East Lansing wants to ditch some of its surface parking to encourage economic activity and walkability.
East Lansing, Michigan is wrapping up a new master plan for parking in the city in the hopes of fostering walkability and economic activity in the city. Josh Kaplow reports on the plan after the city concluded the public engagement process. A draft plan is expected this month.
“East Lansing is partnering with Walker Consultants, a planning and design firm, to assess the current parking climate and how it is impacted by various factors including seasons, times of the day and times of the week,” writes Kaplow. “The 2018 edition of East Lansing’s master plan noted that surface parking lots consume valuable real estate and decrease a city’s ‘walkability’ and ‘urban atmosphere’ while multi-level parking structures, especially those ‘fronted by first floor real estate,’ cater to a more centralized downtown.”
The new master plan is expected to replace surface parking capacity with parking structures, though the new plan is also expected to account for an increased trend toward public transportation and biking, as well,” according to Laplow.
FULL STORY: East Lansing plans parking to increase downtown walkability, urban atmosphere
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