Fred Wurtzel is blind. He says like many other people with disabilities, he had concerns with CATA's BRT project. Mainly because the bus would have its own lane in the center of the street, meaning people wpi;d have to walk across two lanes of traffic just to get on.
"Especially on Grand River where the traffic moves pretty fast and it's difficult to get from the side of the street out to the center of the street to get on the bus," Wurtzel said.
He also didn't like how the project would've eliminated certain bus stops.
"They were going to move the bus stop way away from the Meijer in Okemos,” Wurtzel said. “That was going to make a big problem for anybody who was going grocery shopping and using that system for getting home with their groceries."
Laurel Burchfield she's seen how rapid transits can benefit communities.
"I'm disappointed. I think this is a project that could've done a lot of good for the community,” Burchfield said. “Could've really tied the region together."
She's happy though that the BRT isn't totally dead... Chairman of the CATA Board of Directors Bob Swanson is in the same boat. Because he says on Michigan Avenue there's still a whole bunch of problems when it comes to get around. And he says the BRT could fix them.
"As traffic becomes more congested, which it's expected to do from the traffic studies we've done,” Swanson said. “The problem's going to get even worse. We'll have to regroup and begin a new approach."
That's why they could still bring back the BRT in the future. Or invest money they would've spent on it on other programs. Wurtzel hopes they use that extra money to help with a bigger picture.
"We need to evaluate the greater transportation system for the whole tri county area. Not just the Michigan avenue corridor," Wurtzel said.
Only time will tell what CATA's future plans are... And if the BRT will come back some day.
6:00 p.m. 4/19/17
CATA's board of directors has voted to suspend the Bus Rapid Transit project because of a lack of funding. The project could be brought back in the future if money becomes available. Last week wilx.com reported CATA executives would recommend killing the BRT because President Donald Trump's budget proposal did not include money for it and because CATA was around $700,000 short of its own contribution.
The BRT is a light-rail line that was supposed to run down Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue from the State Capitol to the Meridian Mall. Business groups including the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce didn't want it built, saying it would be too expensive and could hurt businesses traffic along the route.
