area District Libraries branch, 401 S. Capitol Ave., and members could push for the currently-neutral association to take a position.

The meeting was scheduled for the eve of a city open house, with more information for residents, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Letts Community Center, 1220 W. Kalamazoo St.

Most of the concerns, he said, come down to pedestrian safety. The Lansing School District uses Capital Area Transportation Authority buses to transport high school students to school, so the students in their neighborhood often walk to CATA bus stops on main roads like Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

"We have Saginaw and MLK and St. Joseph. We're surrounded by busy roads and highways and a lot of people feel boxed in already," Lowry said. "They feel a sense of safety with the medians."

He said another concern is that the road was built decades ago by displacing some residents and destroying some homes.

"When the original separation of MLK happened, and it wasn't known as MLK at the time, several houses were demolished to make way, similar to 496," Lowry said. "How do we best pay respect to that if it's undone in less than 50 years?"

Construction is expected to start this summer.

While the MLK roadwork and greenspace endeavors will be visible, two endeavors will be happening below the surface. The Lansing Board of Water and Light will be replacing a water main, and the city is doing a combined sewer overflow project as deep as 30 feet beneath the surface.

MORE: Documentary examines the human cost of Lansing neighborhood destroyed by I-496

MLK Jr. Boulevard will likely be closed for much of June and July and potentially beyond, with construction wrapping up by October or November, said Marc Jones, a project engineer for the city.

The sewer project is expected to start April 1, around the same time as the BWL project, and bids for the road construction portion will be opened Tuesday.

Jones said the plan is intended to add more green space on the side than what currently exists for the median and new trees would be planted. A 10-foot-wide pathway on the east side of the boulevard will be built for pedestrian and bikes. The new green space on the side of the roads would remain public greenspace.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard project is part of a series of one-way conversions into two-way streets. Others have included Grand Avenue and Capitol Avenue in August 2022 and Pine and Walnut streets in October 2022. The lane conversions have long been sought by the city.

Allegan and Ottawa streets will be converted to two-way streets this year after the major roadwork is completed.

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing's plan to remove MLK Jr. Boulevard median angers some Westside residents