Public input wanted on tri-county trails, Lansing Non-Motorized Plan

We’ve covered a lot of ground.

Let’s stop for a minute, take a swig of water and regroup.

Where to next?

There are endless possibilities for connecting the Lansing River Trail and its tributaries to counterparts in neighboring communities and counties.

With the Lansing River Trail at the hub, the system is poised to connect to points across Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties, and to the rapidly forming statewide trail network.

That’s where the public can help. Dozens of pop-up signs have been sprinkled along the Lansing River Trail system by the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, soliciting public input for its Regional Trail Connections project.

Planners want to close gaps and build connections between key regional trails, including the Lansing River Trail, Paul Henry-Thornapple Trail, Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail and Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park.

Lawrence Cosentino/City Pulse The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission is asking for public input on planning the area’s expanding trail system.

An interactive webpage allows residents to weigh in and help shape the future of trail connections across the region. Consultants are already looking at the feasibility, cost and safety of many proposed routes.

The project kicked off with a series of public meetings in April, but if you missed them, no problem.

Meanwhile, the city of Lansing is in the process of updating its Non-Motorized Plan, first developed in 2011, to make the city more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. The public is invited to visit the website listed above and scroll down to the resident feedback form. The city is looking for updated information on the routes residents currently use, the ones they’d like to use and “existing issues in the walking and biking network.”

Finally, if trail users encounter downed trees, flooded areas or other issues, Lansing parks director Brett Kaschinske recommends they report the problem by using the Lansing Connect app.

The app allows users to send a photo of the problem and automatically transmits a precise location via GPS.

“When you have 25 miles of trail, it gives us a picture, an exact location, and boom — we have the information we need to address the issue quickly,” Kaschinske said.