Lansing Considers Light Rail; Hell Freezes Over

Now and then, the gaunt Gannett zombie ceases its mindless mumbling of press releases and wire reports and speaks with a coherent voice of its own. This is one of those cases. Looks like Lansing is flirting with the idea of kicking that car habit, and not a moment too soon.

The only thing that disappoints us is the headline. Light rail in and of itself will not make greater Lansing "exciting," and it may or may not attract spoiled millennials--er, young professionals. What matters is that it brings us back to the future, saves tremendous amounts of energy, reduces the drain on our nonrenewable oil reserves, and gives us one more option besides the four-ton personal exoskeleton.

But kudos anyway.

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Light-rail system considered for city
Advocates see idea as a way to attract young professionals

Scott Davis • sedavis@lsj.com • February 26, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal

Lansing's electric streetcars once spanned the city and beyond in the early part of the 20th century, connecting it with St. Johns and Mason.
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That romance with rail died in the 1930s with the rise of automobiles and quieter gas-powered buses, but tri-county leaders once again are contemplating whether they should seek funding for a new light-rail system to put the Lansing area back on track.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said the concept could make the city more attractive as a workplace for young professionals and push the city to the forefront of the green energy movement.

"The kids want to live in a city that's green and clean," he said.

The idea emerged last week during a meeting of a newly formed regional task force, Task Force Tomorrow, when tri-county leaders were brainstorming potential regional ideas for use of federal stimulus money.

In one incarnation, the concept would involve electric rail cars between Lansing, East Lansing and possibly other nearby communities; it would not replace the Capital Area Transportation Authority bus system, but would supplement it.

While some leaders say that using stimulus funds for a light-rail system is unrealistic because it likely would require years of study, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said he hopes the area could be eligible for funding to study the idea under a federal transportation bill to be reauthorized this year.

"You hate to draw conclusions before studies are complete, but you've seen city after city that has used a light-rail link to spur development along the rail," Staton said.

The concept is a departure from the $85 million high-speed rail system between Lansing and Detroit that regional leaders studied for years. That project never left the station, partly because of the lack of federal transit subsidies available for startup in 2004 and 2005, officials said.

"We continue to look at it, but don't rule it out," said Carol Wood, a Lansing councilwoman and chairperson of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, referring to the high-speed rail project.

"The issue continues to be funding for these startups. The government sometimes hands out startup money, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have money to keep something running."

Wood, who is not a member of Task Force Tomorrow, said she was intrigued by light rail and would welcome any ideas the task force has to introduce it in the area.

Any proposal for a new transit system would likely go to the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for review and approval; the body represents municipalities in Eaton, Clinton and Ingham counties and is the agency that presents transportation funding requests to the state and federal government.

Members of Task Force Tomorrow have not kicked around cost estimates for a light-rail system, but it wouldn't be cheap.

A proposed light-rail system in Grand Rapids would cost an estimated $78 million, according to a feasibility study done on the project.

Susan McGillicuddy, Meridian township supervisor, supported the idea of at least looking at a new community rail system.

"Anything we can do to make Lansing the exciting city it needs to be," McGillicuddy said.

Robert Garrett, an archivist with the Archives of Michigan, said it's ironic that Lansing is among many cities nationwide that may embrace light rail again now that gas prices are high and green energy is the new rave.

"The automobiles were coming, and the automobiles were going more places," Garrett said of when streetcars were abandoned in Lansing.

"People wanted (streetcars) replaced with buses. They didn't go down the middle of the street."