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NEW POLL OVERVIEW:<br />
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Local officials elected officials in mid Michigan are discussing the need for mass transit in the Lansing area. Buses would travel both directions in dedicated lanes on one side of the median along Grand River Avenue in downtown East Lansing.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Motorists would travel both directions in four lanes on the other side. And when buses aren't present, bicyclists would use the lane, shifting to the side if a bus comes along.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is the vision for a new bus rapid transit line as part of a wide-ranging look at upgrading the Lansing area</span><span><span>'</span>s bus transit system. This new vision is the direct result of a series meetings conducted recently in East Lansing. The meeting included the preliminary design plans being proposed for the Capital Area Transportation Authority line that would run from the Capitol to the Meridian Mall in Okemos.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The core components for the new line that resulted the meetings included: <br />
1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dedicate the two existing lanes of eastbound traffic along Grand River Avenue in downtown East Lansing to the bus transit line. <br />
2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The median would remain largely intact.<br />
3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;An additional lane would be added to Grand River mostly from the south side of the avenue, allowing for four lanes of eastbound and westbound motorist traffic.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The proposal includes input from bicyclists, East Lansing business owners, residents and Michigan State University employees and students.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dover Kohl is a subcontractor of Mead &amp; Hunt, a Lansing Township architectural and engineering firm that is performing an environmental assessment of the bus rapid transit line. CATA is paying Mead &amp; Hunt $1.1 million with federal and state grants.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The estimated cost of the new line would be $195,000,000.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This new rapid transit line is an outgrowth of a larger planning effort studying the entire 20-mile Michigan Avenue corridor from the Capitol to Webberville. The goal of this project is to improve land use, the environment and access for pedestrians and bicyclists.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Population density along the corridor and increased use of public transit also are key themes in the broader study.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A proposed bus rapid transit proposal would replace it with a bus line in some ways similar to a light-rail system. Buses would operate in designated travel lanes on Michigan and Grand River avenues, and buses could have doors on both sides for easier boarding at newly built stations.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The design firm will draft complete designs after Lansing and Meridian Township meetings, then present them to the Federal Transit Administration, which must review the project</span><span><span>'</span>s impact on the local environment.<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After that, CATA officials say they plan to continue with further design and engineering work. <br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CATA hopes to receive federal and state funding for the project and to break ground in 2016.<br />
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NEW POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should the Lansing area create a </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Rapid Transit Bus line</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> between the Capitol and Okemos?<br />
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Yes<br />
No<br />
Undecided<br />
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TO VOTE IN THIS POLL CLICK ON THIS LINK<br />
<a href="http://www.clinton-countygop.com/content/should-lansing-area-create-%E2%80%9Crapid-transit-bus-line%E2%80%9D-between-capitol-and-okemos">http://www.clinton-countygop.com/content/should-lansing-area-create-%E2%80%9Crapid-transit-bus-line%E2%80%9D-between-capitol-and-okemos</a><br />
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(To enter your comments click on </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Add new comment</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> after you vote.)<br />
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PREVIOUS POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should Michigan pass a package of bills to bailout Detroit with oversight by a committee to guarantee their solvency?<br />
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Yes - 23%<br />
No - 77%<br />
Undecided - 0% <br />
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FOUR COMMENTS WERE MADE ON THIS POLL:<br />
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COMMENT #1<br />
robbing Peter to pay Paul !!<br />
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&quot;Broke nations are bailing out other broke nations with borrowed money !<br />
Units of government are following suit !<br />
How long before the entire system collapses ? greed, gluttony, pride all with promises of a bright future from political hacks WE elect !!<br />
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If the entire US gross domestic product is 63 trillion dollars and we supposedly owe the international bankers<br />
up to 211 trillion dollars in debt how does common core math reconcile this problem ??<br />
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/tag/bailouts<br />
Father God have mercy on our ignorance and arrogance individually and as a nation !<br />
http://deadlysins.com/sins/gluttony.html<br />
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In the 1990s we warned units of government as their counsel to use San Diego as a model of what NOT to invest in<br />
IE &quot;derivatives&quot; all smoke and mirrors to support pension funds ....that county collapsed its system !!<br />
You can not squeeze lemon from a rubber tire !<br />
Philip &amp; Nancy Bareham<br />
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COMMENT #2<br />
Detroit<br />
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Really, they did create their own problem and it is their responsibility to pay for it. It is not the responsibility of the rest of the state. Yes, they may have to sell some valuable artwork - - maybe just one piece. Aww. And/or sell the water system or real estate. That's the breaks.Yes, they need to move to defined contribution pensions as soon as possible - - but, be careful about this when new labor contracts are entered into - - recall how the unions extended existing contracts for a long time in order to avoid Right to Work. Yes, there needs to be a Commission as described to monitor much of Detroit's fiscal behavior in the next 20 years minimum. (There is always a huge City of Detroit scandal every 20 years, so it might be good for a Commission to run longer with the intention of trying to change that scandal culture so that those accustomed to it will die off and the younger replacements might not be trained in it. Who knows.) I don't recall whether the description of the Commission included appointments to the Pension Board(s) and Commission monitoring of the pension systems - - that has been a real corrupt cess pool and that needs to happen. I'm nervous about the concept that the Commission would not be active during periods of &quot;fiscal health&quot; in Detroit This is a problem. First, accountants can make anything seem like it meets some terms and second, a new &quot;Granholm&quot; as Governor would automatically define anything as &quot;fiscal health&quot; to play games with Detroit, so I think it's a bad and risky idea that should be scrapped. Finally, obviously the discussion of an amount of a bail out is a buy in to get the extended Commission. Ok. Get to a number that is really low. $1 million.and no more. A million is enough to sound serious and not insulting to Detroiters and not so high that it insults the rest of us. $195 Million is still a huge insult to the rest of us.<br />
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COMMENT #3<br />
Detriot Bailout<br />
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Creating a &quot;Nanny&quot; to oversea Detroit is a non winner for both the State and Detroit. Detroit needs to admit to itself that they had ample forewarning and chose to ignore the advice. There already exists a &quot;plantation&quot; mentality by both the citizens and the government official in the city and bailing them out does nothing for force them to learn from these mistakes and cultivate responsible management of their government.<br />
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COMMENT #4<br />
Detroit Bailout<br />
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I do agree with changing the pension system to a 401K and having a committee to oversee their finances does make sense. But with any bankruptcy assets need to be sold if possible. I think that some of the artwork could be sold. Why should the entire state pay for Detroit's mistakes?<br />
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