Public Works

Above: artist's rendition of a future BRT station

In East Lansing, CATA’s planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) would reduce the number of stops along Grand River Avenue, provide raised platforms for faster and easier boarding, reduce the greenway median by one-quarter in acreage, and reduce the number of westbound car lanes downtown by one, according to the current plan. An update on the plan was presented to East Lansing’s City Council this week by City Planning staff Lori Mullins and CATA’s Assistant Executive Director Debbie Alexander.

Where could East Lansing children been picking up lead? ELi's Ken Sperber explains water is not the only source of potential contamination.

East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) Superintendent Robyne Thompson notified parents yesterday that in spite of replacement of plumbing suspected of leaching lead at Glencairn Elementary School, water coming to one sink is still testing positive for high levels of lead.

Since the new single-bin program started, recycling is up, but trash is not down by nearly as much. We asked DPW's Cathy DeShambo to explain this and more about the new program.

On Monday night, a community forum was held at the Hannah Center for the planned Community Solar Project in Burcham Park. The forum, hosted by the City of East Lansing Commission on the Environment and the Meridian Township Environmental Commission, was an opportunity to provide more information on the project and to address questions, concerns, or suggestions residents may have about the solar park.

Thousands of East Lansing customers of the Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) experienced a short power outage today. BWL says the outage was due to emergency repair needs in the area.

According to Steve Serkaian, Executive Director of Public Affairs for BWL, "We had an unplanned equipment issue to quickly address at a substation that serves E. Lansing customers. We used social media and traditional media to inform our customers as well as contacting E. Lansing leaders. We’re pleased that the outage lasted only 8 minutes and apologize for any customer inconvenience."

What is the City doing to encourage and manage localized rainwater use? We asked Bob Scheuerman, Engineering Administrator for the City of East Lansing, a font of water knowledge.

East Lansing’s City Council heard from City staff last night about various options for dealing with the City-owned parking garage and land under the Marriott Hotel downtown. Investors have expressed some interest in purchasing the garage and/or the land under the whole “University Place” complex, a parking garage and land which the City currently owns.

Above: The old white oak tree on Spartan Avenue, on the site of the proposed “White Oak Place” development.

The third and by far longest of three public hearings at this week’s City Council meeting centered on Ordinance No. 1363, the so-called tree protection ordinance. If it were to pass as proposed, it would protect certain trees within the City of East Lansing by requiring permits before anyone trims or cuts a tree that has been designated “protected.”