Most people in Lansing get around town by driving a car. But some residents think commuters should consider swapping out their car keys for a bike helmet. The city is planning to create its first ever protected bike lanes on East Michigan Avenue to support cycling.
Residents like David Ellis support such a change in transit habits. He's been living car-free in downtown Lansing for about two years and prefers to commute on an upgraded Walmart bicycle with a milk crate on its rear wheel.
“There was a little bit of interest in environmentalism that started it all off, but then as soon as I really started to realize just how expensive it was to keep a car that I wasn't using, why would I? Why would I ever keep that?" Ellis said. "I can save a whole lot more money doing it this way.”
When Ellis worked on East Michigan Avenue, it took him less than 10 minutes to bike to his job, almost the same amount of time as driving.
Ellis thinks Lansing has space to fit a lot more bikes on its streets.
"It has a lot of potential that's being completely underutilized right now," he said. "We have wide roads and a population that does not need the size of our infrastructure, so we have the room to do it."
To get a sense of what the conditions are like for cyclists in the city, Ellis and I take our bikes for a spin down the Michigan Avenue corridor. With the wind at our backs, we start pedaling east from the state Capitol.
There isn't much car traffic as we bike, but the roar of motor engines takes over when drivers pass by us. Their cars kick up gravel and we have to swerve around to avoid the debris. We stick to the rightmost lane and try to stay as far away as we can from the cars.
Our two-and-a-half mile trip takes us through Lansing’s Eastside from the Stadium District past Sparrow Hospital. We end the ride after passing under U.S. 127 near the border of East Lansing.
Ellis says motorists are not used to sharing the road, creating a less safe environment for people who do choose to bike. That concern could dissuade commuters from considering a mode of travel that produces fewer carbon emissions and is beneficial to one's overall health.
"They’re using it as a thoroughfare and they want you to get out of the way," he said.
City officials are trying to change that attitude. They’re planning a nearly $12 million facelift for East Michigan Avenue to repave a one-and-a-half mile stretch of the road from Pennsylvania Avenue to Clippert Street.
In addition to completing utility work and redoing the sidewalk, the project would remove one eastbound lane for cars and use the space to add separated bike lanes. The street currently has two lanes going east and west with a center turning lane. Officials report their traffic analysis shows Lansing needs both westbound lanes to accommodate morning drivers.
Ellis said having a designated cycling lane would make him feel more comfortable cycling down the corridor.
“There aren't cars passing right next to me or being angry that I'm holding up traffic. They are a good six feet to my left," Ellis said. "Even if they were to crash and go spiraling out of control, I've got a line of trees and a curb to protect me.”
People like Ellis want to see Lansing make more space for biking. City officials say they share that goal, as they work to build up to two miles of cycling infrastructure every year.
"Michigan Avenue is important because it is the kind of key connection between downtown and East Lansing and MSU," said Lansing Public Service Director Andy Kilpatrick. "Right now, we do not have bike facilities the entire way."
The Michigan Avenue project was supposed to break ground this fall but faced delays over high construction costs. Kilpatrick says the city is adjusting some minor details of the proposal to reduce expenses, emphasizing that bike lanes should still be included in the streetscape unless the entire project was to be overhauled.
Around three percent of trips in the city are taken by bike, according to Lansing's Public Service Department. Kilpatrick says the city’s goal is to build a connected grid of bike lanes and paths to improve mobility options.
"We want to have it as a network because if it's not a network, cyclists won't use it," said Kilpatrick. "Motorists might have criticism, which is legitimate... if you had a road that stopped and started, people aren't going to use that either."
Lansing is exploring options for bike lanes that could connect to the city's downtown as well as a separate north-south path on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Until that biking infrastructure is built, riders have been taking it upon themselves to make their experience safer.
The Lansing Bike Party coordinates group rides around town. Tim Potter, co-founder of the organization and sustainable transportation manager at MSU Bikes, said the group originally came together as a protest movement to show that bikers have a right to ride in the street.
“We lead by example and I think there’s a lot more safe bicyclists in the region thanks to our weekly rides,” Potter said.
Potter believes there’s strength in numbers — the bike party has been accident-free since it formed in 2009.
I join the bike party one Friday evening at the Lansing Bike Co-op where about 20 riders geared up and ready to go. Potter says having a large turnout makes biking in the city more attractive.
"Say you're driving a car one day, and you see all these people biking. And maybe you're just stuck in a traffic jam during rush hour," Potter said. "You're going to, at some point, start to think, 'well, that looks fun,' or 'that looks healthy,' you know? 'They're getting to work, maybe it's the same amount of time as me driving.' And then it starts to click.”
I jump on my bike and follow the group through low-traffic, residential streets on a 20-mile round-trip ride to Delta Township. The pavement isn't the smoothest and we ride through more than a couple of potholes.
When we do run into drivers, they slow down and give us space when they pass.
For the most part, it is a quiet, peaceful ride.
When the sun sets, we turn on our bike lights and listen to chirping crickets. When we ride down inclines, I take a rest from pedaling and coast downhill.
After a visit to a local brewery, the group rings their bike bells to kick off their departure, riding in the dark back to the city.
It's a far cry from the death grip I had on my handlebars along East Michigan Avenue, and it's going to take a while for biking conditions there to change.
With construction plans for the Eastside corridor on hold for now, it's likely residents will not see a repaved East Michigan Avenue and added bike lanes until 2025 at the earliest.
But if those separated bike lanes do get built, the street could be a prominent route for bikers across the city. The corridor could also see more frequent visits from the Lansing Bike Party.
