Letters about Hagadorn Road Changes
(addressed to the City -- Todd Sneathen tsneath@cityofeastlansing.com)
(all letters received by LH as a cc, from  7/1/07 -  7/11/07)

1.  I’m a 68 year old retiree who moved from Meridian Twp to East Lansing 4 years ago. I currently live on Lexington Ave and walk and bicycle to many places in East Lansing as well as throughout the tri- county area. I think one of the most positive things that the city did for bicyclists was the conversion of Burcham from 4 lanes to 2 with the bike lanes and a left turn lane. It has made the street safer and more comfortable for bicyclists. In the past, motorists would sometimes aggressively pass and holler for me to get off of the street where now they recognize my right to be there because of the visibly designated bike lanes. Since I am retired, I also have the luxury of being able to spend considerable time bicycling in other parts of the country. Two places that have impressed me are Davis, California and Tucson, Arizona, both of which are designated as “Bicycle Friendly Communities” and would be very attractive places to live because of what they have done to earn that designation. I think East Lansing has that same potential and encourage you to continue to make this a more Pedestrian/Bicycle friendly community. Converting Hagadorn from 4 lanes to 2 would be a step in the right direction and I fully support the conversion.

2.  I have been a resident and homeowner in East Lansing for 20 years, and one of the things I love about living here is being able to walk and ride my bike safely.  I would welcome the change on Hagadorn to add bike lanes.

3. I live in East Lansing & ride bicycles when I can, traveling all around the Lnsg./E.Lnsg general area at times, with my 10 & 17 year old children, too.  I would like to add my agreement to what others can word better, so here it is:

I feel that walkable and bikable roads/communities are key to a healthy, sustainable, affordable, safe, clean, attractive, and fun community.  (Plus -- they'll make a much greater dent in our oil dependence than ethanol or biodiesel ever will).  A road diet on Hagadorn (3 auto lanes, 2 bike lanes) and other roads in the area, will have a huge positive impact on the entire region.  There may be some mild inconvenience for a few people, but traffic flow rates may actually improve, sidewalks and roads will feel much safer for all – including motorists.

4.  As a resident of East Lansing and the Southeast Marble neighborhood, I appreciate this opportunity to have input into improvements on Hagadorn.  I really like the ideas for a more walkable/bikable community that were presented some time ago at one of our neighborhood association meetings.   Specifically, the creation of bike lanes and a center turn lane on Hagadorn sounds great, especially if the design includes zig-zag crossing paths with center islands for pedestrians.   As I was driving on Hagadorn the other day, I saw a neighbor (an adult) run across Hagadorn after visiting a neighbor across the road, and I thought to myself, "it would be nice to have a safer, friendlier way for us to cross this street, so we don't have to worry about hitting each other or being hit as we walk in our own neighborhood."  Also, my college-age son is home for the summer, and biking and running in East Lansing.  I would like the neighborhood to be safer when he is biking and running as well. Please get as much neighborhood input as possible into this process, and help us create a more walkable community.  Enhancements like the ones listed above can improve the attractiveness and friendliness of our community, thus increasing its value to all who live and pass through here.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

5.    Please consider the useful and appropriate "road diet" for Hagadorn Road. Even simply /*thinking*/ about changing Hagadorn from the way it now is, to a 3-lane plus 2 bike lanes, gives me ease in my breathing and my thoughts. I feel more peaceful just /*thinking*/ about it. I would spend much */more/* time */outdoors in my wheelchair/* once this wise change is made. I live on Mt. Vernon.

6.  I am writing to support Hagadorn Road becoming a more efficient route for all citizens by reducing the driving lanes to 3 and adding two commuter lanes.  My major concerns with Hagadorn Road is the traffic speed, narrow sidewalks and dangerous conditions for pedestrians and those waiting for the bus.  The sidewalks on Hagadorn are dangerously too narrow with too small of a grass boarder between sidewalk and street.  My family bikes and walks on Hagadorn road every day.  My children attend Marble Elementary and MacDonald Middle School and they walk to school.   You should see Hagadorn during the school year.  The City of East Lansing has police posted a the corner of Burcham and Hagadorn and there has NEVER been a school day that the police do not have someone pulled over giving them a speeding ticket during the times when children are walking and biking to school.  I would like to encourage you to make the speeding ticket records of the City of East Lansing a part of the testimony as this road diet is considered for the City.

I drive Hagadorn going to work and I am often passed by speeding vehicles weaving in and out of traffic to get to the intersection at Grand River and Hagadorn first.  The current situation allows these vehicles to shift lanes to pass vehicles using both lanes; leaving a dangerous trail for those that prefer green commuting options, such as using the bus, biking and walking.

I feel that three vehicle lanes would help traffic speeds stay more consistent and make it easier to monitor for the police.  Since there are two schools and two day-cares at Burcham and Hagadorn, we need to consider the community use of this road first, as we consider what is best for the roads in East Lansing.  I realize that there are people that use Hagadorn as a cut-through from Bath to Okemos, or Haslett to Lansing.  However, Hagadorn, is a community street and is not a highway.  I feel that if we were to re-configure Hagadorn to serve the community purpose, it would deter aggressive drivers to use the faster streets; Saginaw and the highways for their intended purpose; to move large numbers of vehicles long distances fast.  Hagadorn is not a major road, and we need to preserve it's use to serve the citizens that pay for it and utilize it as an essential route to community participation.

Finally, I would like to point out that there is a lot of effort within the MSU campus that appears to encourage vehicle traffic by students and staff (new parking lot with un-enforced meters).  The new apartment developments on the northern tier provides housing for students, but these students are provided with a free bus pass and the bus route goes along Hagadorn and Abbott.  If the City of East Lansing creates a calming route along Hagadorn Road, the City of East Lansing can use this decision to crate incentives that discourage vehicle traffic from the northern tier into campus.  As a taxpayer in East Lansing, I would like to see the City of East Lansing do all that they can to discourage vehicle traffic and increase bus utilization from both students, staff and citizens into the downtown and to campus.  My children and I often use the bus, walking and biking to recreate in downtown East Lansing.  It creates a heathy and fun environment if more people were encouraged to adopt this healthier behavior.  Putting Hagadorn on a Road-Diet, would move our community in a healthier direction.   Thank you for considering my opinion.

7.   As a former Hagadorn Rd. resident (Cambria Dr.) and an employee of MSU, I would find a bike lane on Hagadorn to MSU incredibly helpful.  I am a regular bike commuter to my job on campus (south-central part).  The most efficient way to get to campus would have been to simply ride straight down Hagadorn.  However, because of the sidewalks (there was way too much traffic and not enough shoulder to ride in the road) I would choose to take Burcham Dr. because of the bike lane there.  However, this still left me in a quandary about where to ride on Hagadorn.  If I rode in the road (where cyclists belong), I not only was fearful of getting hit by a driver not paying attention or someone turning into and out of traffic, I also acted as something to congest traffic.  There are many things to recommend living off Hagadorn Rd- close to campus, convenient to the bus routes.  However, easily and safely bikable it was not.  I have since moved off Kalamazoo and plan on riding the Kalamazoo bike lane in to campus.  Thank you for your time.

8.  Dear Sir,     E. Lansing is currently "redoing" its downtown and adjacent areas.  These improvements should last fifty to one-hundred years.  Hagadorn Road, on the other hand is a dinosaur--except that at the same time it can be a race course,if we didn't have police surveillance.     Also, with more mature and physically-challenged residents retiring in E.Lansing, three vehicle lanes on Hagadorn sound like forward-thinking, 21st century planning to me.

9.  By creating official bike lanes, you make pedestrian facilities better and safer.  I would no longer have to be run off the sidewalk to make room for people riding bicycles, since it is currently unsafe to ride in the street along Hagadorn.  Despite having experience and studying urban planning and fully understanding why some people are resistent to eliminating a travel lane, I find it very disheartening to think that anyone believes this should be first priority on Hagadorn.  
 
I wholly support what is being called by some a "road diet" along Hagadorn Rd.; that is, creating bike lanes and shifting the driving lanes to two N/S lanes plus a center turn lane.  Aside from the very practical difficulties of forcing bicycles to share a narrow sidewalk with pedestrians and aside from the near impossibility of trying to cross Hagadorn on foot anywhere between Burcham and Grand River, I take issue with the idea that we need to prioritize vehicle travel lanes along a stretch of road that should, by its very makeup, be pedestrian-focused.  That stretch is almost entirely residential--with the very notable exceptions of Marble Elementary, MacDonald Middle School, and Eastminster Child Development.  I do not find the idea that we need to make car traffic more efficient--at the expense of the safety of people on foot (especially children walking or biking to and from school)--to be short-sighted and, frankly, offensive.  I'll gladly have to drive more slowly or wait through a couple of lights when I'm driving if it means that I, and my children, are safer on foot or bicycle.  If we're willing to slow people as they drive past our library and community center on Abbott, I see no reason not to slow drivers as they drive past our neighbors' homes and our schools. 

Besides, there could be another added advantage of shifting traffic off Hagadorn. If traffic gets shifted in either direction to Abbott or Park Lake, that could force people to drive along stretches of Grand River, which would provide even more exposure to East Lansing businesses.  Making pedestrians and bicyclists safer and getting more traffic in front of our commercial enterprises? Sounds like a winner to me.  Sounds like a no brainer, too.

Personally, when I take my young children out for a walk, it would be nice to push a stroller and not worry about being run over by a car or bicycle.  I would appreciate being able to walk along the roads in this town and be safe on foot, which is often not currently the situation along Hadadorn Road, but could be easily addressed by repainting the Hagadorn stripes--that is, if we're willing to show that the safety of a neighborhood mother pushing a stroller on the sidewalk or child on his bicycle is, dare I say it, more important than the commute time of a (very possibly non-resident) driver rushing to make good time traveling between Saginaw and Grand River. 

Further we have the opportunity to really be leaders in promoting green transportation and healthy living by encouraging walking and biking, and by suggesting that traffic efficiency is, in any way, more important than people who are not driving, reeks of hypocrisy.

10. I am writing to add my support to the plan to add a turn lane and 2 bikes lanes to Hagadorn Road between Grand River Ave., and Haslett Road. I commute along this thoroughfare every day between my home near Lake Lansing Road and Hagadorn Road and the MSU campus. For at least 9 months of the year I commute by bicycle, for the other 3 winter months I commute by car.

I find the current structure of Hagadorn Road less than optimal for either transportation mode. When I am on my bike during the rush hour I am often “forced” to use the side walk which is a dangerous situation as cars pull out onto their driveways without checking for bikes coming along the sidewalk.  More importantly, I see most of the MSU students who commute down this road also using the sidewalk rather than the road itself. In the winter when driving I find the lack of a turn lane to be problematic - traffic speed is often very erratic and therefore dangerous as cars turn onto the side streets. The bottom line is that transportation for cars, bikes and pedestrians will be improved by making these changes.

Finally, I am also reminded of the fact that whenever I visit other college towns that have a renown “quality of life” – such as Berkeley, CA, Davis, CA, Madison, WI, Athens, GA or Ann Arbor, MI that they are all bicycle friendly communities. They all have a well integrated series of bike lanes which are used constantly by students and residents alike. The addition of bike lanes would do the city of East Lansing a world of good as it attempts to sell itself as a “cool city” where young, entrepreneurs are willing to move and set up business.  Nobody is going to move to this city because Hagadorn Road can handle 4 instead of 3 lanes of traffic, however, I believe that people will be influenced by seeing a coordinated system of bike lanes supported by a forward thinking city council.  I cannot attend this evening’s meeting but I am happy to meet with anyone at a future time if you would like to hear from me in person.