The Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) board of directors has scheduled a vote for April 19, 2017 to suspend the Bus Rapid Transit Project indefinitely.
Notice of the meeting was scheduled on the CATA website, and shows an agenda item for a proposed motion to suspend the project indefinitely and authorize the CEO/Executive Director to take action to shut down the project and any associated activities.
CATA tells FOX 47 News the recommendation stems from two factors:
1. Funding for the BRT and many other infrastructure projects throughout the United States was cut from the current president’s proposed FY18 budget. While this is a preliminary budget, the president has made it clear that he intends to eliminate this particular funding source.
2. Additional money, in excess of $700,000, is required to complete the environmental assessment before the FTA will advance the project to the design phase.
The project would have added a designated bus lane down an 8 mile stretch of Michigan and Grand River Avenues, to connect the Capitol with Marsh Road in Meridian Township.
The project was a topic of debate in several Lansing-area cities and townships for several months in 2016 while community leaders who advocated for the project attempted to answer the concerns of local business owners who said that the bus lane would affect accessibility to their businesses. Read the links that accompany this story to find out more about the project.
