16827 
 
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 B28 
 
 > 
 
XI 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024417093 
 
Cornell University Library 
 NAC 6827 .L27B28 
 
 The Lansing plan :a comprehensive city p 
 
 3 1924 024 417 093 
 
 The Lansing Plan 
 
The City Council entered into a contract 
 with Harland Bartholomew, City Plan 
 Engineer, of Saint Louis, Missouri, on June 
 14, 1920 for the preparation of a compre- 
 hensive City Plan for Lansing. 
 
 The City Council on Sept. 7, 1 920, author- 
 ized Mayor Benjamin A. Kyes to appoint a 
 City Plan Commission. The Mayor appoint- 
 ed the following citizens: Mr. R. H. Scott, 
 Mrs. C. L. Barber (Martha S.) and Messrs. 
 Alfred H. Doughty, C. E. Bement, J. G. 
 Reutter, H. Lee Bancroft and Otto E. Eckert. 
 
 This Commission was constantly in consul- 
 tation with the City Planner. 
 
 In June, 1 92 1 , the City Council directed the 
 City Plan Commission to prepare a Zoning 
 Ordinance. The Commission's final draft 
 of the proposed ordinance was submitted 
 to the City Council April 4, 1 922. 
 
THE LANSING PLAN 
 
 A COMPREHENSIVE 
 CITY PLAN REPORT 
 
 for 
 
 LANSING, MICHIGAN 
 
 By 
 
 HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW 
 
 City Plan Engineer 
 Saint Louis, Missouri 
 
A scene in Potter Park 
 
A comprehensive plan for Lansing must lay dow^n broad 
 principles and policies that will guide, but not necessarily 
 hamper, a growing city. Where details have been worked 
 out in this plan, they should be taken as suggestions rather 
 than final plans. 
 
 To meet the growing demands of Lansing will require the 
 constant attention of a City Plan Commission, and it is, 
 therefore, recommended that such a Commission be provided 
 for in the City Charter. 
 
 Means should be found to co-operate w^ith the State of 
 Michigan to make Lansing a capital of w^hich the state w^ill 
 be proud and in w^hich its citizens w^ill be glad to live. 
 
 The following pages offer suggestions, carefully worked out, 
 that w^ill make for a better city in every way. 
 
 
 LANSING PLAN COMMISSION. 
 
Letter of Transmittal 
 
 Saint Louis, Missouri, 
 October 12, 1921. 
 City Planning Commission, 
 Lansing, Michigan. 
 
 Gentlemen: — It is my pleasure to submit herewith the Compre- 
 hensive City Plan for Lansing prepared in accordance with our agree- 
 ment of July, 1920. 
 
 Aside from the governmental activities of a capital city, Lansing is 
 a rapidly grow^ing industrial city. As such, it has a double responsi- 
 bility. Together with the common problems of most industrial cities, 
 Lansing must concern herself w^ith the city's general appearance if she 
 is to hold her place among other capital cities. Few^ cities may boast 
 of a more advantageous or attractive site than Lansing, though lack of 
 a city plan has in part been responsible for costly mistakes already 
 made. 
 
 In the plan herein proposed Lansing w^ill find an opportunity for 
 the co-ordination of all future improvements, public and private, in 
 the undeveloped areas of the city as well as in the reconstruction of the 
 older areas. Hence the plan should form a program or policy by which 
 growth may be guided in proper channels. The favorable reception 
 already accorded the plan by builders and land developers v^ell illus- 
 trates the advantage it holds for all v^hose interests it may touch and 
 vs^ho are genuinely concerned w^ith the proper upbuilding of their 
 community. 
 
 Lansing has not the difficult problems of street widening, of traffic 
 and transportation common to so many other cities. Its opportunities 
 for splendid accomplishments at comparatively low^ cost are justifica- 
 tion for vigorous initiative while these opportunities are still present. 
 
 Permit me at this time to express the pleasure this work has afforded 
 me and my office representatives in our association v^ith the members 
 of your Commission. The valuable co-operation and assistance of Mr. 
 Otto E. Eckert, City Engineer, and Mr. H. Lee Bancroft, City Forester, 
 has been a source of great help and is hereby gratefully acknov^ledged. 
 
 It was estimated the work in hand w^ould consume approximately 
 eighteen (18) months, which estimate proved essentially correct, my 
 office having been diligently at work on the Lansing plan for a period 
 
of sixteen (16) months. From August, 1 920, to September, 1921, Mr. 
 R. P. Hoffmann, of my office, was in Lansing securing data and in- 
 formation essential to the preparation of the plan, advising with your 
 Commission and assisting in educational work. In addition, six visits 
 of varying duration were made by W. D. Hudson, Earl O. Mills and 
 L. D. Tilton in connection with the various city planning problems, 
 while it has been my personal pleasure to make numerous visits to 
 Lansing during the course of study and preparation of the plan. 
 
 Prior to the preparation of this report separate preliminary reports 
 were submitted on streets, transit, transportation, recreation and zon- 
 ing. It is hoped that the services and plans thus furnished will be an 
 inspiration to continue the improvement of the city in accordance with 
 the comprehensive city plan. 
 
 Respectfully submitted. 
 
 :^ 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 Page 
 Introduction 11 
 
 A Major Street Plan 15 
 
 The Function of Major Streets 
 Problems of Execution 
 Details of Major Street Plan 
 
 Recreation 27 
 
 Recreation in Modern City 
 
 Providing for Recreation in Lansing 
 
 Playgrounds 
 
 Community Centers 
 
 Play Fields 
 
 Parks 
 
 Riverside Parks 
 
 Pleasure Driveways 
 
 Transit 38 
 
 Transit Service in the City 
 
 The Transit Plan 
 
 Lansing's Larger Transit System 
 
 Transportation 44 
 
 Present Railroad Problems 
 Transportation Facilities in Lansing 
 Grade Crossing Elimination 
 Terminal Facilities 
 Freight Terminals 
 
 Lansing's Appearance 48 
 
 Value of Civic Attractiveness 
 
 Lansing's Deficiencies 
 
 Opportunities to Improve Lansing's Appearance 
 
 A Program of Improvement 
 
 Zoning 5 7 
 
 The Lansing Ordinance 
 
 Application of the Zoning Ordinance 
 
List of Plates 
 
 Plate No. Page 
 
 Comprehensive Plan Insert 
 
 1 . Growth of City 10 
 
 2. Lansing's Strategic Position in Michigan 12 
 
 3. Street Widths 15 
 
 4. Street Endings and Jogs 15 
 
 5. Major Street Plan 16 
 
 6. Cross Sections of Proposed Streets 17 
 
 7. Distribution of Population 18 
 
 8. Major Streets and All Others 19 
 
 9. County Highways 20 
 
 1 0. Proposed Street Connections 22 
 
 1 1. Paved Streets and Areas Served with Sewers and Water 25 
 
 1 2. Playground Map 30 
 
 1 3. Playground — Mark Clifford Property 31 
 
 1 4. Elm Street Bridge Playground 32 
 
 1 5. Neighborhood Parks 33 
 
 1 6. Large Parks and Pleasure Driveways 36 
 
 1 7. Present Transit System 38 
 
 1 8. Undeveloped Area 39 
 
 1 9. Present Car Lines and Time Zones 40 
 
 20. New Homes 40 
 
 2 1 . Proposed Transit Plan 41 
 
 22. Evolution of Proposed Transit Plan 42 
 
 23. Railroad Property Industries and Major Streets 44 
 
 24. Grade Crossing Elimination Scheme 45 
 
 25. Proposed Improvements in Railroad Facilities 46 
 
 26. Bancroft Park Entrance 51 
 
 2 7. State Building Group 54 
 
 28. Michigan Avenue Plaza 55 
 
 29. Typical Block Layout showing Height and Area Regulations .... 60 
 
 30. Typical Block Layout showing Present Housing Conditions 60 
 
Plate No. I 
 
THE LANSING PLAN 
 
 Introduction 
 
 In 1837 what is now a busy city had its 
 origin in the thick woods near the confluence of 
 the Grand and Red Cedar Rivers in Michigan. 
 The name of John Woolsey Burchard is asso- 
 ciated with this event. He, it seems, was the 
 first permanent settler and the leading spirit in 
 the new settlement. Through his efforts a dam 
 was built across the larger stream. The water 
 power thus made available proved a stimulus 
 to further growth. Lansing began its existence, 
 consequently, -with a promise of industry. 
 
 The small community was not widely known, 
 however, for several years. Its inaccessibility 
 deprived it of contact with the outside world. 
 But those who came to the site stayed, im- 
 pressed with its possibilities. They built 
 bridges and made local improvements and 
 otherwise aided in the development of a com- 
 munity consciousness that was later to assert 
 itself. It w^as during the controversy in the 
 Michigan legislature over the selection of a 
 new capital site that this small settlement at- 
 tained v/ider recognition. 
 
 The legislature voted in 1847 to remove the 
 state capital from Detroit to a site more 
 centrally located. This action called forth a 
 number of generous offers from hopeful young 
 communities that desired to be the first city 
 of the state. Their claims to a central location 
 were not all valid but some of them did pro- 
 pose valuable land grants and offer other in- 
 ducements to secure the coveted distinction. 
 History does not record the specific repre- 
 sentations which were made by the community 
 on the two rivers but it was selected as the site 
 of the state capital, and officially approved in 
 December, 1 847. If there were any misgivings 
 in the minds of the men who made the decision 
 respecting the adaptability of the new townsite 
 to such distinctive uses they were well offset 
 by the knowledge that it met extremely well 
 the requirements as to location. Its central 
 position in the state has since proved a valuable 
 asset to the city that developed there. See 
 plate No. 2. 
 
 The selection of the little settlement on the 
 Grand River as the new seat of government 
 brought it at once into prominence and greatly 
 encouraged its development. Pursuant to the 
 act of the assembly authorizing the new capital, 
 
 approximately I 500 acres of land on both sides 
 of the river were laid out as the Town of 
 Michigan. There are still in existence plats 
 showing the early layout. 
 
 The land that was selected for the new 
 town was high and mostly covered with a 
 thick growth of timber, a virgin forest. The 
 site, despite the importance which it had at- 
 tained, remained in this condition for some 
 time. Even as late as 1850 it was reported 
 still a "dense wilderness." 
 
 Communication between the capital and the 
 remainder of the state, because of the nature 
 of the country in which it w^as located, was 
 very poor. This isolation thwarted for a time 
 its growing tendencies. There was a general 
 appreciation of the possibilities of the city but 
 their realization was delayed by untoward con- 
 ditions. The completion of a plank road to 
 Detroit in 1852 afforded the first good means 
 of travel to and from the city. 
 
 In 1859 wrhen the name of the capital was 
 changed to the city of Lansing, there was re- 
 corded a population a trifle over 3000. TTiis 
 index of size does not adequately represent 
 the state of affairs in the city itself at that time. 
 The city appeared to be much larger. There 
 was an atmosphere of expansiveness created 
 by the scattered homes and the extensive area 
 laid out in streets and lots. The opportunities 
 of the new capital invited exploitation and 
 soon after the news of its good fortune spread, 
 eastern capitalists and promoters bought up 
 large tracts within the city to hold for specula- 
 tion. The result was the driving of new 
 arrivals to outlying districts and the consequent 
 disuse of much available space closer to the 
 center of the city. This condition, because of 
 the failure of the city to grow as was antici- 
 pated, persisted for many years and was only 
 overcome by the development of better means 
 of communication and the consequent increase 
 of population. 
 
 The coming of the railroads brought about 
 a decided change in Lansing. They gave it 
 the contacts that it had long needed. Five of 
 them entered the city in the ten years from 
 1863 to 1873. The population doubled and 
 industries began to appear. The dominant 
 interest of the capital city quickly turned. 
 
 11 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Industrial activity soon assumed the place that 
 had long before been allotted to it. Like a 
 great many pioneer communities in the new 
 western country Lansing had early hoped for 
 a pronounced industrial grow^th. When the 
 first plat of the city was made there was left 
 along the Grand River large areas designated 
 for "Hydraulic Manufacturing. " These areas 
 finally came into their own after the railroads 
 put Lansing in touch with the proper markets. 
 Today Lansing is as well known to the out- 
 side world for its extensive industries as for its 
 being the capital of Michigan. Its political 
 significance has contributed to its development 
 to some extent, but its size is largely due to 
 its factories. Their diversified products were 
 widely known even before the advent of the 
 automobile. Their prominence did much to 
 fix Lansing as a center for this specialized 
 industry. The present position of the city in 
 the automobile manufacturing world is due in 
 
 no small measure to the ease with which in- 
 terests of this sort could develop here. The 
 pioneer automobile manufacturers were natives 
 of the city. Moreover, there was space availa- 
 ble for factory sites, there was convenient 
 electric power, there were good shipping facil- 
 ities, there was a supply of skilled mechanics, 
 and finally there was the city itself, healthful, 
 attractive, possessing a delightful climate, sur- 
 rounded by a rich and beautiful agricultural 
 region. Lansing was one of the first cities to 
 become noted for automobile manufacturing. 
 The effect of the automobile industry on 
 the city is splendidly shown in the population 
 records. The official figures are as follows: 
 
 I860 3,074 
 
 1870 5,241 
 
 1880 8,319 
 
 1890 13,102 
 
 1900 16,485 
 
 1910 31,229 
 
 1920 57,327 
 
 THE STRATEGIC POSITION 9 
 LANSING c^^ 
 
 IN TIE LOWER MICI-JIGAN PENINSULA teESLSl^gHiTiLV^igJiiJ i°iivJ!liFo 
 
 LtGCND 
 
 CDUNTV SCATS 6r IMQDOTANT CITIES^Sff 
 
 DllLOOiDS INTEOUDBAN LWtS 
 
 dopnciRal iwddovcd highways ^ih^ 
 
 AOIE S 
 
 APIES 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Previous to 1900 the rate of growth of 
 Lansing was not remarkable. It was a com- 
 paratively small city and small cities frequently 
 show high percentages of growth. But after 
 1900, when the rate of growth should normally 
 have dropped, it rose. The population of 
 Lansing increased 89. 4^^ between 1900 and 
 1910 and in the last decade showed a growth 
 only slightly less pronounced, 83^. 
 
 Thus through the eighty odd years of its 
 existence has Lansing grown. It has developed 
 a remarkable power of expansion. Each meas- 
 ure of growth, whether of population, new in- 
 dustries, commercial enterprises, or automobile 
 output, places the city in a position to grow 
 still more. It is doubtful if the vigor of previous 
 years will persist, but there need be no fear 
 that Lansing will soon become sluggish. Indeed 
 it would be extremely unwise to expect any 
 tendencies other than those which have pre- 
 viously been revealed. 
 
 There are facts that ably support a confi- 
 dence in the city's future. Even were there 
 no census figures to show previous growth one 
 could still estimate the future of the city solely 
 by its present character. The once densely 
 wooded plateau upon which the first lines of 
 the city w^ere laid out is now quite compactly 
 built up. The native forest trees have mostly 
 disappeared, but on the streets are many others 
 more regularly planted to take their places. 
 As a home city Lansing satisfies; this in a 
 measure promises further growth. But the 
 most significant guarantees of future expansion 
 lie in the resources of the city attractive to 
 manufacturing interests. 
 
 Many of the primary factors which operate 
 in the localization of industry are strong in 
 Lansing. Its transportation facilities put it in 
 direct contact with both Detroit and Chicago, 
 the chief distributing centers for the region in 
 which Lansing is situated. The four principal 
 railroads dispatch over eighty freight trains 
 through Lansing daily. An industrial belt has 
 been built to open up greater and more con- 
 venient space for manufacturing. An electric 
 interurban freight service supplements that of 
 the steam railroads. Electric power developed 
 along the watercourses of the Lower Peninsula 
 is available in quantity in Lansing. The two 
 rivers on which the city is located provide plenty 
 of water. Coal supplies, especially when the 
 extent of the railroad systems is considered, 
 are comparatively close at hand. The timber 
 resources, for which Michigan is famous, are 
 
 within easy reach, and the iron and steel centers 
 on the south shore of Lake Michigan are but 
 a few hours away. All these facts have a 
 bearing on the future of Lansing's industries 
 and along with them must be mentioned the 
 supply of labor which the city has already 
 developed. This item in itself is of great im- 
 portance. To be able to locate in a community 
 of capable, contented workmen is an object 
 in industry that should not be underestimated. 
 The proper development of this particular 
 factor, how^ever, is becoming increasingly a 
 problem of the city. To make Lansing a 
 better city to live in will be to make it a better 
 city to work in. And with the improvement of 
 living conditions must come also a correction 
 of all defects of the physical city which thwart 
 progress. 
 
 In the following pages, therefore, there is 
 presented a plan for the Lansing of the future. 
 The present city has been studied intimately 
 and thoroughly. Its good features have been 
 noted and made vital parts of the plan. Bad 
 conditions have likewise been examined and 
 measures are proposed to mitigate or destroy 
 them. And finally the raw, unbuilt upon, 
 outlying territory surrounding the city has been 
 broadly surveyed and mapped for the growth 
 which will undoubtedly spread over it in com- 
 ing years. 
 
 It may readily be seen that a two-fold object 
 is sought in the Lansing plan; the correction of 
 certain defects and handicapping conditions in 
 the city as it is today, and the direction of 
 future growth along the most systematic and 
 orderly lines. The present city show^s evidence 
 of haphazardness, carelessness, uncoordinated 
 effort. The best city that could have been 
 built upon the site has not been realized. A 
 large part of the natural beauty of river and 
 woodland, undoubtedly impressive in the early 
 days of the community, has been permitted to 
 disappear. The fact of its being the capital 
 is but very slightly reflected in the appearance 
 of the city. The regularity and order of the 
 street layout of the early "Town of Michigan" 
 has not even been continued. Streets end 
 abruptly, make jogs and vary in width without 
 reason in the areas outside the original town. 
 There is consequent disruption of traffic flow 
 and loss to industry, commerce, and eventually 
 to the residents of the city. All the railroads 
 operate through the city at grade, their cross- 
 ings being both dangerous and wasteful. 
 Separate rights-of-way are used and no effort 
 
 13 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 is made to simplify operation or combine for 
 efficiency and better service. A belt line rail- 
 road has been built for the laudable purpose 
 of opening up more convenient industrial sites 
 but its location was ill-advised with reference 
 to tendencies of growth and an orderly resi- 
 dential expansion. Already the constrictive 
 effect of the belt is being felt. The street rail- 
 way lines have likewise been developed with 
 little regard for the demands of the future. 
 Their relationship to residential and industrial 
 growth and to arterial traffic-ways is not well 
 defined. Some of the lines are in extremely 
 poor position to grow with the city. Parks 
 and play areas, furthermore, have not kept 
 pace with other grow^th. The pronounced 
 industrial character which Lansing has lately 
 assumed should dictate a more thorough in- 
 terest on the part of the city in such facilities. 
 Too great dependence has heretofore been 
 placed on the generosity of individual citizens. 
 As a consequence Lansing is missing the bene- 
 ficial effect of a well-rounded system of rec- 
 reational facilities. In housing the city is more 
 fortunate, but still the standards and safeguards 
 are imperfect. There are no substantial guar- 
 antees that present conditions will continue. 
 TTie city cannot be sure that areas either within 
 or without its limits that are adapted primarily 
 to residential, commercial or industrial uses 
 will be reserved and protected for these 
 respective uses. In its present state Lansing 
 is a strange mixture of factories, stores and 
 homes with certain individual units of each 
 type preempting space properly belonging to 
 another use. Conflict of interest has resulted 
 and incidentally property values have suffered 
 
 unnecessary derangement. TTiese deficiencies 
 all are largely the product of undirected, un- 
 controlled growth. They are in no way pe- 
 culiar to Lansing alone. They are prevalent 
 in varying degree in almost all American cities. 
 The science of city planning has become so 
 preeminently "replanning" because cities have 
 permitted such haphazard conditions to 
 develop. 
 
 A city plan is the best means available to 
 Lansing for the direction of future grovirth. It 
 is the sort of guide which the city should have 
 had when its individuality first began to show. 
 Adopted today it will tend to encourage cor- 
 rections and improvements in the present city 
 which will offset to some extent previous lack 
 of planning. 
 
 But most important of all, the city plan will 
 direct attention to the larger city that is yet 
 to be built. By forethought and coordinated 
 planning Lansing can yet be made a capital 
 city that will far better represent its political 
 and industrial position than does the present 
 city. Built according to a preconceived plan, 
 Lansing should reveal in future years a 
 thoroughly economical use of land space, a 
 harmonious and orderly disposition of factories, 
 stores and homes, a proper placing of schools, 
 parks and public buildings, an efficient transit 
 service, better railroad facilities and a greater 
 interest in the city's general appearances. These 
 characteristics of a city constructed to meet 
 modern conditions cannot, hov/ever, be realized 
 in Lansing unless there is a widespread dis- 
 position to forsake the petty trifling details of 
 growth and view the city as a whole. 
 
 14 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 A Major Street Plan 
 
 The Functions of Major Streets 
 
 The street plan of the Town of Michigan, 
 as Lansing was first named, was unusually 
 generous. Except where the rivers intervened, 
 a checkerboard system w^as rigidly adhered to. 
 There -was an overabundance of streets, many 
 82.5 feet in width. Subsequent growth, piece- 
 meal in character, quite naturally resulted in 
 haphazard street planning. In any considera- 
 tion of means and methods by which to develop 
 a satisfactory street plan, recognition must first 
 be taken of the follow^ing defects: 
 
 Streets of lavish widths and too rigid uni- 
 formity in old portion of city; 
 Lack of differentiation in street width in 
 
 subsequent development; 
 Lack of continuity of streets strategically 
 
 situated ; 
 Too few^ radial streets; 
 No circumferential streets; 
 No well defined policy of land subdivision 
 
 and street platting; 
 Lack of adequate authority for control of 
 
 land subdivision and street platting. 
 The street plan is the basic element of the 
 city plan. A preponderance of wide streets 
 involves waste of land and invites excessive 
 maintenance cost. Streets of insufficient width 
 hamper traffic movement and place an 
 economic handicap on the grow^th of a city. 
 Unbalanced design or distribution of streets 
 may cause unbalanced growth, shifting centers 
 of population and of commerce with conse- 
 quent economic waste. For these reasons it 
 becomes imperative that the modern city evolve 
 a definite program and policy of street planning 
 
 whereby past defects may gradually be cor- 
 rected and future mistakes avoided. 
 
 A major street plan for Lansing becomes 
 now primarily a matter of adjustment. The 
 opportunities of 1921 are not the opportunities 
 of 1847, the date of the establishment of the 
 first city boundaries. (See Plate No. 1 , page 1 0, 
 showing growth of the city area. ) A far more 
 desirable plan could have then been designed. 
 Quite fortunately the establishment and execu- 
 tion of a major street plan for Lansing does 
 not involve a large program of street widening 
 as it does in many other cities. (See Plate No. 3 
 showing width of streets. Note unusual mileage 
 of wide streets.) TTie major street plan of 
 Lansing does involve, however, the elimination 
 of a very considerable number of jogs and 
 abrupt endings (Plate No. 4), the creation of 
 more "through" routes of travel, the develop- 
 ment of "radial" and "circumferential" high- 
 ways, all so connected with each other and 
 with county roads and state highways as to 
 permit an equally well balanced expansion of 
 the city in all directions. 
 
 The various widenings, extensions and open- 
 ings of streets necessary for proper city growth 
 during the next twenty-five to fifty years are 
 shown on the Major Street Plate No. 5. The 
 specific suggestions for improvements in vari- 
 ous streets are suggested in detail below. Plate 
 No. 6 indicates width of roadway and sidewalk 
 for both major and minor streets of various 
 types and in varying stages of development. 
 On Plate No. 7 is shown the distribution of 
 population in Lansing. It is far from uniform. 
 With increased disproportionate distribution of 
 population will come increased economic 
 
 Plate No. 3 
 
 Plate No. 4 
 
 15 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 CITY OF 
 
 LANvSIKG 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 3HOWIlsrG 
 
 PROPOSED MAJOR 
 5TREET 5Y6TEM 
 
 HARLAND BAHTHOLOMEW 
 CITY PLAN ENGINEER . 31. LOUIS 
 
 LEGEND 
 
 ^i^"^ STREETS OF SUmCIENT WtDTK 
 "■ — ^ STREETS TO BE VIOENEO 
 == = == EXTENSIONS AND CONNECTIONS. 
 
 Plate No. 5 
 
 handicaps and financial burdens. Herein lies 
 the justification of meeting the cost involved 
 in the execution of the major street plan. Two 
 forms of procedure are involved in carrying 
 out this plan: (a) condemnation of property 
 in platted areas, (b) regulation of land sub- 
 division in unplatted areas. 
 
 Problems of Execution 
 
 The City of Lansing under its present charter 
 possesses the customary powers of condemna- 
 tion essential to the execution of street open- 
 ings, extensions or widenings in areas already 
 platted. Each year certain of the more im- 
 portant projects should be undertaken in order 
 that there may be gradual realization of the 
 full plan. The costs in this way may be gradu- 
 ally absorbed. That proportion of the cost to 
 be borne by property directly benefited and so 
 assessed may be spread over a period of years, 
 thus distributing payments over the period 
 within which the increases in values will accrue. 
 
 That proportion of the cost to be borne by the 
 city at large may be provided through a bond 
 issue, though the estimated relatively low cost 
 of the major street plan projects recommended 
 justifies the prediction that unless a consider- 
 able number of projects be undertaken at one 
 time the city's share of the cost could usually 
 be absorbed out of current revenues. In this 
 connection it may be suggested that should 
 the proposed constitutional amendment on 
 excess condemnation pass it will prove to be 
 a useful instrument in the gradual execution of 
 the major street plan. 
 
 With respect to the development of the 
 major street plan in unplatted property it is 
 necessary that a definite policy of land sub- 
 division be formulated. This will encourage 
 better standards and more stable types of de- 
 velopment and will undoubtedly meet with 
 the support and co-operation of responsible 
 land development companies and home build- 
 ers. It should hereafter be the concern of the 
 
 16 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 M 
 
 ■.sttfe' 
 
 26' -|^-aH^^3'*^ 
 
 
 ^'^^ 't ■ I I ->^s^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 f- 6o' 
 
 nnriAL development 5IXTY FOOT MINOR 5TEEET ttnal deveudpment 
 
 ^■:^> 
 
 INITIAL DEVQjDPMENT EIGHTY FCSDT MAJOR, 5rREET. hnal development 
 
 
 -i^-r 
 
 IDDD 
 
 |- — izf4 
 
 F, ' .y. ■ *? ? -I, ■ ■■■ v. . .!'- ,.. ' ' .-.!-,',;. 
 
 INITIAL DEVELOPMENT. ONE HUNDRED FOCfT STREET. rnal development 
 
 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FOOT STREET 
 FINAL DEVELOPMENT IN BUSINESJ DISTRICT 
 
 
 
 
 -TzC e'44HJ 
 
 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FGDT STREET 
 
 FINAL DEVELOPMENT IN RESIDENCE DISTRICT 
 
 CROSS SECTIONS OF PROPOSED STREETS. 
 
 LANSING H MICHIGAN 
 
 HARLAND BARTHOUOMEW CITY PLAN EJJSINEEPU. 
 
 ,5AINT LOUIS. MO. 
 
 Plate No. 6 
 17 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 city that land to be subdivided should con- 
 form to the Lansing Plan in every respect. 
 
 Lansing does not possess complete authority 
 by which to insure enforcement of the major 
 street plan in unplatted property. More partic- 
 ularly it lacks authority to control land sub- 
 division immediately outside the city limits. 
 
 Here follows, in some detail, a description 
 of the various streets, existing and proposed, 
 that constitute the major street plan. Un- 
 fortunately space will scarcely permit a 
 thorough explanation of the considerations in- 
 volved in their selection. Suffice it to say, 
 however, that they are given in a certain order 
 of importance, beginning with the radial streets, 
 in which Lansing is particularly deficient, and 
 whose position in the completed structure can- 
 not be overemphasized. 
 
 Details of Major Street Plan 
 
 NORTH STREET, connecting with the high- 
 way system to the northwest, is one of the most 
 
 important entries into the city. Its traffic is 
 distributed chiefly over Seymour and Turner 
 Streets. For present traffic purposes and for 
 many years to come the width of North Street 
 will suffice. This is true, however, only if the 
 whole thoroughfare system to the north of the 
 city is fully developed. If traffic is forced to 
 concentrate on North Street it should be 
 widened. 
 
 TURNER STREET is another extremely 
 valuable radial thoroughfare. It has character- 
 istics similar to North Street, but is more used 
 because of its being part of the trunk line 
 highway system. It should be w^idened to 
 eighty feet and extended northwest to the 
 DeWitt Road. This width is not needed now 
 but should be anticipated by establishing set- 
 back lines. The co-operation of property 
 owners should be enlisted in this as well as 
 other widening plans. Turner Street is not 
 built up solidly north of North Street and the 
 widening process may be carried out now with 
 little expense to the city. 
 
 ^^AP 5HOTINS 
 
 DISTRIBUTION 
 OF 
 
 POPULATION 
 
 NOTE: 
 
 EACH DOT EEPEE5ENTS THREE FAMILIES 
 
 Plate No. 7 
 
 18 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 eiT'V^ O F 
 
 ■aLANiSING 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 MAP SHOWtNG 
 
 PROPOSED MAJOK. 
 STREET SYSTEM 
 
 HAR-LAND BAR.T H O LOME'W 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEEIL- SMNT LOUIS 
 
 ^^— Stbelets of Sufficient Width 
 — — — Stieiets to Bt Widened 
 == Extensions and Connections 
 
 Plate No. 8 
 
 PINE LAKE ROAD for a short distance out 
 of the city is likewise a radial, forming an 
 easterly entry and tributary to Franklin Avenue. 
 It should be continued in a northeasterly 
 direction, parallel to the Michigan Central. 
 
 WASHINGTON AVENUE is the only radial 
 in the southern portion of the city. It is a very 
 valuable street and should be widened through- 
 out to eighty feet. The need of greater width 
 is apparent now and gives this project more 
 than ordinary importance. It should be among 
 the first items of the major street development 
 program. Outside the present city limits Wash- 
 ington Avenue terminates in an east and west 
 road. It should be continued on to meet the 
 north and south road of this section as shown 
 on the major street plan. 
 
 BATTLE CREEK TRUNK HIGHWAY, 
 connecting with Main Street southwest of the 
 city, is the only other radial entry into Lansing. 
 Separation of grades where this street crosses 
 the Grand Trunk Railway is being planned and 
 is a very desirable improvement. 
 
 Supplementing these existing radials are 
 proposed a series of new ones tapping all 
 quarters of the surrounding country. These 
 new streets and their relation to existing streets 
 and to highways outside the city are presented 
 in Plate No. 9. Of these, two deserve special 
 mention. Through the release of the Industrial 
 School property within the city there is offered 
 a splendid opportunity to introduce a new 
 short-cut street leading northeast. The ter- 
 ritory which this thoroughfare would serve is 
 well adapted to residential development. A 
 radial touching Shiawassee Street extended 
 would put the great residential area northeast 
 of the city many minutes closer in traveling 
 time to the business center and to the industrial 
 districts than it would be if it were developed 
 wholly with a rigid rectangular street system. 
 The creation of this new time-saving thorough- 
 fare is to be strongly urged. 
 
 A similar opportunity to introduce a new 
 outlet into a sparsely developed section is 
 
 19 
 
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 found southeast of the business district. The 
 Pere Marquette enters Lansing over a right-of- 
 way that cuts diagonally through both east and 
 west and north and south streets. The rail- 
 road, the lack of street cars, and the fact that 
 persons living near Potter Park have to travel 
 two sides of a triangle, have combined to keep 
 this section from developing properly. A 
 glance at the Population Map, Plate No. 7, 
 will show how sparsely settled this area is. 
 Obviously the district needs new connections. 
 An economical joint use of facilities by Pere 
 Marquette and Grand Trunk would release the 
 right-of-way of the former for a new major 
 traffic way to the southeast. 
 
 As will be seen by reference to the Trans- 
 portation Plate No. 24, it is proposed that the 
 railroads running north and south through the 
 city join in the construction and use of elevated 
 tracks. The Pere Marquette from Trowbridge 
 would parallel the Grand Trunk, and run north- 
 w^ard on the elevated from the intersection of 
 
 the Michigan Central and Grand Trunk. By 
 an exchange of rights-of-way the city could 
 secure the old diagonal right-of-way of the 
 Pere Marquette. It so happens that there are 
 no industries along the present right-of-way 
 to demand its retention. Conferences between 
 railroad and city looking toward the realization 
 of this scheme should be held at once. 
 
 The service of the remaining new diagonal 
 major streets is apparent from the plan. There 
 are no insuperable obstacles in the way of any 
 of them. As successive subdivisions are laid 
 out they should be dedicated, substantially as 
 they are shown on the Major Street Plan. 
 
 The rectangular major street system is more 
 easily comprehended. In suggesting streets 
 for this phase of the system the aim has been 
 to place through, heavy traffic streets at inter- 
 vals of about one-half mile over the entire area 
 of the city. A precise distribution and 
 "through" character have not always been 
 secured because of faulty previous planning. 
 
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 Existing crosstown major streets are as follows: 
 PINE STREET, the first major street west 
 of Washington, is a comparatively short street 
 terminating at Isaac on the south and Willow 
 on the north. Although it might be termed a 
 secondary major street, its location is partic- 
 ularly advantageous. It will serve as a cross- 
 town traffic ■way through a very well developed 
 section of the city. It intersects all the im- 
 portant and centrally located east and west 
 major streets and affords communication be- 
 tween the Olds Motor Works and the industrial 
 district to the north. This makes it a street of 
 no little value. Its present width of 82.5 feet 
 provides ample space in which to increase the 
 paving (roadway width) should future traffic 
 demand. 
 
 LOGAN STI^ET is the only street west of 
 Washington Avenue which offers through com- 
 munication between the northwest and south- 
 west sections of the city. Although the devel- 
 opment of these areas is of comparatively 
 recent date, Logan Street already attracts con- 
 siderable traffic. On it is the only river bridge 
 between Washington Avenue and Waverly 
 Park, and as a consequence a great number 
 of vehicles naturally seek this river crossing. 
 Grade crossings, however, affect the usefulness 
 of this street. Plans for a future new river 
 bridge should include rectification of present 
 street grades and elimination of the Grand 
 Trunk crossings. 
 
 Additional improvements in this street 
 should be made to give it more of the character 
 of a thoroughfare. A cut-off at Warner Street 
 into Alice, a river crossing at the present north- 
 ern limits and a new^ street for a distance of 
 approximately a quarter of a mile in length will 
 connect Logan with North Street and the 
 Dewitt Road. TTiis northward extension will 
 have to be made. 
 
 The improvements suggested will make 
 Logan Street one of the city's most important 
 thoroughfares. Its location, its width, and the 
 probable development of the several sections 
 of the city through which it passes assure its 
 usefulness and will justify the expenditures 
 which may be necessary to give it a "through" 
 character. 
 
 West of Logan Street there are no existing 
 streets which would form a continuous north 
 and south thoroughfare. Several irregular sub- 
 divisions in this section have forced the 
 planning here of a somewhat complicated 
 arrangement of major streets. The industries 
 virhich have settled in the western portion of 
 Lansing have been considered in the major 
 street layout. Ample provision for the dis- 
 tribution of traffic is made. A new north and 
 south major street connecting the industries 
 with the residential territory south of the river 
 has been indicated. This new river crossing, 
 midway between Logan Street and the county 
 line, will undoubtedly prove very useful. See 
 Plate No. 16, page 36. 
 
 CEDAR STREET is the chief element of the 
 first major traffic way east of Grand River. 
 It has been found necessary to join a group of 
 streets to make this thoroughfare. East Street 
 at the north connects with Larch by a cut-off at 
 McKinley Street, and Larch joins Cedar at 
 Franklin. The Cedar Street major traffic way 
 traverses a district which already gives evidence 
 of future industrial activity. In addition to the 
 large vehicular movement which will conse- 
 quently originate or terminate on this street it 
 will, undoubtedly, because of the connections 
 north and south, invite a great deal of through 
 traffic. For this reason its predominant width 
 of 82.5 feet should be provided throughout. 
 The elimination of the grade crossing of the 
 Pere Marquette Railroad at Beaver Street as 
 
 ia-jASi- 
 
 '^Ik'i^-^ 
 
 Illustrating the raw, uncouth eflect of imposing a rectangular system of street 
 platting upon irregular topography. 
 
 21 
 
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 CITY OF 
 
 LANSING MICHIGAN 
 
 PIIOPOSED STR.EET EXTENSIONS AND CONNECTIONS 
 
 HAB-LAND BAR-THOLOMEW 
 
 CITY PLAN ENGINEEE. ST LOUIS MO 
 
 Plate No. 10 
 
 22 
 
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 treated in the Railroad Plate No. 24, will 
 greatly add to the usefulness of this street. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE is the longest 
 continuous north and south street east of Cedar. 
 Although it connects with no trunk line roads 
 its exceptional width and location makes it a 
 valuable unit of the major street plan. Through 
 the central part of the city, however, Pennsyl- 
 vania Avenue has a boulevard character which 
 should be continued southward making it 
 more suitable as a pleasure w^ay. North of 
 Franklin the Pine Lake Road will form the 
 entry by way of High Street, with east and 
 west diversion. Traffic using Pennsylvania 
 south of Kalamazoo will find opportunity for 
 distribution at the new thoroughfare on the 
 Pere Marquette right-of w^ay. 
 
 HOLMES STREET and several others east 
 of Pennsylvania are joined to supplement the 
 latter as a north and south thoroughfare. The 
 usefulness of this route will aWays be limited 
 by the abrupt termination at Potter Park, but 
 the necessity of having such a major street in 
 this section may be clearly seen when its re- 
 lationship to the new^ streets through the in- 
 dustrial school property is studied. To make 
 Holmes Street and its complements fully 
 serviceable, however, the narrow Ohio and 
 Cleveland Avenues should both be widened to 
 not less than sixty-six feet. TTie former is now 
 sixty and the latter fifty feet w^ide. Ohio, more- 
 over, should be given a better connection with 
 Cleveland at Taft. The present arrangement 
 of these streets is a great handicap to traffic 
 circulation and an obstacle to transit extension. 
 
 CLEMENS AVENUE with a connection 
 through to Wood Street at the Grand River 
 Road, and an extension to the south to Mount 
 Hope Avenue can be made a splendid major 
 traffic way. Development is now gradually 
 
 approaching and absorbing tracts adjacent to 
 it. Industrial school lands have blocked east 
 and west street extensions but with the removal 
 of the school, these lands will in all probability 
 be available for other uses. The major street 
 plan should guide new street layouts in this 
 section. 
 
 MICHIGAN AVENUE (east) is second to 
 Washington Avenue as a business street. It is, 
 however, probably the most important highway 
 entry into Lansing. It intersects the old Grand 
 River Road, or the Detroit trunk line road, in 
 East Lansing and carries most of the traffic 
 into the city from the east, displacing to a 
 
 certain extent the old Grand River Avenue 
 
 Franklin Avenue route. The latter, however, 
 still offers a very direct route through Lansing 
 to the northwest for those who do not find it 
 necessary to enter the business district. 
 
 Aside from the vehicular traffic, Michigan 
 Avenue carries also a double track trolley line 
 from Washington Avenue to the city limits. 
 In paving the street from the Michigan Central 
 east the roadway has been v/idened to sixty- 
 eight feet to Pennsylvania and fifty feet beyond, 
 which will care for traffic for some years. It 
 should be pointed out that the present street 
 width, one hundred fifteen feet, however, per- 
 mits this to be done without affecting abutting 
 properties, illustrating the advantage of the 
 city of having ample street width available 
 v/here it is needed. Provision should be made, 
 however, to carry the full 99 feet in width 
 clear to East Lansing, and to create the plaza 
 at Ranney Park proposed in Plate No. 28. 
 
 ALLEGAN and OTTAWA STREETS have 
 been designated as major streets w^est of the 
 Capitol, supplanting Michigan Avenue (west) 
 which terminates at the Capitol grounds. 
 Allegan and Ottawa actually serve as major 
 
 The dignity and character of Pennsylvania Avenue is wholly 
 upset by a hideous row of poles. 
 
 Poles recently removed. 
 
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 streets to their present termini at the city limits. 
 Here it is proposed to converge them by means 
 of short connections to Michigan Avenue. Not 
 only will this distribute traffic through the con- 
 gested center; it will encourage a further dis- 
 tribution of the traffic destined either to the 
 north or south. A glance at the Major Street 
 Plate No. 8 will show the street arrangement 
 proposed for this section as a means of offering 
 traffic a choice of routes. 
 
 SHIAWASSEE STREET is the f^rst of the 
 three streets north of Michigan Avenue which 
 crosses the Grand River. An extension through 
 the Industrial School property to Vine Street 
 and a short diagonal from an eastern extension 
 of Vine Street to Michigan Avenue will make 
 Shiawassee a by-pass street, not only capable of 
 serving a considerable area of the city but a 
 valuable relief for East Michigan Avenue. The 
 Vk^estern terminus of Shiaw^assee is nov/ at Jen- 
 ison. A diagonal southwest from here will 
 connect it w^ith Michigan and still further assist 
 the distribution of traffic through the central 
 area. 
 
 SAGINAW STREET provides an entrance 
 into the city from Grand Ledge and Grand 
 Rapids. On it is located the second river 
 crossing north of Michigan Avenue. This 
 street affords a direct connection between the 
 residential district on the west and the indus- 
 tries on the east side of the river. Tlie street 
 is of sufficient width v/est of Pennsylvania 
 Avenue but from there east it should be 
 widened to eighty feet and extended as addi- 
 tional territory east of the city is platted. 
 
 FRANKLIN AVENUE, being a part of the 
 old Plank Road from Detroit, early became the 
 main street in North Lansing. Most of the 
 traffic on this street, however, is east of Wash- 
 ington Avenue. A cut-off across the north end 
 
 of the School for the Blind property to Warner 
 Street would greatly increase the usefulness of 
 Franklin Avenue. The development which will 
 undoubtedly take place in the northwest section 
 makes this connection most desirable. A single 
 track car line is now laid in Franklin Avenue. 
 Should it ever become necessary to have a 
 double track on this street, its present width 
 will be ample to provide for the necessary 
 widening of the roadway. Warner Street, how- 
 ever, should be widened to eighty feet. 
 
 KALAMAZOO STREET bears much the 
 same relation to Michigan Avenue as does 
 Shiawassee Street. A new bridge, the rectifi- 
 cation of the dangerous and indirect approach 
 on the west side, and the elimination of the 
 grade crossing on the east side, will greatly 
 increase the usefulness of this street. A 
 diagonal to Michigan Avenue from its present 
 intersection with Clippert w^ill prove advantage- 
 ous as a means of inviting a distribution of 
 traffic that nov^r is forced to use Michigan 
 Avenue. A similar new street at its western 
 terminus at McPherson Street is also recom- 
 mended. The tracts which these new streets 
 traverse have not yet been developed. Be- 
 tween the Michigan Central and Hosmer, and 
 from Holmes east, Kalamazoo Street should 
 be widened to eighty feet. The elimination of 
 grade crossings on this route is essential to its 
 full development. 
 
 ST. JOSEPH STREET and MAIN STREET 
 comprise the next main thoroughfare south of 
 Kalamazoo. Full improvement of these streets 
 involves the construction of a new river bridge 
 at St. Joseph Street, platting of a new street 
 east of the Pere Marquette, and widening from 
 the Michigan Central east to the Pere Mar- 
 quette. At the Cedar River this street should 
 
 A bird's-eye, aeroplane view of a new subdivision planned 
 
 in an attractive way by men who were not afraid 
 
 to depart from a rectangular precedent. 
 
 Where Washington Avenue becomes narrower south of the 
 Grand Trunk crossing. 
 
 24 
 
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 meet a new north and south major street, and 
 with it cross the river into undeveloped ter- 
 ritory. At the western city limits the trunk 
 line road to Battle Creek can be brought to 
 St. Joseph Street by a short connection, details 
 of which appear on Plate No. 1 0. 
 
 ISAAC STREET and ELM STREET, with 
 the new bridge at Elm Street over the Grand 
 River, will become a valuable thoroughfare 
 for east and west bound traffic across this 
 section of the city. To add to the usefulness 
 of this major street it should be extended west 
 to meet the Battle Creek highway. 
 
 The MOORE'S RIVER DRIVE— BAKER 
 STREET route should be widened throughout 
 to sixty-six feet. This is the only thoroughfare 
 lying between Mount Hope Avenue and the 
 Grand River. It is already a very busy traffic 
 way. The proposed diagonals at each end 
 of this artery connect with Mount Hope Avenue 
 and would make this street much more useful. 
 
 MOUNT HOPE AVENUE is the longest 
 single street in the whole major street system. 
 
 It is a thoroughfare extremely well located but 
 as yet accommodating a comparatively small 
 amount of traffic. As the city continues to 
 expand to the south, however, it will become 
 a great deal more important. Its present width 
 will not adequately meet future requirements; 
 it should be widened to eighty feet. 
 
 Of all the streets enumerated, probably the 
 most important are the diagonal streets and 
 circumferentials. The most important of these 
 is that which extends northeast from the In- 
 dustrial School Grounds. This street would 
 provide a direct entry into the city. As none 
 of the property through which it passes is at 
 present improved or developed, a wonderful 
 opportunity is presented for developing an 
 artery which will have a great influence on the 
 city's future expansion. In a like manner 
 similar radials have been proposed to the 
 southeast, southwest and northwest. Tbese and 
 the counter-radials or circumferentials are, 
 generally speaking, through undeveloped 
 territory. 
 
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 In addition to the diagonals a number of 
 new rectangular streets have been planned. The 
 locations of these anticipate future expansion. 
 They are so placed as to provide direct north 
 and south and east and west "through" routes 
 across the city. Now is the time to establish 
 the rights of the city with respect to such streets 
 and to safeguard these rights-of-way against 
 conditions which would later make the ac- 
 quisition of the necessary property very costly. 
 
 Plate No. 1 illustrates many of the details 
 of the improvements suggested above. By 
 providing the connections shown and by in- 
 sisting upon the extensions of the designated 
 major streets, as shown upon the Major Street 
 Plan, Lansing can evolve out of the haphazard 
 jumble of streets on the outskirts a street lay- 
 out capable of rendering service to the larger 
 city. For traffic coming into the city over the 
 county highways, there will be offered direct 
 and inviting thoroughfares to the business 
 section. For traffic movement in later years, 
 counter radials are suggested which will provide 
 for circulatory passage through what is now 
 
 the outskirts of the city. For the relief of 
 traffic congestion in the downtown district, 
 there are provided by-pass connections from 
 both north and south, and east and west. 
 
 When tested in detail by the problems of 
 actual traffic movement, the major street plan 
 proposed will be found adequate. From any 
 part of the city it should be possible, without 
 going farther than a quarter of a mile, to reach 
 a major street having direct connections with 
 other major streets leading to any other part 
 of the city. As the city grows these streets 
 should invariably be the first paved in any 
 new^ district, and it should be the rule that by 
 their w^idth and the character of the improve- 
 ment that is given them, these streets naturally 
 attract through traffic. This differentiation and 
 concentration of traffic on well-chosen routes 
 will aid symmetrical and economical expansion. 
 A fully developed major street system will 
 assure the city the strong framework of 
 thoroughfares which is essential to orderly 
 growth. 
 
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 Recreation 
 
 Recreation in the Modern City 
 
 Provision of facilities for public recreation 
 is an obligation of the modern city. There is 
 a certain minimum of space which should be 
 set aside for the recreation of small children, 
 for whom play is the first form of education; 
 for adolescent youth, for w^hom out-of-door 
 sports and games are vital necessities; for 
 grown-ups, for whom quieter, more passive 
 pleasures in the open air are equally essential. 
 For the small children there should be play- 
 grounds within easy walking distance. For 
 the more active older children and youth there 
 should be playfields and areas for more highly 
 organized games and sports. For adults there 
 should be neighborhood parks, and large parks 
 on the outskirts of the city in which are reserved 
 generous tracts of native scenery. Supplement- 
 ing these chief items of the well rounded rec- 
 reational equipment should also be many small 
 open spaces, squares, triangles and the like, 
 which, while not affording opportunity for 
 active play do soften and modify the every-day 
 outlook of people who live in the thickly built- 
 up sections. Moreover, there should be social 
 centers in which community spirit may find 
 expression under public auspices. TTiese 
 elements of a complete system of recreational 
 facilities cannot properly develop in the city 
 without municipal aid. The city should not 
 grow without planning for them. 
 
 The expansion of the city's recreational 
 equipment must keep pace with growing 
 demands. Flans for this expansion must be 
 
 formulated along with those for new streets, 
 new^ street car lines, new residential districts, 
 and the like. In the city plan, consequently, 
 is a section which aims to outline for municipal 
 officials an organic scheme for the constant 
 improvement and extension of recreation facil- 
 ities. Not being a complete recreational survey, 
 it deals not so much with the type or character 
 of individual elements of the system, or the 
 organization and policies of the personnel 
 which directs their use, as with the proper 
 distribution of units and the reservation of 
 adequate land space for them in advance of 
 needs. 
 
 Viewed broadly, therefore, a plan for the 
 advancement of public recreation in Lansing 
 must comprehend the follow^ing: 
 
 ( I ) Development of facilities for organ- 
 ized play which will not overlap and 
 which will be under competent and 
 proper direction. 
 (2) Extension of neighborhood park 
 facilities so that parks of this char- 
 acter may be accessible to larger 
 numbers and so that the present much 
 abused small areas may be relieved 
 and given more orderly development. 
 
 27 
 
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 (3) The rounding out and development 
 of outer park facilities so that areas 
 similar to Potter Park and Moores 
 Park may be as convenient to the 
 northwestern and northeastern parts 
 of the city as these two areas are 
 respectively to their immediate 
 neighborhoods. 
 
 (4) The creation of a splendid encircling 
 chain of drives touching all park sites 
 and making accessible all the partic- 
 ularly beautiful river scenery of 
 Lansing. 
 
 (5) The development, wherever oppor- 
 tunity is presented, of small squares, 
 triangles, plazas and the like, so that 
 these features by their very numbers 
 will add to the dignity and character 
 of the capital city. 
 
 (6) The co-operation of all agencies in- 
 terested in social development to the 
 end that Lansing may have properly 
 located centers for the accommoda- 
 tion of normal community social 
 activities. 
 
 Plans and suggestions for the accomplish- 
 ment of the aims enumerated above should be 
 considered as more than mere Utopian fancies. 
 A broad, wholehearted concern for matters 
 affecting public recreation is a valuable civic 
 asset. A city that has a vital interest in its 
 parks and pleasure grounds is known to be 
 advancing. It benefits in many ways from its 
 interest. The proposals which are made here 
 for the extension and betterment of recreational 
 facilities in Lansing can but be accepted for 
 what they seek to accomplish — the constant 
 improvement of living conditions in Lansing. 
 
 Providing for Recreation in 
 Lansing Playgrounds 
 
 Playgrounds and spaces for games and 
 sports, because of the inadequacy of these 
 facilities in Lansing, must receive immediate 
 consideration. Of primary importance in de- 
 veloping such features is the fixing of responsi- 
 bility for providing the necessary physical 
 equipment. Some doubt exists as to the logical 
 centering of this responsibility. The Board of 
 Education is making some effort to care for 
 the normal play desires of school children. 
 The Park Board, as a part of its park develop- 
 ment program, is installing playground 
 
 apparatus in some of the parks. There is dup- 
 lication of effort. The fixing of responsibility, 
 therefore, is vital. This could quickly be ac- 
 complished by conference between representa- 
 tives of those agencies which are interested in 
 playground work. 
 
 It seems almost the universal experience in 
 other cities that playground activities are better 
 concentrated in the public school system. 
 Certain it is that all the organized play activities 
 of the city were better administered by some 
 department of the municipality rather than by 
 private agencies. The Board of Education, 
 because of the fact that it maintains a personnel 
 qualified for teaching purposes is in position 
 to organize and administer a playground staff. 
 Furthermore, the physical plant of the school 
 system lends itself well to organized play 
 activities. A great share of the value of play- 
 ground work depends upon the ability of the 
 directing organization to teach children to play. 
 The mere provision of equipment is but a part 
 of the problem. For this reason the educational 
 system of the city has come to be considered 
 the logical place for the centering of this 
 activity. 
 
 If the playground work of Lansing is to be 
 extended, however, it will be necessary for the 
 Board of Education to adopt a different policy 
 with respect to the provision of play space 
 about the schools. With very few exceptions 
 school buildings are not only poorly located on 
 their sites, but the areas surrounding them are 
 much too small for even the free, undirected 
 play of the children. There is, in newer build- 
 ings, however, evidence of a desire to correct 
 this policy. 
 
 The Warner Street School in the size of 
 its grounds and the general placing of the 
 building, is perhaps representative of the best. 
 The Barnes Avenue School ground is another 
 example of a more spacious play area. Both 
 these schools have yards large enough for play- 
 ground purposes and their value will be better 
 appreciated as the school population surround- 
 ing them increases. But many other schools 
 which are much more advantageously situated 
 are handicapped for want of space. Because of 
 this condition it is difficult to suggest precise 
 locations of playgrounds based on the needs of 
 the city. In practically all districts where the 
 school population is densest and where play- 
 grounds would be of greatest service the 
 present convenient school yards are cramped 
 and surrounded by improved property. An 
 
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 intimate study of the whole playground situa- 
 tion in Lansing leads to the following con- 
 clusions : 
 
 ( 1 ) The responsibility for the manage- 
 ment and establishment of play- 
 grounds should be taken by the public 
 school officials. 
 
 (2) This centering of responsibility need 
 not deter the Park Department from 
 co-operating in playground develop- 
 ment. 
 
 (3) The establishment of playgrounds 
 should conform to a carefully planned 
 arrangement of playground service 
 areas, taking account of the distribu- 
 tion of school children, the character- 
 istics of various districts, artificial 
 barriers such as railroads, car lines, 
 etc., and similar factors. See Plate 
 No. 12. 
 
 (4) Playgrounds should be maintained 
 yearly in the following locations: 
 
 (a) Ferris Park 
 
 (b) Moores Park 
 
 (c) Allen Street School 
 
 (d) Christiancy School 
 
 (e) Walnut Street School 
 
 (f) Franklin Avenue School 
 
 (g) On the site of Kalamazoo Street 
 
 School 
 (h) Cedar Street School 
 (i ) In the district now served by the 
 
 Cherry Street School 
 (j ) In the district now served by the 
 
 playground in Oak Park 
 (k) Logan Street School 
 (1 ) On property recently given the 
 
 city by Mr. Mark Clifford 
 (m) Successively as demand arises 
 
 in additional districts shown on 
 
 Plate No. 1 2. 
 
 Of the playground locations enumerated 
 above the first four have already been desig- 
 nated for 1921. It should be noted in con- 
 sidering these units, however, that none of 
 them fully answers for a modern playground. 
 Those in the two parks should be better 
 planned and laid out with reference to other 
 park interests. The playgrounds at the present 
 time disfigure both areas needlessly. The play- 
 grounds at the two schools, Allen Street and 
 Christiancy, while serving splendid districts, 
 have hardly sufficient space. These play areas 
 should be permanent and for that reason it is 
 
 recommended that certain additional space 
 now available adjacent to these schools be 
 secured for play purposes. The addition of a 
 small tract to each of the school grounds in 
 question would bring each to approximately 
 two acres, which is a well-established minimum 
 for the size of playgrounds. 
 
 In Oak Park a playground has been main- 
 tained for 1921, but this location, in view of 
 the value of the park as a park, cannot be 
 wholly approved. It is suggested, therefore, 
 that the playground in Oak Park be considered 
 temporary and that an entirely separate new 
 playground serving this same district be created. 
 For this there are several sites available at the 
 present time. The Industrial School offers 
 ample space for a playground which would be 
 located nearer the center of the district now 
 served by the Oak Park playground. There 
 is also considerable unused space in the interior 
 of the block lying between Saginaw, Pennsyl- 
 vania, May and East Park Terrace that could 
 be transformed into a very satisfactory interior 
 playground. This property should be acquired, 
 for if properly developed it would be one of the 
 most economical uses of land space in the city. 
 
 The remainder of the playground sites speci- 
 fied above may be divided roughly into two 
 classes; those w^hich should be established 
 immediately, and those which can be devel- 
 oped in the course of time. Playgrounds are 
 urgently needed now at the Walnut .Street 
 School, at the Cedar Street School, at the 
 Franklin Avenue School, at the old Kalamazoo 
 Street School, and in the district now served by 
 the Cherry Street School. 
 
 The present grounds of the Walnut Street 
 School, chiefly because of the location of the 
 old school building, are hardly sufficient for 
 thoroughly satisfactory playground work. Re- 
 construction of the school building is contem- 
 plated, however, and when this takes place the 
 new building may be so located as to release 
 a larger area for the playground. The School 
 Board, by purchasing adjacent property, also 
 may add to the present play area. 
 
 The Cedar Street School is a splendid site 
 for a playground because it stands in the midst 
 of a large surrounding school population. The 
 general character of the district also emphasizes 
 the need of a convenient playground. The 
 yard of the Cedar Street School, however, is 
 very cramped and not to be enlarged without 
 considerable expense. The necessity of a play- 
 ground in this district is so strong, however, 
 
 29 
 
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 that it is suggested that property be purchased 
 in the interior of the block between Cedar, 
 Larch, Wall and Ash. About two acres of 
 open space is available here. The service 
 which a playground in this location would 
 render its surrounding district w^ould soon 
 justify the acquisition of the space. 
 
 At the Franklin Avenue School there is 
 already a fair sized yard, but the location of 
 the building makes it not altogether suitable 
 for playground uses. A permanent playground 
 is urgently needed at this school, however, and 
 in order to provide sufficient space for it in the 
 future, the School Board should commence the 
 acquisition of surrounding property. If taken 
 at once several parcels amounting to about one 
 acre could probably be secured now. 
 
 It is practically impossible at the present 
 time to find space in the neighborhood of the 
 Cherry Street School to serve as a playground. 
 The nearest possible site is to the west of River 
 
 Street between Spring and Heizel and the Cedar 
 River. If this tract can be secured it should be 
 converted at once into a playground. 
 
 A playground also is badly needed on the 
 grounds of the old Kalamazoo Street School. 
 Space here is not available now but will be at 
 some future time when the old school building 
 is abandoned. The need of a playground at 
 this site is so pronounced that it would seem 
 advisable to consider the space in the rear of 
 the new^ intermediate school for no other use. 
 Enlargement of the present enormous inter- 
 mediate school building should not be made 
 until this problem of providing adequate play- 
 ground space for this district is thoroughly con- 
 sidered. The only other w^ay of meeting the 
 playground needs of this section is by the 
 establishment of such service at the Logan 
 Street School, which cannot satisfactorily be 
 done without enlarging the grounds of this 
 school. 
 
 dlT^i^ O F 
 
 a LAN>SING m 
 
 \1 1 C H I G A. N 
 
 JRAP SHOWING 
 
 PLAYGROUND DISTRICTS 
 SCHOOLS 6- SCHOOL POPULATION 
 
 HAR.LAND BAR.THOLOMEW 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEtR-- SM^^T LOUIS 
 19 "Pi 
 
 
 L blXEH JTP'^ET 11 HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 2 WBNES AVENUE 12 KALftMAZOO ST NEW MTEllMrDm^ 
 
 3 BITOHAM STEEET D LAOCH STBErr 
 
 4 CEDAD STDEE7 H LOGAN STBEE 
 
 5 C^^£E!rt STBEET 13 «flPLEWOO& / 
 
 6 CHOISTflNCY AVE Ifi /AICMIGAN AYE / 
 ... 7 EASI PAgK .-C-M OO eES-P AO 
 
 a f'OftHKLiH 
 
 9-TO5TEQ AVENUE 
 10 GENESEE SraEET 
 
 "B^OWNTERtTiT 
 
 19 WALMUT ST I 
 
 2Q WAONEBSTBi 
 
 ^I^ 
 
 LEGEND 
 
 □ DISTEJCTS IN WHICH PLAYGCOUNDS 
 AliE NOV^ ESTABLISHED 
 
 [_ [ DISTCICTS NEEDING PLAYGBOUNDS 
 
 WSTBJCTS IN WHICH PLAYGEOUNDS 
 SHOULD BE PLANNED AS SCHOOL 
 POPULATION INCREASES 
 
 CACH DOT (■) a£Pa.ESENTS ONE OflLD 
 a P REM NT PLAVGAOUHOS 
 
 * posatLe PLftYGsouND sttes 
 
 @[>rOOOSSO ATW-ETIC CCXTBIS 
 
 Plate No. 12 
 30 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 With those playgrounds already established 
 and by the development of additional ones in 
 the districts noted, practically the entire area 
 of the present built-up city will be given play- 
 ground service. There are outlying areas, how- 
 ever, which are rapidly being built up and 
 which in the course of time will come to need 
 playgrounds. A number of these districts are 
 shown on Plate No. 1 2 but no specific recom- 
 mendations are made as to the locations of 
 individual units. It should be mentioned, 
 however, that space is already available at 
 both the Warner Street and Barnes Avenue 
 school and on property in the eastern part of 
 the city which has recently been given to the 
 city for school and playground purposes by 
 Mr. Mark Clifford. A sketch plan has been 
 prepared for this latter property as an indica- 
 tion of the orderly arrangement which should 
 prevail on all new school grounds. See Plate 
 No. 13. 
 
 In the building up of a thoroughly serviceable 
 playground system in Lansing, a considerable 
 sum of money will undoubtedly have to be 
 spent. There is such a high value in play- 
 ground instruction, however, that large expen- 
 ditures for the establishment of permanent 
 recreational facilities of this type are justified. 
 It should be the aim of the Board of Education 
 in assuming the responsibility for this particular 
 activity to equip the present city with play- 
 grounds properly located and to lay plans for 
 the extension of these facilities in present unde- 
 veloped territory. The cost of providing 
 Lansing at this time w^ith playgrounds and of 
 preparing for the city's future growth can meet 
 with no serious objections when the service 
 rendered is thoroughly understood. 
 
 Community Centers 
 
 TTie School Board of Lansing, moreover, 
 has an opportunity to provide the equipment 
 for the community center activities of the city. 
 School buildings with swimming pools, gym- 
 nasiums, branch libraries, auditoriums, and club 
 rooms are being built in many cities of the 
 United States now as part of a new educational 
 policy which recognizes other forms of educa- 
 tion than those commonly associated with 
 school rooms, desks and black-boards. TTie 
 adoption of the policy of building schools 
 adapted to the wider use of the community will 
 be well in keeping with the spirit of progressive 
 municipalities. The more a city assumes the 
 responsibility of providing for the wholesome 
 
 > i 
 
 ^H' 
 
 
 \ H I 
 
 Plate No. 13 
 
 recreation of its citizens, the greater will be the 
 returns in health and good citizenship. 
 
 Play fie Ids 
 
 For the provision of facilities for more active 
 play, such as games, sports, tournaments and 
 the like, the Park Board must be held respon- 
 sible. This phase of public recreation has not 
 yet received all the attention deserved from the 
 city. Instead of attempting to concentrate 
 tennis courts, foot ball fields, swimming pools, 
 baseball diamonds and croquet lawns in one 
 small park, as is done at Oak Park, there should 
 be certain areas, aside from these neighborhood 
 parks, developed exclusively for such uses. A 
 suitable space for the development of an ex- 
 tensive playfield is at present available in the 
 neighborhood of the new Elm Street bridge. 
 A sketch plan is shown illustrating how this 
 area may be developed. See Plate No. 1 4. 
 
 Areas similar to this can be found in other 
 sections of the city. They are indicated on 
 Plate No. 12. These playfields can be devel- 
 oped exclusively for games and sports and by 
 their attraction thus relieve the quieter parks 
 in residential districts of the disturbances which 
 usually attend such active play. Given a series 
 of such playfields, it should not be difficult, 
 with the proper park organization, to have 
 each year a series of park athletic teams com- 
 peting with each other for individual and team 
 prizes. The benefits which would accrue to 
 the city through having this number of young 
 men withdrawn from enervating indoor resorts 
 cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. The 
 city would find its investment in such facilities 
 amply repaid in the course of a few years. 
 
 31 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Parks 
 
 Just as there is coming to be a distinction 
 between playgrounds proper and playfields, 
 so in the modern park system differentiation 
 is made between what are known as neighbor- 
 hood parks and the larger, more naturalistic, 
 outlying parks. A neighborhood park is a 
 park of moderate size, situated as near as 
 possible to a thickly built-up section. Such 
 parks, because of their accessibility and size, 
 usually have a very intensive use. The char- 
 acter of their development consequently is of 
 great importance, for they must be made one 
 hundred per cent useful and yet retain a large 
 measure of that natural quality which makes 
 them attractive rest places for the neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 Oak Park and Moores Park in Lansing are 
 good examples of a neighborhood park. An 
 examination of Plan No. 1 5 will show the 
 locations of these parks and the districts which 
 they may normally be expected to serve. This 
 map, moreover, will indicate the great need of 
 similar areas in other sections of the city. Only 
 approximately one-eighth of the population of 
 Lansing is convenient to these two neighbor- 
 hood parks. The result is that both of them 
 have been improved to provide too diverse 
 recreational facilities and that the small squares. 
 Central Park, Ferris Park, and Durant Park, 
 are subjected to a usage to which they are not 
 well adapted. TTie correction of this condition 
 
 is a task to which the Park Board should early 
 direct its attention. 
 
 Owing to the fact that the districts not now 
 served, but much in need of neighborhood 
 parks, are already thickly built up, the acquisi- 
 tion of sites for such parks in the central portion 
 of the city is practically impossible. Plan No. 
 15, however, indicates certain neighborhoods 
 in which it might be possible to secure the 
 space needed for a neighborhood park. These 
 parks are shown on the Comprehensive Plan. 
 At least twenty acres, which is the size of Oak 
 Park, should be acquired for a recreation 
 ground of this character. The possibilities of 
 purchasing property for these parks in the 
 districts indicated should be investigated at 
 once. The aim of the Park Board in building 
 up an adequate series of neighborhood parks 
 should be to locate them in such a way that 
 their districts, each approximately one mile 
 square, cover the entire area of the city. The 
 neighborhood park service which is suggested 
 in Plate No. 1 5 will give a good indication of 
 the standard distribution of these areas. 
 
 The Board of Park Commissioners may find 
 it difficult at this time to acquire the property 
 to round out the park facilities of the present 
 built-up city. In this case it should be the aim 
 to provide the future city, which is to grow 
 outside the limits of the present one, with parks 
 of this sort properly distributed. The needs of 
 the larger city should be anticipated. The need 
 of foresight in reserving space for recreation 
 facilities cannot be too strongly emphasized. 
 
 l A SUGGESTED lAYOUT FOR 
 APLAYnELDNEARTHE 
 ELM STREET BHDGE 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 LANvSING 
 
 • MI C H I G A N 
 
 BS 
 
 MAP SHOWTNQ 
 
 NEIOHBORHOOD PAEX DISTRICTS 
 
 &■ 
 
 DISTRJBUTION OF POPULATION 
 
 HAB-LAND BAR.THOLOMEW 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEEJtr SAINT LOUIS 
 
 EFFECTIVE EADIUS OF NBGHBCaiHOC© 
 EA£KS APPRQXIMArEI.Y >i AULC 
 
 IMPCX7VED NQQHBORHOCD PASj:^ 
 
 raSTEJCTS SEEVKD BSf NElGHBOftHOOD EAJ1K3 
 
 UNimPROVED NEISHBORHOOD PAEX 
 
 DISTRICT IN WmCH NOaffiCSilOCaJEAISKJftAlfBEDEVElCral) 
 
 DlS"nij::nS NEEDIKS NEBSHBOEJIOOD PARlO 
 
 DOT CO B-CPKCSCI 
 
 Plate No. 15 
 
 Riverside Paries 
 
 It is in the reservation of its river vievyrs for 
 public use and in the linking up of these re- 
 servations by means of pleasure driveways that 
 Lansing's greatest park opportunity lies. The 
 possibility of a chain of beautiful river parks 
 and drives cannot but stimulate the imagination. 
 Present park possessions along the river which 
 would form the nucleus of such a splendid 
 system are quite familiar: Potter Park, 77 
 acres of native woods and unsurpassed river 
 views; Moores Park, smaller but none the less 
 attractive; Francis Park, at present a trifle too 
 far from the city to warrant intensive develop- 
 ment, but an area of extraordinary possibilities 
 and finally Moores River Drive, 3 J/2 miles of 
 a pleasure way already built along the river. 
 With these parks as a start it should not be dif- 
 ficult for Lansing to extend this chain of rec- 
 reation grounds so as to take in ultimately all 
 available park sites and view points along the 
 
 river within the limits of the present city. The 
 opportunity is obvious. 
 
 Execution of a plan for the gradual develop- 
 ment of a chain of river parks and driveways 
 should commence at once. Unless plans are 
 promulgated for the reservation of river banks 
 for public use, the city will soon find that they 
 have been preempted for refuse and filth and 
 unsightly structures. The capital city cannot 
 afford longer to sacrifice the distinctive charms 
 of the two rivers on w^hich the city was founded. 
 
 But how^ rnay Lansing make the greatest 
 progress toward the realization of this com- 
 prehensive park scheme? Clearly one of the 
 first duties of the municipality should be to 
 secure a certain control over the river banks 
 through the central section of the city. It is 
 extremely unfortunate that the capital of Michi- 
 gan should have been laid out and built with 
 so little regard for the scenic possibilities of the 
 river. The tone and character which might 
 have been given the city by large stream-side 
 
 33 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 
 
 A view in Potter Park, illustrating the unparalleled charm 
 of this park. 
 
 reservations is noticeably lacking. The belated 
 establishment of control over river banks, even 
 though no drives be placed along them, would 
 permit the city to redeem much of their lost 
 attractiveness. It may even be seriously pro- 
 posed that the city gradually acquire, as in- 
 dividual pieces of property come upon the 
 market, the entire section between River Street 
 and the river on the west bank, and between 
 the New York Central, Mill Street and the 
 river bank on the east side, south of Michigan 
 Avenue. There is no question that once this 
 property was acquired and developed as a 
 park Lansing v/ould have a distinctive feature 
 at its very center that would make it a great 
 deal more like a capital city. 
 
 Other sections of the river should not be so 
 difficult to acquire. As may be seen by refer- 
 ence to Plate No. 1 6 there is already a consid- 
 erable portion of the river view reserved for 
 public use. At the present time, however, the 
 advantages which the city enjoys through pos- 
 session of Moores River Drive are endangered 
 through the inability of the city to direct the 
 development of the opposite bank. This situa- 
 tion prevails also at Potter Park. An urgent 
 matter for the Park Board to consider, there- 
 fore, is the establishment of control over both 
 
 Moores Park- 
 
 -one of Lansing's most delightful pleasure 
 grounds. 
 
 sides of the river w^herever this control is 
 essential to the scenic value of present park 
 property. The means by which the Board of 
 Park Commissioners may do this are as follow^s: 
 
 ( I ) For the Park Board to secure, in the 
 platting of land adjacent to the river, a street 
 or drivew^ay parallel to the bank which would 
 permit the Park Board to acquire the strip 
 betw^een this new street and the river. Such 
 an arrangement would make it possible not 
 only for the Board to control the development 
 of the river bank but also permit the owners 
 of property fronting the river to improve their 
 lands in keeping with the river outlook. Such 
 a method of insuring the proper development 
 of the river bank is feasible opposite Francis 
 Park. Plan No. 1 6 will illustrate in detail the 
 form which this improvement might take. 
 
 (2) By securing from the owners an agree- 
 ment to keep as much of the river bank as is 
 needed for scenic purposes in a certain stipu- 
 lated condition, or to permit the Park Board 
 for a period of years to have maintenance 
 rights over this property. It would be entirely 
 feasible to effect such an agreement with the 
 Grand Trunk Railroad for the long strip which 
 lies between the railroad right-of-way and the 
 river opposite Moores River Drive. 
 
 Durant Park, an extremely attractive downtown breathing 
 space. 
 
 Central Park, another downtown breathing space. 
 
 34 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 shelter house 
 
 Potter Park. 
 
 By means of ownership or control and co- 
 operation it is possible for the Park Department 
 to maintain and preserve the character of the 
 north river bank opposite the entire length of 
 Moores River Drive. The River Drive will 
 have doubtful scenic value as long as the 
 opposite bank is in danger of being mistreated. 
 
 Moreover, in connection with these improve- 
 ments it should be mentioned that as the city 
 grow^s southwest'ward a greater amount of care 
 and attention should be expended upon the 
 River Drive. With the exception of the few 
 parcels of high class residential property west 
 of Logan Street, the entire strip betv/een the 
 Drive and the river bank should be under the 
 control of the Park Department. 
 
 Particularly is it desirable that the structures 
 immediately west of the Logan Street Bridge 
 be removed. At an early date also the Park 
 Board should continue the good work already 
 begun in rehabilitating the river bank by forcing 
 the removal of all decrepit boat and canoe 
 houses. The city should provide such structures 
 and rent them. It can then be assured of their 
 proper location and design. 
 
 Funds also would be well spent in improving 
 the city property opposite Moores Park. In 
 substance, all areas which are immediately 
 
 Bathing in the pool at Oak Park. Lansing needs many 
 features of this sort really built for bathing purposes. 
 
 across the river in the line of direct outlook 
 from parks or park drives should be given a 
 certain park-like character. By planting, the 
 Park Department can correct ugliness and pro- 
 tect the scenic assets of public river drives. 
 
 The principles which have been outlined 
 above apply with equal force to river con- 
 ditions at Potter Park. Here, however, the 
 problem is less difficult. The Park Board cer- 
 tainly should own a strip opposite this splendid 
 park vi'hich w^ould forever secure its wonderful 
 river views. 
 
 The utilization of river banks for recreational 
 purposes also should be extended. Preliminary 
 surveys have already been made of the Cedar 
 River between Potter Park and East Lansing 
 with a view to the establishment of a pleasure 
 driveway in the valley. So far no definite 
 action has resulted, largely because of flood 
 tendencies. Complete detailed studies of the 
 area, however, are not at present available so 
 it cannot be said definitely that the construction 
 of such a driveway is impossible. From hasty 
 observations it would seem that the Park 
 Board might well secure control over a strip 
 along both sides of the river and attempt to 
 construct, parallel to the stream-bed and fol- 
 lowing the higher ground, a driveway which 
 
 A glimpse of the proposed park tract east of 
 Street, north of the Pare Marquette. 
 
 Holmes 
 
 A natural park south of the city, waiting to be taken and 
 held for use by the future citizens of Lansing. 
 
 35 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 would join the Agricultural College campus 
 with Potter Park. It might be found that this 
 driveway would be subject to overflow in the 
 Spring but if it were not of permanent material 
 it could not be greatly damaged. There are 
 many examples of park drives being main- 
 tained under similar conditions. Such drives 
 can be made extremely attractive; in many 
 cases they are the only economical utilization 
 of such areas. 
 
 All attention should not be concentrated, 
 however, upon developments of this sort in 
 the southern section of the city. The aim should 
 be to extend a connecting series of pleasure 
 driveways round the entire city. Particularly 
 on the north there should be a native woodland 
 park and river drives. Such riverside areas 
 are shovvrn on Plate No. 1 6. 
 
 Pleasure Driveways 
 
 On this plan also may be traced the line of 
 a series of boulevards and parkways which 
 
 would unite all the principal parks of the city. 
 The details of this comprehensive scheme may 
 be studied intimately on the map mentioned. 
 A theoretical arrangement of streets is also 
 shown to illustrate the manner in which 
 pleasure driveways, major, and minor streets 
 would be interwoven in the territory lying out- 
 side the present city limits. 
 
 It must be understood in interpreting Plate 
 No. 1 6 that it is subject to revision and is not 
 intended at this time as a precise scheme by 
 which park sites or the boulevards and park- 
 ways connecting them may be definitely fixed. 
 The closely built-up character of the central 
 section of the city precludes any attempt to 
 establish a completely satisfactory connecting 
 chain of pleasure driveways through it. A 
 boulevard plan of high order must be worked 
 out largely in outlying, undeveloped areas. 
 In preliminary plans, therefore, there is no dis- 
 position to fix accurately the location and 
 direction of driveways, or the size and disposi- 
 tion of possible park tracts. Plate No. 1 6 must 
 
 JDCil m fJ- 
 Tll 1 DDDL 
 jDLOcra 
 "yjorr 
 
 OITY' O F 
 
 LANDING m 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 MAP SHOWING 
 
 A PROt-OSED SYSTEM OF LAEGE 
 
 jl PARKS 5^ PLEASURE DEIVEWYS 
 
 nnpri'^nn'^nno' 
 
 I EXISTING PACKS S-CITY 
 P(^2J<a PKOPEdTY ADAPTABLE T 
 
 ' ^ paclk: puapoSES 
 
 ^^^ PCOPOSED PA&tS 
 
 _^^^ PeoPOSCD PLEASuaE DGIVE- 
 WAYS 
 
 Plate No. 16 
 
 36 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 be understood consequently as chiefly a pre- 
 liminary scheme in which the general character 
 of the park development to be sought by Lans- 
 ing is indicated. The main lines of the system 
 and the most desirable disposition of units are 
 shown. The plan reveals possibilities and 
 should result in further study, more definite 
 proposals and eventual action. 
 
 In the preparation of the plan mentioned 
 the difficulty of realizing projects of this sort 
 after the city has been built up, has been kept 
 constantly in mind. Consequently consider- 
 able effort has been made to effect the most 
 desirable co-ordination between the major 
 streets or the heavy traffic thoroughfares and 
 those which w^ould be laid out primarily for 
 pleasure purposes. In studying the plan, it 
 will be observed that occasionally these two 
 kinds of traffic ways are brought together for 
 purposes of crossing railroads or the river and 
 for other obvious reasons. In the actual build- 
 ing of the city it may be frequently argued that 
 pleasure drives such as are shown on Plate No. 
 16 and the major traffic ways were an un- 
 necessary duplication of streets. Such w^ould 
 not be found the case, however, in actual use 
 of these thoroughfares. The character that 
 must be given the pleasure drive system in 
 order to keep it harmonious with the park areas 
 which it joins, prescribes a limit to the use of 
 these driveways. Heavy traffic should be ex- 
 cluded from pleasure drives. In certain cities, 
 however, this exclusion has frequently proved 
 troublesome because the city failed to provide 
 the essential major streets over which this 
 heavier traffic might move. There must be 
 complete co-ordination of these two types of 
 specialized thoroughfares. 
 
 As an outgrowth of this differentiation be- 
 tween major streets and pleasure driveways, it 
 has been found possible to designate a number 
 of prominent intersections as sites for impor- 
 tant buildings, monuments and other decorative 
 features. These the city now lacks. The fact 
 of its being the capital is little reflected in street 
 embellishment. The incorporation of more 
 diagonal streets in the city plan frequently 
 provides triangles which can be improved and 
 treated artistically so as to contribute, far more 
 
 A view from Moores River Drive illustrating how the 
 
 uncontrolled development of the opposite bank may 
 
 mar the attractiveness of the drive. 
 
 than their original cost would indicate, to the 
 general appearance of the city. It should be 
 the aim of the City Plan Commission and Park 
 Board, therefore, in directing the development 
 of streets in accordance vfith these plans to 
 have as many of these small areas and parcels 
 set aside for public use as possible. It should 
 be borne in mind though that the city should 
 have some say as to the size and shape of these 
 small parcels. Microscopic fragments at street 
 intersections are of no particular value as 
 pleasure grounds or embellishments. Plazas, 
 squares and the like should be large enough 
 to contribute to the dignity of the city. 
 
 The possibilities of realizing all the projects 
 here outlined depend largely upon the initiative 
 of those who henceforth w^ill control the city's 
 growth. In the case of the boulevards and 
 driveways indicated in the present undeveloped 
 territory it may be possible for the city to secure 
 them without the expenditure of municipal 
 funds. Merely by the promulgation of plans 
 and a certain co-operation among those who 
 lay out and subdivide property, successive 
 lengths of these driveways may be added to the 
 system. It will reasonably be expected by those 
 who so subdivide their land and follow the plans 
 as desired, that the agency which is promoting 
 the plan is acting in good faith and will see to 
 it that others act in the same spirit. Genuine 
 co-operation among all those whose interests 
 affect the growth of the city will eventually 
 result in definite accomplishments. Proper 
 direction of this co-operation, however, is 
 essential. 
 
 37 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Transit 
 
 Transit Service in the City 
 
 Before the day of the automobile the street 
 railway was the chief agency which encouraged 
 cities to expand. Transit facilities permitted 
 people to live farther from their places of 
 business or occupation, away from the noise, 
 heat and dirt of the city proper and on more 
 desirable and cheaper land. The automobile 
 has affected the influence of street railways, but 
 notwithstanding the great increase in the num- 
 ber of these carriers most cities are still depen- 
 dent upon street cars for local transportation. 
 
 A comparison of Plate No. I 7 with Plate 
 No. I 8 will illustrate the relationship of transit 
 service to the present city of Lansing. The 
 distribution of population reveals the influence 
 of the several transit lines. Fully eighty per 
 I cent of the residents in Lansing are within a 
 quarter of a mile of a transit line. This distance 
 is a generally accepted standard by which the 
 efficiency of transit service is measured. The 
 Time Zone Map, Plate No. I 9, further shows 
 hovf far, in certain districts people can live from 
 the center of the city and still be nearer in 
 point of time than other localities much closer 
 in but not having the benefits of transit service. 
 
 Being so influential and so closely related to 
 the city's life and development, transit service 
 must necessarily be considered in plans for the 
 future. To direct the growth of an efficient 
 transit service the needs of the larger city must 
 be clearly visualized. Many of the present 
 difficulties under which utilities are working 
 today are due to their inability or the inability 
 of the city to anticipate growth and consequent 
 needs. Having in mind the future development 
 outlined by a comprehensive city plan and 
 zone plan, a policy of expansion can be adopted 
 for transit service with reasonable assurance 
 that whatever improvements are made will be 
 to the best interests of all concerned. It is recog- 
 nized that an operating company cannot be ex- 
 pected to furnish service in undeveloped ter- 
 ritory or to some isolated industry, park or 
 residential district. Other means of transporta- 
 tion must be employed until development has 
 reached a point to warrant an extension or a 
 new car line. Whenever extensions or rerout- 
 ings are proposed, however, they should be 
 judged in their relation to the final transit 
 scheme and to the general city plan. With a 
 clear understanding of the aims of the general 
 
 Plate No. 17 
 
 plan and its ultimate objective it should not be 
 difficult gradually to evolve a transit system 
 which will function properly and meet new 
 requirements as they arise. 
 
 The Transit Plan 
 
 In arriving at the transit scheme presented 
 here, several principles have been adhered to, 
 namely: 
 
 r I . Through-routing and balancing of service; 
 
 ! 2. Use of major streets where feasible; 
 
 i 3. Intercommunication between centers of 
 
 \ activity ; 
 
 I 4. All new track to be a part of the ultimate 
 scheme; 
 
 5. Use of present trackage where possible. 
 
 Through-routing eliminates terminals or 
 stub ends in the business district, thus reducing 
 congestion on the streets by providing for a 
 continual movement of cars. It also eliminates 
 transfer points on the busiest street corners by 
 giving an overlapping of service. Lines which 
 serve similar districts and are expected to carry 
 an equal amount of traffic should be joined so 
 that operating schedules will be adapted to the 
 needs of each district served. A through line, 
 one end of which taps a well built-up neighbor- 
 hood and the other serves a newly developing, 
 sparsely settled region, must maintain a sched- 
 ule based on the needs of the more populous 
 end of the line. There is service wasted con- 
 sequently on the new district. 
 
 Major streets, because of their location, con- 
 tinuity of direction and ample widths are the 
 
 38 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 logical carriers of heavy trafRc. They are 
 designed so that a transit line can be accom- 
 modated without detriment to the movement 
 of other traffic. Adhering to the major streets, 
 transit lines will also benefit by such improve- 
 ments as grade crossing eliminations and 
 adequate river crossings. 
 
 Where it has been possible, direct service 
 has been provided between various sections 
 of the city. In smaller cities it is practically 
 impossible to maintain cross town lines. The 
 bulk of travel is to and from the central part 
 of the city. The lines of the Lansing Plan have 
 been allocated so that where direct crosstown 
 service cannot be given, convenient transfers 
 may be made with intersecting lines. 
 
 The scheme has a flexibility, furthermore, 
 which permits of such extensions and re-rout- 
 ing as the city's growth will demand, and at 
 the same time involves no unnecessary aban- 
 donment of trackage as changes in routing are 
 made. Where possible the tracks now in place 
 have been used as part of the ultimate scheme. 
 
 Where track abandonment has been recom- 
 mended, such as on Pine and Butler Streets, it 
 is probable that such changes will not be neces- 
 sary for several years to come. In that event 
 the equipment will be worn out and ready for 
 replacement. New track should be laid to con- 
 form to a more orderly system. 
 
 Aside from the city lines interurban cars 
 from Jackson, St. Johns, and Owosso use the 
 city streets. Although this is not objectionable, 
 in so far as passenger service is concerned, the 
 movement of freight trains through the down- 
 town district should be discontinued during 
 the hours w^hen the volume of other traffic is 
 heavy. Despite the extreme widths of the 
 streets, these trains of four and five cars are a 
 source of great inconvenience and danger, even 
 at the present time. These freight trains now 
 are operated in violation of a city ordinance. 
 Their elimination from the heart of the city 
 should receive serious thought. Suggestions 
 for the accomplishment of this are considered 
 in the plans which follow. 
 
 aiTV O F 
 
 LANiSING 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 MAP SHOWING 
 
 VACANT OE. UNIMPE.OVED 
 PE-OPEHTY 
 
 HAR.LAND BARTHOLOMEW 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEtIL- SMNT LOUIS 
 1991 
 
 BLACK. ARIAS SHOW UNDEVELOPED 
 PORTIONS OF CITY 
 
 Plate No. 18 
 39 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 The method of loading and discharging pas- 
 sengers in the middle of the street in front of 
 the waiting room on East Michigan Avenue, 
 moreover, must be supplanted by a more con- 
 venient and safe method. As the city grows and 
 traffic and schedules become heavier the con- 
 flict between interurban and local service will 
 become more pronounced. A greater separa- 
 tion of interests will be necessary. An interur- 
 ban terminal centrally located and convenient 
 to the Union Depot and city car lines should 
 be constructed. The logical location for this 
 building is shown on Plate No. 2 1 . 
 
 Lansing's Larger System 
 
 Plate No. 1 7 shows present car lines in rela- 
 tion to the distribution of population and the 
 area within a quarter of a mile of each. It is 
 evident from a study of this plan and from a 
 knowledge of Lansing's growth in the past few 
 years (see Plate No. 20) that several extensions 
 will soon be needed. 
 
 Plate No. 19 
 
 This pace which the growing city sets for the 
 street railway company suggests general 
 anticipatory planning for transit facilities. An 
 organization which renders such large service 
 to the community as does the street railway 
 company cannot remain inactive while the city 
 
 eiT^ OF 
 
 LANDING 
 
 Ml C H I G A N 
 
 MAP SHOWING 
 
 NEW HOUSES ERECTED IN THE LAST 
 FIYEYEAES 
 
 TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSES ERECTED FROM AUG 1-1917 
 TO JUNE 15-1921 
 
 LEGEND 
 
 1917 INDICATED THUS ■ 
 
 19ia INDICATED THUS • 
 
 19W INDICATED THUS • 
 
 1920 INDICATED THUS • 
 
 1921 INDICATED THUS » 
 
 Plate No. 20 
 40 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 ^H LANvSIN G n 
 
 MICH I G A N 
 
 PLAN SHOVING 
 
 PROPOSED ENLAEGED 
 TRANSIT SYSTEM 
 
 HAR.LAND BAR.THOLOMEW 
 CITY PLAN ENGINEER.- SMNT LOUIS 
 19? I 
 
 li-nr ofCeJarSL L.iriO:or^ive 
 Non^ Un'a^q irid 'Ar Itope A^-v: We.^t 
 
 6 M--«. LiMOlo v,v.. l,-i.,lnr,| NorUi F,ia 
 
 .iiid SoiJK 'I.K.I of Cilii '" 
 
 9 Nev-Lne Li -/^a'riernlorj Norir. ^^ .( 
 
 .ind 5outlL of 
 
 Plate No. 21 
 
 attempts to build a structure that will ade- 
 quately care for an increasing population. 
 Urban transportation agencies must grow along 
 orderly, scientific lines and in harmony with 
 the whole of the city's growth. An isolated 
 improvement here and there and piecemeal 
 betterment will not suffice. A certain complete 
 transit objective should be outlined and each 
 successive change in the system, regardless of 
 where made or how important, should be re- 
 lated to this ultimate plan. 
 
 Such an ultimate objective is shown, Plate 
 
 No. 2 1 . While this scheme is designated as the 
 
 "ultimate," it merely represents a stage in the 
 
 ! development of the street railway system of 
 
 ' the growing city. As long as Lansing grows 
 
 there can be no final layout of transit lines. 
 
 The merit of the "ultimate" scheme pre- 
 sented, however, is in its flexibility. It is so 
 devised that from it extensions may be made in 
 any direction without danger of complicating 
 operation. All the essential districts and all 
 important objectives of the present city are 
 fully served. To such a point as is represented 
 
 by the system outlined in Plate No. 2 1 the 
 transit facilities of the city should always be 
 shaped. 
 
 A suggested series of steps leading to the 
 ultimate layout of lines is shown on Plate No. 
 22. Section A of the plan mentioned shows 
 present street railway trackage. A gradual 
 revision of lines, based upon the needs of the 
 city as determined by growth, must commence 
 with a utilization of existing equipment. The 
 first step (B, Plate No. 22) in the development 
 scheme, consequently, indicates merely a group- 
 ing of certain improvements based on the 
 minimum abandonment of track and the least 
 disturbance of existing operation. These 
 changes may not all be undertaken at once as 
 they are shown, but in their relation to a further 
 development of the system and to the ultimate 
 scheme they are consequently grouped as a 
 first step. 
 
 A new line is made to run out Ottawa, to 
 serve the new western industrial district. Pres- 
 ent trackage will be utilized to Butler Street. 
 The present Cedar Street line should operate 
 
 41 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 directly through the city and consequently is 
 shown forming this new line. 
 
 Another utilization of trackage is possible 
 through extension of service over St. Joseph 
 Street, on the Waverly Park line. To form 
 this line the present College cars should be used. 
 If service on the west section does not need to 
 be as frequent as that to the College, a portion 
 of the College cars may short loop at the 
 capitol. It is recommended in this connection 
 that a downtown loop embracing Grand, 
 Ottawa, Capitol and Allegan Streets be created 
 and that as soon as possible all tracks be 
 removed from Michigan between Washington 
 and Capitol. 
 
 For service to the rapidly growing residential 
 districts south of the city two extensions seem 
 necessary. One is shown southward on Logan 
 Street from the present line on Isaac Street and 
 the other is a continuation of the Washington 
 line eastward on Mount Hope. For a more 
 systematic operation into these new territories, 
 the rerouting inaugurated by the breaking up 
 
 of the College-Washtenaw line is continued. 
 It is suggested that the present Washington 
 Avenue line operate west on Franklin to Pine 
 over track already in, the Belt line stopping at 
 Franklin. This would make the Washington 
 line render primarily a residential-business cen- 
 ter service. A uniform schedule could be main- 
 tained throughout and extensions at either ex- 
 tremity could be made easily. 
 
 The Washtenaw line, to serve South Logan 
 Street and the Olds plant, should serve a center 
 on the other side of the city equally as impor- 
 tant. It is suggested, therefore, for the sake of 
 more systematic and economical operation that 
 this line also run north on Washington to Frank- 
 lin and turn eastward on Franklin over the 
 present route of the Washington line. Such a 
 routing would give this line well balanced oppo- 
 site service areas, would add to the service on 
 the main business street and would put it in 
 splendid position to grow^. 
 
 The remaining lines of the system shown in 
 step one would continue as at present except 
 
 I 
 
 e ITT^ O IT 
 
 -i LAN^'ING 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 PLAN SHOWING 
 
 EVOLUTION OF PHOPOSED 
 TRANSIT SYSTEM 
 
 HAE.LAND BARTHOLOMEW 
 cmr PLAN LH&IKZIR.- SAINT LOUIS 
 
 PBESCNT EOUTING 
 
 HEHOUTING STEP (T) 
 
 LEGEND 
 
 - EXISTING TCAC^ 
 
 TCACIC DISCONTINUED 
 NEW TCACIC 
 
 NOTE - NUJABEO.S ftErCO. 
 
 TO LINES ON PCOPOSED 
 
 PLAN 
 
 aCPOUTING STEP @ 
 
 PDOPOSED EEEOUTING 
 
 Plate No. 22 
 42 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 that at as early a date as possible interurban 
 freight service should turn east on Mount Hope 
 and enter the city over the present Potter Park 
 line. 
 
 The extension of the Potter Park line to 
 Mount Hope to make rerouting of interurban 
 freight possible is shown in step two (C, Plate 
 No. 22). In this stage of the readjustment of 
 transit facilities it would seem desirable to make 
 the first serious disruption of the present sys- 
 tem. The Potter Park-Belt line that now 
 operates with doubtful efficiency should be 
 reconstructed so as to serve a larger territory. 
 Moreover, there should be afforded greater 
 opportunity for east and west crosstown move- 
 ment. The two lines on Franklin w^ill have 
 provided service of this character in the north- 
 ern section, but to supplant them there are pro- 
 posed two new^ lines operating on Saginaw 
 Street. The one to the west should be linked 
 with the Potter Park line and the one to the east 
 should displace the College line to Waverly 
 Park. The College line because of its character 
 would seem to answ^er all requirements quite as 
 well by looping in the downtown district. All 
 other lines w^ould be tributary to it there. The 
 Cedar Street line could w^ell be extended in 
 this stage to Franklin Avenue, thus providing, 
 with the Potter Park line, a measure of north 
 and south crosstown service. 
 
 In the third step, all existing lines having 
 been rerouted to form an orderly system, only 
 
 new lines and further extensions are considered. 
 If it seems desirable to establish crosstown ser- 
 vice south of Michigan, this may be afforded by 
 a new line east on Main which should operate as 
 a through line north on Washington and west on 
 Saginaw. The Potter Park line thus displaced 
 on Saginaw may be again introduced as a north 
 and south line on Logan Street north of Ottaw^a. 
 In this position it will offer cross connection 
 between the east and west lines serving the 
 western industrial territory and be also located 
 admirably for full crosstown service on Logan 
 Street should demands for this service arise. 
 Similar crosstown connections in the south are 
 suggested by a line which would run west on 
 Mount Hope, meeting the eastern Mount Hope 
 line at Washington. The complete scheme of 
 operation of all these new lines and extensions 
 is fully shown on Plate No. 2 1 . 
 
 The development of the city at the date 
 which this system anticipates, cannot possibly 
 be foreseen, so it is suggested that the transit 
 facilities outlined be studied primarily for the 
 principles which they exemplify. It will be 
 noticed that there is a systematic organization 
 of lines, a full distribution of service with con- 
 centration where population w^ill doubtless 
 warrant it. The lines are "through," cross- 
 town service is provided without impairment 
 of service elsewhere and without loss of 
 revenue and the major street system is fully 
 respected. 
 
 43 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Transportation 
 
 Present Railroad Problems 
 
 The problem of eliminating grade crossings 
 and properly arranging terminal facilities is one 
 which demands attention in any thriving city. 
 As a city grows and its traffic increases, grade 
 crossings on its main thoroughfares seriously 
 retard the movement of vehicular transporta- 
 tion and consequently reduce the city's com- 
 mercial and industrial efficiency. 
 
 In attempting to devise a satisfactory scheme 
 for grade crossing separation, it becomes neces- 
 sary to consider an ultimate scheme of develop- 
 ment which v^rould lend itself to gradual accom- 
 plishment. As nevif permanent construction 
 takes place the city should attempt to eliminate 
 those grade crossings w^hich are the most 
 dangerous and pronounced handicaps to traffic 
 movement. 
 
 The wraste due to the duplication of railroad 
 lines and facilities within the city is becoming 
 more and more pronounced as the city grows. 
 In modern city building it is recognized that 
 unification of lines and terminals is not only 
 highly desirable but essential to modern busi- 
 ness requirements. In some cities, however, 
 the arrangement of tracks and terminals are 
 such that it w^ould involve a large expenditure 
 to combine all track and terminal facilities. 
 Local conditions must prescribe the manner of 
 introducing order into railroad operation. 
 
 Transportation Facilities in Lansing 
 
 The City of Lansing is served by four rail- 
 roads, namely, Michigan Central; Pare Mar- 
 quette; New York Central; and Grand Trunk 
 Railroads. The Michigan Central Railroad 
 enters the city from the north and passes 
 directly southward through the city. It handles 
 most of the local traffic, having approximately 
 
 " 1/ 
 
 Plate No, 23 
 
 thirty freight trains and sixteen passenger 
 trains passing through the city daily. 
 
 The Pere Marquette enters the city from the 
 northwest and joins the Michigan Central just 
 north of Franklin Avenue. From this point 
 south to Prospect Street the Pere Marquette and 
 the Michigan Central occupy a joint right-of- 
 way. From Prospect Street the Pere Mar- 
 quette operates southeast through the city, 
 crossing the Grand Trunk line at Trowbridge 
 just beyond the city limits. This road handles 
 about twelve passenger and twenty freight 
 trains daily. 
 
 The New York Central Railroad enters the 
 city from the southwest, crosses the Grand 
 Trunk Railroad at grade, and follows the 
 Grand River as far north as Beaver Street, its 
 present terminal. This road does the least 
 business, having but two passenger and four 
 freight trains daily. 
 
 The Grand Trunk Railroad enters the city 
 from the west at a point about one mile south 
 of Michigan Avenue and operates directly east 
 
 A view of a dangerous crossing on Mt. Hope Avenue. This 
 crossing is particularly bad because the view of ap- 
 proaching trains is cut off on practically all sides. 
 
 The New York Central depot, and the abuse of what might 
 be an extremely charming river view. 
 
 44 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Plate No. 24 
 
 through the city and crosses the Pere Mar- 
 quette Railroad at Trowbridge beyond the 
 city Hmits. The Grand Trunk handles 
 approximately thirty freight trains and 
 twelve passenger trains daily. Its local 
 business is light in comparison with the 
 other roads, as it has no access to the belt 
 line and apparently no w^orking agreement 
 with the other railroads by which it can 
 receive freight from local industries. 
 
 The Belt Line is a railroad originally 
 built by the manufacturers of Lansing and 
 later acquired by the Michigan Central, 
 w^hich road apparently now controls its 
 use. The Belt Line originates at the 
 General Motors plant, parallels the Grand 
 Trunk Railroad to the city limits, follows 
 the western city limits northward, and 
 joins the Michigan Central Railroad at a 
 point just north of the northern city limits 
 as shown on Plate No. 23. The Belt Line 
 serves a very useful purpose, although its 
 lack of connection with the Michigan 
 Central and the New York Central at its 
 southern terminus necessitates a very long 
 haul for freight originating to the south 
 and west of the city and destined for the 
 new Michigan Central and New York 
 Central freight yards. 
 
 The joint right-of-way of the Michigan 
 Central and the Pere Marquette railroads, 
 and also the southerly extension of the 
 Michigan Central, bisects the city just east 
 of the business district. Free access to the 
 business district from the eastern section 
 of the city, including the City of East 
 Lansing, is greatly hindered by grade 
 crossings. The present Belt Line at the 
 western city limits also serves as an im- 
 pediment to the expansion of the city to 
 the west. 
 
 Grade Crossing Elimmation 
 
 The method of eliminating most of the 
 grade crossings must necessarily be a com- 
 bination of track elevation and street de- 
 pression. In some instances, however, it 
 would be more practicable to use viaducts. 
 The topography of the city and the grades 
 of the railroads are such that it would be 
 difficult in most cases to eliminate any 
 single grade crossing by means of elevated 
 tracks and subways without including 
 a number of other crossings in the near 
 vicinity. 
 
 45 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Step No. 1 . — In order to make the grade 
 elimination scheme possible of accomplishment, 
 it is proposed to eliminate the crossings in two 
 grade separation schemes. Those which are 
 most urgent and included under Step No. 1 , 
 (See Plate No. 24) are as follows: — Franklin 
 Avenue, Saginaw Street, Shiawassee Street, 
 Michigan, Kalamazoo, Hosmer, Pennsylvania, 
 Main Street, Hazel, Elm, Cedar and Washing- 
 ton Avenue. Under Scheme No. 1 the Mich- 
 igan Central Railroad would elevate its track 
 from Drury Lane on the north to Baker Street 
 on the south; Pere Marquette would elevate its 
 tracks from Pearl Street on the north to Jones 
 Street on the south; the New York Central 
 would elevate its tracks between Main Street 
 and Isbell Street, and the Grand Trunk eleva- 
 tion would extend between Pennsylvania 
 Avenue on the east and Pine Street on the west. 
 Under scheme No. 1 it is also proposed to con- 
 struct new viaducts over the New York Central 
 Railroad at Saginaw, Shiawassee and Kalama- 
 zoo Streets. The elimination of these three 
 
 grade crossings could be accomplished when new 
 bridges are constructed over the Grand River, 
 and could be constructed separately without 
 affecting the general scheme of track elevation. 
 The present bridges are somewhat delapidated 
 and should be replaced in the very near future. 
 
 At present crossings are separated by via- 
 ducts over the New York Central Railroad at 
 Michigan Avenue; Michigan Central Railroad 
 at Main Street; and Grand Trunk Railroad over 
 Pennsylvania Avenue. Simultaneously when 
 the Michigan Central tracks are elevated under 
 Step No. 1, it will be necessary to raise the 
 present viaduct at Main Street approximately 
 five feet in order to conform to the new track 
 elevation. The general scheme of grade cross- 
 ing elimination will not, however, affect the 
 present grade separation at Michigan Avenue 
 and Pennsylvania Avenue. 
 
 Step No. 2. — The grade separation by means 
 of elevated tracks and subways which could be 
 made individually and at some future time are 
 as follows: Muskegon Street — Pere Marquette 
 
 eiTY" OF 
 
 LANDING 
 
 MI C H I G A N 
 
 PROPOSED IMPEOYEMENTS IN 
 EAILEOAD FACIUTES 
 
 HAR.1AND BAR.THOLOMEW 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEtR.- SMNT LOUIS 
 15? I 
 
 Plate No. 25 
 
 46 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Railroad; Muskegon Street — Michigan Central 
 Railroad; Larch Street — Pere Marquette Rail- 
 road; Saginaw Street — present Belt Line; St. 
 Joseph Street — present Belt Line; Logan Street 
 — present Belt Line; the crossings at Mt. Hope 
 Avenue, Washington Avenue, and the New 
 York Central Railroad would necessarily have 
 to be made simultaneously. 
 
 The proposed viaducts could also be con- 
 structed separately in the order of their impor- 
 tance, which will be determined by the density 
 of traffic upon the streets where they are pro- 
 posed. The location of these viaducts are as 
 follows: Logan Street — Grand Trunk Railroad; 
 Baker Street — New York Central Railroad; 
 Baker Street — Michigan Central Railroad; Mt. 
 
 Hope Avenue Michigan Central Railroad; 
 
 Clifford Street — Pere Marquette Railroad; and 
 Clemens Avenue Pere Marquette Railroad. 
 
 Terminal Facilities 
 
 Union Passenger Station — Lansing now has 
 three passenger stations: one used jointly by the 
 Pere Marquette and Michigan Central Rail- 
 roads, located just north of Michigan Avenue 
 at their right-of-way; the New York Central 
 station, located just north of Michigan Avenue 
 at the New York Central right-of-way; and the 
 Grand Trunk station located east of Washing- 
 ton Avenue at the Grand Trunk right-of-way. 
 
 It would not be practicable for all the roads 
 to enter one union station. This would neces- 
 sitate a detour of the Grand Trunk Railroad 
 at the western city limits, where it would have 
 to connect with the present Belt Line and 
 operate to the north and join the Michigan 
 Central right-of-way. This would involve con- 
 siderable extra car mileage. 
 
 It would, however, be possible for the New 
 York Central to connect with the Michigan 
 Central at Hazel Street and use the present 
 
 Pere Marquette and Michigan Central pas- 
 senger station. (See Plate No. 25.) This 
 would enable the New York Central Railroad 
 to abandon their present station. The present 
 New York Central tracks could remain, how- 
 ever, for industry tracks and also to serve its 
 present freight houses and team tracks which 
 could remain at their present location. 
 
 Freight Terminals 
 
 Freight Houses and Team Tracks — The 
 freight houses and team tracks of the Michigan 
 Central, Grand Trunk and New York Central 
 Railroad may remain at their present locations. 
 The Pere Marquette freight station is located 
 just north of the Union Passenger Station and 
 in the event that the tracks are elevated, provi- 
 sion should be made to re-locate the freight 
 station and the team tracks. 
 
 Freight Yards — The freight yards of the 
 Michigan Central Railroad are located about 
 two miles south of the southern city limits. 
 These are now^ being expanded and there is 
 ample room for further extension. The freight 
 yards of the New York Central Railroad are 
 located in the extreme southwestern part of the 
 city. These undoubtedly will be adequate for 
 some time to come. The Pere Marquette Rail- 
 road freight yards are located in the northwest 
 beyond the city limits. There is also ample 
 space for future extension of these yards when 
 the conditions warrant it. At present the Grand 
 Trunk Railroad has no freight yards in or near 
 Lansing, but is contemplating building freight 
 yards in the vicinity of Trowbridge. 
 
 Belt Line At present it would seem desir- 
 able and economical, from an industrial view- 
 point, to make a new connection between the 
 Belt Line and the New York Central and the 
 Michigan Central Freight Yards in order to 
 obviate the long haul which is now necessary 
 
 Abuse of river frontage. 
 
 Illustrating how trees and planting may be used to im- 
 prove an otherwise disreputable river view. 
 
 47 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 for freight originating along tfie Belt Line. 
 After considerable study it has been deemed 
 advisable to recommend that an agreement be 
 made, if possible, between the Michigan Central 
 Railroad, New York Central Railroad and the 
 Grand Trunk Railroad for the use of the latter's 
 right-of-way within the city. This would afford 
 a connection between the present Belt Line, 
 Michigan Central and New York Central freight 
 yards, which would require only one back-up. 
 
 Because of the character of the land lying 
 between the Grand Trunk Railroad and the 
 New York Central Railroad in the extreme 
 southwestern part of the city, it is not recom- 
 mended to make a new connection betw^een 
 the Belt Line and the New York Central in this 
 location. This area is partly occupied by the 
 Country Club and the remaining property can 
 be developed into a high-class residential 
 district. 
 
 Lansing's Appearance 
 
 Value of Civic Attractiveness 
 
 The fact that Lansing is the capital of Michi- 
 gan gives special importance to a discussion of 
 its appearance. It should have an atmosphere 
 befitting its position. At present it does not 
 have the distinctive char- 
 acter which it deserves. 
 This is due primarily to 
 a lack of public interest 
 in things which repre- 
 sent civic refinement. 
 The founders of the 
 city laid it out accord- 
 ing to a very ordinary, 
 conventional pattern. 
 This heritage of com- 
 monplaceness has never 
 been overcome and the 
 city's growing industrial 
 prominence will con- 
 stantly make the task 
 more difficult. There is 
 sound reason for ask- 
 ing, therefore, what 
 may be done to add to 
 the neatness, order, at- 
 tractiveness of Lansing. 
 Concern about appear- 
 ances in the city is ever 
 an indication of the 
 city's spirit. 
 
 The justification for 
 this concern lies in the 
 almost universal but 
 frequently suppressed 
 interest in things that appeal to the eye. Even 
 the much over-emphasized monetary return 
 which has come to be expected of every pro- 
 posal claiming public interest, has been dis- 
 covered in civic art. The popularity and actual 
 money value of parks is -weW known. Visitors 
 are taken to see them at the earliest oppor- 
 
 tunity; the show places of the town are the 
 first thought of every proud citizen. A city 
 is "sold" by its so-called beauty spots. 
 
 Men have learned how to make art and 
 beauty and attractiveness pay. The seller of 
 real estate adds to the price of a lot because it 
 
 is so situated that he 
 can point to the dignity 
 and character of near- 
 by homes. The auto- 
 mobile manufacturer 
 aims to produce a car 
 of pleasing proportions. 
 Power and speed alone 
 will not sell his cars. 
 Similarly, a city must 
 give thought to its 
 "design." Mere multi- 
 plication of factories 
 and warehouses will not 
 create a perfect city A 
 city that has even the 
 faintest wsh to make it- 
 self a place in which 
 men may be proud to 
 live cannot afford to 
 ignore the function of 
 civic art. Because of 
 Lansing's position this 
 should be one of its 
 most vital interests. 
 
 Lansing's 
 
 Deficiencies 
 
 The 
 
 Capitol of Michigan; 
 pressiveness of 
 
 where is th 
 such a view 
 
 dignity 
 s this? 
 
 and 
 
 As has been men- 
 tioned, the founders 
 and the early builders of the city, however, 
 have made Lansing's present task in this field 
 difficult. The city today, v^fhich is the result of 
 their labors and their direction, does not ex- 
 press the important position which it holds in 
 the state and is quite devoid of the interest and 
 charm w^hich it could have had by reason of 
 
 48 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 A view oi one of the most important schools in Lansing. 
 The barren, factory-like architecture could be overlooked 
 but the building enjoys none of the refinement of plant- 
 ing and crowds out almost to the street line. 
 
 the natural beauty of the site. In the original 
 town plan there was no recognition of its being 
 the political center of the state. Reservation 
 of a central square, four blocks in area, and the 
 platting of streets five rods wide marked the 
 extent of planning for the capitol. There was 
 no generous provision of open spaces for state 
 buildings, no placing of streets for impressive- 
 ness, no reservations of native woodland, and 
 no appreciation whatever of the value of the 
 river and riversides as public property. As a 
 consequence of this unfortunate lack of vision 
 Lansing is now a most ordinary city. It is less 
 dignified, less impressive, and less attractive 
 than many of its neighbors. As a capital it is 
 distinctly disappointing; it does not compare 
 with many others in less important states. 
 
 It is unfortunate that the capital of Michigan 
 should be thus characterized. Yet the facts 
 are obvious. The abuse of the river in the 
 central section where it is most frequently seen 
 is commonly lamented. Lansing's loss through 
 this mistreatment is quite generally appreciated. 
 With one exception, the passenger depots of 
 
 the city are unworthy. The orderliness and 
 neatness of the Grand Trunk terminal group is 
 in striking contrast to the other stations. The 
 appearance of the downtown district is likew^ise 
 without distinction. Property owners on Michi- 
 gan Avenue and near the capitol have had no 
 appreciation whatever of the value of an im- 
 pressive view. A miscellaneous assortment of 
 architectural styles and building heights further 
 aggravated by a motley display of blatant signs 
 and a system of antique street lights create a 
 characterless picture. Something of an unusual 
 and distinctive public building group was 
 started when the Post Office and the City Hall 
 were built, but these buildings are now seen to 
 be too crowded and their effectiveness dimin- 
 ished through improper development of sur- 
 rounding property. 
 
 The state itself has been negligent in its 
 regard for appearances. It has spent a great 
 sum of money building an office building of 
 imposing proportions on a site much too small 
 and too remote from the capitol. It is unfor- 
 tunate that both Lansing and the state should 
 have missed the opportunity to create a great 
 group of state buildings. 
 
 The Board of Education likewise has fallen 
 short of a standard Lansing had a right to 
 expect. Many of the school buildings are not 
 only cheap in architectural effect but cramped 
 for exterior space. The Public Library and 
 High School occupying the same plot, none too 
 large for the latter alone, is a familiar example. 
 The huge factory-like Intermediate School on 
 Lenawee is not to be compared as a school 
 plant with similar schools now being built else- 
 where. The new school on Jerome is far more 
 in keeping with modern standards; schools of 
 this type will give the city character. 
 
 The streets and home districts are ordinary, 
 in no way reflecting the importance of the city. 
 
 \- 
 
 ■ >■■/ 
 
 
 l!y' 
 
 
 w 
 
 \/ '' 
 
 w 
 
 ~! !i ' 
 
 1 
 
 
 Capitol grounds in winter. 
 
 49 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Street trees have given certain of the older 
 sections a very pleasing atmosphere, but there 
 is not enough tree planting being done in the 
 newer sections. Poles and wires frequently 
 take the place of trees entirely. These over- 
 head utilities and billboards intrude themselves 
 upon the eye and destroy the results of careful 
 treatment of home grounds. The flagrant dis- 
 regard of building lines by corner stores 
 further damage street views. 
 
 These points are but the more obvious which 
 come to the attention in estimating Lansing's 
 regard for appearances. To some extent the 
 impression w^hich these features create is offset 
 by others distinctly of a more favorable class. 
 One cannot but note the splendid start which 
 the generosity of individuals has given Lansing 
 toward a park system of more than ordinary 
 distinction. It remains to be seen whether the 
 city as a corporate body realizes the value of 
 this beginning and carries forward the reserva- 
 tion of riversides and natural park lands. 
 
 Mention must also be made of efforts of 
 certain realtors to give Lansing subdivisions 
 embodying the more advanced principles of 
 land platting and development. In their 
 maturity, with trees full-grown, the streets lying 
 w^ith some regard for the contour of the land, 
 the homes built according to a standard, these 
 districts will be a credit to the city. The en- 
 forcement of a zone plan will do a great deal 
 to protect such sections from industrial blight, 
 such as has developed west of the city through 
 the introduction of the constructive industrial 
 belt. 
 
 If Lansing, the capital, wishes to rise above 
 the character which its industries are likely to 
 impress upon it, it will have to exercise a far 
 greater interest in things that appeal to the eye. 
 The effect of industrial growth is almost uni- 
 versally ugliness, lack of character, monotony. 
 
 A view of the type of fire stations now being erected in 
 residence sections. The selection of such a style for 
 buildings of this sort is hopeful evidence of an appre- 
 ciation of both attractive and useful public buildings. 
 
 View of the Capitol showing the effect of the foil of trees. 
 
 and an oppressive uninspiring scene. The city 
 can do much to counterbalance this effect. Be- 
 ing the capital and as well a very prosperous 
 industrial city, it can well afford to make the 
 city's appearance a special interest. There is 
 point, therefore, in outlining the possibilities in 
 this field. 
 
 Opportunities to Improve Lansing's 
 Appearance 
 
 By a careful direction of its future growth 
 Lansing may yet incorporate in its plan many 
 features which were overlooked in the earlier 
 days. The new growth which Lansing un- 
 doubtedly will experience in future years offers 
 splendid opportunity for the creation of a more 
 distinguished and characterful appearance. The 
 development of many wide, heavy traffic 
 streets, the filling of intervening space with 
 subdivisions of varying form and character, 
 the proper grouping of industries, the concen- 
 tration of commercial buildings at important 
 
 50 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Plate No. 26 
 
 corners, all will give Lansing a more orderly 
 appearance. The building of a modern, func- 
 tional system of streets will furthermore make 
 available a great many small squares, plazas, 
 courts, and the like which, if properly treated, 
 will do much to offset the unavoidable arti- 
 ficiality and monotony of city growth. The 
 view, Plate No. 26, page 50, will show a pos- 
 sibility of this character. 
 
 Of greater service in this respect will be a 
 properly distributed system of parks. If Lans- 
 ing can develop its recreation facilities hence- 
 forth according to a well studied, progressive 
 plan, the city in twenty years will present a 
 greatly different appearance, one much more 
 befitting the capital. These opportunities, to- 
 gether with such others as the elimination of 
 grade crossings and the uniting of railroads 
 and terminal facilities, the construction of new 
 bridges, particularly if they are all carried 
 forward with an eye to their ultimate effect 
 upon the appearance of the city, cannot but in 
 time produce a notable new growth. 
 
 A Program 
 
 The improvement of existing conditions, 
 however, is likely to prove more difficult. A 
 program of action in this field should be for- 
 mulated and constant effort made to carry it 
 out. It should include the following: 
 
 1 . The reclamation and restoration of river 
 banks and the acquisition wherever possible of 
 streamside reservations for public use. It 
 should be made known generally to the citizens 
 of Lansing that the river and river views con- 
 stitute one of the city's greatest assets. They 
 should belong to the people. They should be 
 protected from encroachments and from all 
 interests which would damage their natural 
 beauty. The city should make an effort to 
 acquire piece by piece as it comes upon the 
 market all property which in any way affects 
 the river views. It may be a number of years 
 before the city finally secures complete control 
 of its river but when it does it will own a feature 
 
 51 
 
THE 
 
 LANSING 
 
 PLAN 
 
 A street ot modest homes planted with young trees uniformly 
 
 spaced. This neighborhood would be one hundred 
 
 per cent more attractive if the homes 
 
 had shrubs planted about them. 
 
 Lansmg in the early days greatly appreciated the usefulness 
 
 and value of street tree planting. Prosecution of this 
 
 work holds great promise of improving the 
 
 appearance of the city. 
 
 which citizen and visitor aHke will appreciate 
 and enjoy and value. 
 
 Public ownership of riverside property is 
 unquestionably most desirable for bringing 
 back to the river the character which it once 
 had, but in lieu of actually owning the property 
 the city may yet exercise some control over it 
 or induce private owners to develop their hold- 
 ings according to a general riverside plan. An 
 inexpensive but studied planting of willows and 
 other water-loving trees would probably be 
 made by riverside property owners if the mat- 
 ter w^ere properly brought to their attention. 
 The city itself might even undertake to do this 
 work for the sake of securing a more unified 
 appearance. Any method by which dumping 
 may be prevented, and ugly buildings masked 
 will produce a welcome change in the aspect 
 of the central section of Lansing. The con- 
 struction of the several new and modern 
 bridges will also greatly improve the river 
 prospect. 
 
 2. A more dignified note in the business 
 section is needed. This can be secured by: 
 
 (a) The elimination of projecting signs. 
 This may be done by city ordinance. Some 
 
 merchants who have no particular interest in 
 the appearance of the city may object to being 
 thus deprived of opportunity to introduce 
 themselves to the public, but if the ordinance 
 is fairly drawn and all are made to conform 
 to the same standards, no hardship is imposed. 
 The removal of these signs will do a great deal 
 to relieve the business section in the neighbor- 
 hood of the Capitol of its present shoddy ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 (b) The installation of a more modern 
 system of lighting. The lights that are at pres- 
 ent in use are antiquated and unsatisfactory. 
 Single standard lamps are much more modern. 
 If trolley wires are to be hung from poles, a 
 single bracket lamp will be a great improve- 
 ment over the system now in use. The aim in 
 making changes in the street equipment should 
 be to secure greater simplicity, orderliness, 
 more restraint. 
 
 (c) The removal of all sidewalk encroach- 
 ments and obstructions. At the present time 
 there are in Lansing many merchants who 
 believe that the public street is available for 
 use as display space. There are also many 
 
 The interest of industries in the appearance of the city is well exemplified in these two views showing well kept lawns and 
 
 planting about factory buildings. 
 
 52 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 I N G 
 
 PLAN 
 
 Shiawassee Street Bridge to be replaced with an overhead 
 bridge over railroad. 
 
 stores which have show-cases and rigid awn- 
 ings that take up space of the sidewalk. The 
 enforcement of a city ordinance keeping the 
 streets and sidewalks free in the business dis- 
 trict would add to the appearance of this 
 section. 
 
 (d) The encouragement of a higher 
 standard of architecture. With few exceptions 
 the commercial buildings in Lansing are old 
 and unattractive, a great many of them dating 
 from the period which was known in American 
 architecture as the "reign of terror." The 
 capital city should have some interest in de- 
 veloping a more harmonious architectural effect 
 downtov/n. If the city itself is unable to exert 
 an effort in this direction the matter could well 
 be handled by the Chamber of Commerce and 
 other organizations interested in the improve- 
 ment of Lansing. The city might offer to 
 remit taxes on the best designed building each 
 year, or prizes might be offered by civic or- 
 ganizations. These are merely stimulants, 
 however; if the builders themselves are inter- 
 ested in Lansing's appearance they will co- 
 operate in the erection of creditable structures. 
 
 (e) The refinement of the surroundings of 
 the Capitol. The Capitol grounds, while in 
 themselves fairly spacious and attractive, are 
 
 Washington Avenue Bridge. 
 
 yet not as w^ell developed as they might be. 
 A more carefully studied plan of walks and 
 drives, and a better placement of the several 
 statues and monuments are greatly to be 
 desired. 
 
 (f) The removal of street cars entirely 
 from Michigan Avenue between Washington 
 and Capitol, and the use of the space so re- 
 linquished as a central plaza. A wide, un- 
 obstructed view toward the Capitol from Wash- 
 ington and Michigan would add noticeably to 
 the character of the business section. This 
 street is wide enough to give a much more 
 pronounced impression of generosity. Row^s 
 of trees might even be planted along this block 
 on Michigan, similar to those which are found 
 on State Street in Albany. The gingko or 
 maiden-hair tree is frequently found in such 
 locations, seeming to be able to survive the 
 inhospitable soil and moisture conditions. 
 
 (g) The adoption of a uniform type of 
 sidewalk construction. Clean, well-built side- 
 walks, sharp curb lines, together with smooth, 
 well kept pavements, will add noticeably 
 to the neatness and trimness of the downtown 
 area. 
 
 3. Building of more attractive railw^ay and 
 interurban stations. The time seems to be ripe 
 
 Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge being replaced with a concrete 
 structure. 
 
 Elm Street Bridge, built in 192 1 
 
 53 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 A SUGGESTED NEW CAPITOL GROUP 
 LANSING 
 MICH I CAN 
 
 H\RJ \ND L M !HOLO«n\ 
 
 Plale No. 27 
 
 for the construction of a union terminal group 
 close to the business section. A suggested joint 
 site for railroad and interurban passenger 
 terminals is shown on Plate No. 24, page 45. 
 A passenger terminal group in this location 
 offers an opportunity for building a much more 
 impressive portal to the city than may possibly 
 be secured through the building of separate 
 stations. Visitors who arrive in Lansing by in- 
 terurban certainly deserve better treatment 
 than being dumped out on the street. 
 
 4. Encouragement of a wider appreciation 
 of the civic value of dignified and impressive 
 public buildings. It is apparent that heretofore 
 neither those who represent the state at large 
 in the legislative assemblies nor the citizens 
 of Lansing have been especially interested in 
 the possibilities of grouping the great state 
 buildings. Plate No. 2 7 suggests new and 
 better settings for the state buildings likely to 
 be needed in the future. 
 
 The plan disregards the newly erected state 
 office building. As has been noted before, 
 this structure, which represents a considerable 
 investment of the public fund has been shunted 
 off to the side and so located as to be without 
 relationship to the capitol and without setting 
 commensurate with its size and importance. 
 This practice of haphazardly spotting magnifi- 
 cent buildings in the capital city is unworthy of 
 Michigan. 
 
 The State of Michigan is not always going 
 to find its present capitol adequate and is very 
 likely in time to need additional office build- 
 ings similar to that built on Walnut Street. It 
 would be an obvious service to the people of 
 the state to plan an orderly grouping of these 
 structures in advance of tlieir construction. 
 By adhering to such a plan the state will realize 
 a greater return upon its investment in archi- 
 tectural effect. The buildings of the state are 
 designed to be impressive and representative 
 
 54 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 -f 
 
 , 1 - 
 
 iTilE STREVT D14N &6;N[PA1 DiJlLOPHEliT OF 
 LftNSINfi DO NOT MJtQU(,rr.a RCPJXT ITS 
 I B3SITIOU IN THt S'AIC. 
 IN l-\A2AS,COurlTS fXIULlVAPDl.OPCN SFWES 
 TucDt 'iruiDBf rppATTQ oirr»-Nm*ri:TMri'i'>'" t 
 
 A ppoiDSfD PLAZA ON V\irNiGAN 
 AVLIlllf M {->M\iL< DAPk- 
 
 -^^. 'W' 
 
 ' ^c 
 
 ,^ 
 
 »i. 
 
 ^■^^ 
 
 
 UtaWD BSPruoio'An-i "^ 
 
 GTY PJ". CSK«Ka-Si T ^ll"" 
 
 ':^*in;„t, 
 
 Plate No. 28 
 
 of the character of the commonwealth. They 
 lose much of this emphasis when scattered. 
 They become doubly valuable when assembled 
 in a harmonious group. 
 
 With this thought in mind, therefore, it is 
 suggested that the future building policy of the 
 state be determined by some such plan as is 
 presented herewith. A state commission should 
 be appointed to confer with representatives of 
 the city on matters of such common interest. 
 For the guidance of discussion of a future 
 Capitol group the following program is offered: 
 
 (a) Lansing lacks downtown open spaces 
 bearing a distinct relationship to both city and 
 state properties. When the need of a new 
 capitol arises it is suggested that this site be 
 the blocks west of Pine Street between Ottawa 
 and Allegan. A new building on this area can 
 be built without disturbing the old. The pres- 
 sure of business growth westward suggests a 
 more westerly site for the dominant building of 
 a new group. 
 
 (b) The intervening blocks between the 
 present capitol grounds and the new site 
 should be developed as a mall, with subsidiary 
 state buildings ranged on either side. 
 
 The acquisition of property for this new 
 group should commence now. Piece by piece 
 may be secured until all the land necessary 
 becomes public property. Such a treatment 
 would provide Lansing with a capitol setting 
 of which the entire state would be proud. It 
 would be but a slow retrieving of an oppor- 
 tunity which the founders allowed to slip in 
 laying out the original city. 
 
 5. The educational value of well designed 
 school buildings has also not been appreciated 
 in Lansing. They should be farther from the 
 street and on larger lots. Likewise all schools 
 should have a carefully planned landscape treat- 
 ment differentiating between the active play 
 areas and planted foreground. The structure 
 and its setting should form a harmonious com- 
 position. 
 
 55 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 6. The erection of more commemorative 
 statues, memorial shafts, monuments, fountains, 
 and similar features expressive of the character 
 of the capital city. The pride which Lansing 
 feels in being predominantly industrial could 
 well be indicated thus. There is place for such 
 embellishments in every well-rounded city. A 
 careful examination of the street plan proposed 
 for Lansing will suggest at once scores of sites 
 for features of this sort. In their incorporation 
 in the structure of the city it is essential only to 
 remember that they should have artistic excel- 
 lence, should be well distributed, and should 
 be protected as to their immediate surround- 
 ings. Plate No. 28, on preceding page, may 
 suggest the civic value of such devices as are 
 mentioned above. 
 
 7. The encouragement of more home land- 
 scape gardening. Lansing is situated in a 
 climate which is particularly favorable to the 
 growth of trees and shrubs. Beautiful lawns 
 are easily secured and kept. An active cam- 
 paign conducted by civic organizations w^ould 
 encourage a great deal more work in this field 
 and produce notable results in a comparatively 
 short time. In no other field is the character 
 of the city as well expressed as in the measure 
 of interest taken in private home grounds. 
 
 8. Coincident with a movement to improve 
 the appearance of home grounds should also 
 come general encouragement of cleanliness and 
 neatness, particularly on unimproved property. 
 Many vacant lots in Lansing now are used as 
 dumping grounds or are covered with weeds. 
 The enforcement of sanitary regulations and 
 of ordinances requiring weed cutting is strongly 
 to be urged. 
 
 9. The removal of signs and billboards 
 from residential districts. The zone ordinance 
 will prevent further erection of these useless 
 disfigurements. Disapproval of adjacent prop- 
 erty owners should gradually force the elimi- 
 nation of those already located in residential 
 
 districts. Their presence in such neighbor- 
 hoods in this day of universal newspaper read- 
 ing can no longer be justified. 
 
 1 0. Placing wires underground or on poles 
 on rear lot lines. A tangle of poles and wires 
 mars the appearance of many Lansing streets. 
 Even some of the newest and finest subdivisions 
 are afflicted. TTiere should be no overhead 
 utilities on the streets of modern land sub- 
 division, and Lansing real estate operators 
 should know this. Trees only should be on 
 the streets. 
 
 1 1 . There should be a more widespread 
 planting of street trees. The city should follow 
 the state which has recently by legislative act 
 provided for the planting and maintenance of 
 trees on all state highways. The trees that 
 have been planted on Lansing's streets con- 
 tribute notably to whatever charm the city now 
 possesses. There is justification in expendi- 
 tures for their care and maintenance. 
 
 Greater effort, however, should be made to 
 encourage additional planting. Especially 
 should it be urged that all new subdivisions be 
 planted when they are laid out. TTie cost of 
 planting trees on streets at this time, if divided 
 equally among the lots offered for sale, forms 
 but an insignificant portion of the cost of the 
 property. The value of the trees so planted 
 will increase with years. 
 
 In the case of older treeless streets, planting 
 could well be done at the time of ordinary 
 street improvement. The cost of such plant- 
 ing chargeable against each lot would in this 
 case also be almost negligible. A uniform, 
 extensive tree planting is the object to be 
 desired and this is not to be secured if the 
 responsibility is left with individual property 
 owners. The finest streets of Lansing are those 
 which many years ago were planted for many 
 blocks with trees of the same variety. An 
 ordinance by which the city may extend its 
 tree planting should be adopted. 
 
 56 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 Zoning 
 
 The Lansing Ordinance 
 
 The Legislature of Michigan in 1921 passed 
 a law authorizing cities to enact zoning ordi- 
 nances regulating by districts the use, height and 
 area of buildings, and the density of popula- 
 tion. Such an ordinance has been prepared 
 for Lansing. In brief the Lansing zoning 
 ordinance as recommended to the City Council 
 may be described as follows: 
 
 It comprises first of all two classes of dis- 
 tricts, Use Districts, and Height and Area Dis- 
 tricts. In the former, the uses of property are 
 regulated. The latter comprise regulations 
 covering the height to which buildings may be 
 erected and the areas of lots which they may 
 cover. 
 
 There are five Use Districts established under 
 the ordinance. They are designated as follows: 
 A" Residence, 
 "B ' Residence, 
 "C" Commercial, 
 "D" Industrial, 
 "E" Unrestricted. 
 In the "A Residence Districts are permitted 
 only the following uses of property: 
 
 1 . One and Two Family Dwellings, 
 
 2. Churches and Temples, 
 
 3. Schools and Colleges, 
 
 4. Libraries, 
 
 5. Nurseries and Greenhouses, 
 
 6. Farming and Truck Gardening, 
 
 7. Accessory Buildings including Private 
 Garages. 
 
 In the "B" Residence District there are per- 
 mitted any uses indicated in the "A" Residence 
 District, and in addition the following: 
 
 1 . Tenements, 
 
 2. Apartments, 
 
 3. Hotels, 
 
 4. Private Clubs and Fraternity Houses, 
 
 5. Boarding and Lodging Houses, 
 
 6. Institutions, 
 
 7. Accessory buildings not involving the 
 conduct of a retail business. 
 
 In the "C" or Commercial District are per- 
 mitted all uses enumerated in the "A" and "B" 
 Residence Districts and all other uses except 
 those specifically designated as follows: 
 
 I. Bakery (employing more than five (5) 
 persons) , 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 4. 
 5. 
 
 Yard, 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 
 Blacksmith or horse shoeing shop, 
 Bottling Works, 
 
 Building Material Storage Yard, 
 Carting Express, Hauling or Storage 
 
 Contractor's Plant or Storage Yard, 
 Coal, Coke or Wood Yard, 
 
 8. Cooperage Works, 
 
 9. Dyeing and Cleaning Works (employ- 
 ing more than five (5) persons), 
 
 I 0. Ice Plant or Storage, 
 
 1 1. Laundry (employing more than (5) 
 persons) , 
 
 1 2. Livery Stable, 
 
 I 3. Lumber Yard, 
 
 1 4. Milk Distributing Station, 
 
 1 5. Stone Yard or Monumental Works, 
 
 1 6. Storage or Baling of Scrap Paper, Iron, 
 Bottles, Rags or Junk, 
 
 1 7. Storage Warehouse, 
 
 1 8. All uses excluded from the Industrial 
 District, 
 
 1 9. Any kind of manufacture or treatment 
 other than the manufacture or treatment of 
 
 Zoning is a scheme for encouraging these small stores to have 
 a bit more consideration for their neighborhoods. 
 
 Who would buy the lot and build a home next door to this> 
 
 57 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 products clearly incidental to the conduct of a 
 retail business conducted on the premises. 
 
 In the "D" or Industrial District is permitted 
 any use of property included in the three dis- 
 tricts enumerated above, or any form of in- 
 dustry not objectionable by reason of the 
 emission of smoke, odor, dust, gas, etc. 
 
 The "E" or Unrestricted District is the low- 
 est classification of the several Use Districts. 
 In the areas so designated are permitted all 
 uses of property except those specifically pro- 
 hibited by ordinances of the City of Lansing. 
 
 Height and Area Districts are designed to 
 supplement the use districts. There are five 
 such districts designated by letter, "A," "B," 
 "C," "D," and "E" Height and Area Districts, 
 the provisions of which are co-ordinated with 
 the five Use Districts. The "A" Height and 
 Area District is designed primarily for one and 
 two-family houses. Two and one-half stories, 
 or a maximum of thirty-five feet, is the height 
 limitation of this district, and the area provi- 
 sions include the following: Rear yard sixteen 
 feet minimum; two side yards, 3 feet; set-back, 
 minimum, twenty feet; forty per cent of the 
 area of an interior lot and fifty per cent of a 
 corner lot, maximum occupancy; and density 
 of population not to exceed ten families per 
 acre. 
 
 The "B" Height and Area District, designed 
 primarily for less intensive apartment houses, 
 carries provisions but slightly different from 
 those of the "A" Height and Area District: 
 Three stories, or forty-five feet, is the maxi- 
 mum height permitted; rear yard, sixteen feet 
 minimum depth; side yards, four feet; set-back, 
 minimum twenty feet, lot occupancy forty per 
 cent for interior lots and fifty per cent for 
 corner lots; number of families limited to 
 eighteen per acre. 
 
 The "C" Height and Area District is chiefly 
 a modification of the preceding district to 
 
 permit the erection of more intensive apart- 
 ment houses. The height limit of this district 
 is sixty feet; the rear yard, sixteen feet mini- 
 mum; side yards, five feet; set-back, tw^enty 
 feet; with density of population limited to 
 seventy-five families per acre. 
 
 The "D" Height and Area District is de- 
 signed primarily to supplement commercial 
 and industrial uses. The height limitation is 
 six stories, or seventy-five feet. The rear yard 
 is limited to ten feet; side yard to five feet; the 
 area of the lot vvrhich may be occupied is eighty 
 per cent for interior and ninety per cent for a 
 corner lot. In this district buildings used for 
 residential purposes must comply w^ith the pro- 
 visions of the "C" Height and Area District. 
 
 The "E" Height and Area District is the 
 most liberal in its provisions. Eight stories, or 
 one hundred feet, is the maximum height to 
 which buildings may be erected. The rear 
 yard is limited to ten feet; side yards five feet; 
 on the first floor buildings in this district may 
 occupy the entire area of the lot provided the 
 rear yard provision is complied with. Above 
 the first floor, how^ever, not more than ninety 
 per cent of the corner lot, nor more than eighty 
 per cent of the interior lot may be occupied by 
 the building. 
 
 In adapting the provisions of the height and 
 area districts to actual conditions, it has been 
 found necessary to incorporate in the ordinance 
 certain exceptions to the rigid requirements of 
 the separate districts. These exceptions pro- 
 vide for the erection of public and semi-public 
 buildings, hospitals, sanitariums, schools, etc., 
 in the "A" and "B" Height and Area Districts; 
 increase in height of one and tw^o-family dwell- 
 ings in the "A" Height and Area District; the 
 erection of churches, cathedrals and temples 
 to a height greater than that provided by the 
 ordinance; provisions for towers, chimneys, 
 
 Illustrating the conglomerate mixture of interests 
 results in a city without a zone plan. 
 
 vhich 
 
 A corner house built out to the street line on each street; 
 no side yards whatever; lot only 66 feet deep. 
 
 58 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 scenery lofts, and other such accessory struc- 
 tures. The area district exceptions cover con- 
 ditions which cannot fully be recognized in the 
 separate provisions of the several districts. 
 They pertain to such matters as the area of 
 group or row houses, the application of rear 
 yard provisions to buildings that run from 
 street to street, projection of cornices, pro- 
 jecting of fire escapes, outside stairways, and 
 similar matters. Plate No. 29 illustrates the 
 general nature of the Height and Area regula- 
 tions. 
 
 Supplementing the more regulatory section 
 of the zoning ordinance are certain other pro- 
 visions which adapt the ordinance further to 
 existing conditions and make its application 
 easier and more reasonable. A close examina- 
 tion of the ordinance itself is recommended. It 
 will be found, for instance, that existing uses 
 of property are unaffected. That is, there is 
 no intention in the zoning ordinance of dis- 
 rupting conditions as they are at the time 
 of the adoption of the ordinance. Its purpose 
 is primarily to guide the future development 
 of the city. 
 
 Another important provision is for the 
 creation of a Board of Appeals. It frequently 
 happens in the enforcement of an ordinance of 
 this character that many border line cases arise 
 which call for a liberal interpretation of its 
 clauses. A Board of Appeals provides for 
 flexibility in such instances, and makes pos- 
 sible a variable application of the provisions of 
 the ordinance to meet the changing conditions 
 of a growing city. Such a Board will effectively 
 prevent the ordinance from becoming unduly 
 harsh and inflexible. 
 
 It will be observed, further, that changes in 
 the ordinance itself may be made. It cannot 
 be imagined that all districts as they are 
 designated at the time of the adoption of the 
 
 ordinance and all provisions of the ordinance 
 can remain unchanged indefinitely. In a grow- 
 ing city there will undoubtedly arise conditions 
 which cannot possibly be foreseen. The zoning 
 ordinance consequently must be so devised 
 that it can be altered to meet new^ situations. 
 Changes may be made, consequently, by the 
 City Planning Commission of its own volition 
 or upon petition signed by property owners. 
 For the purpose of protecting the ordinance 
 against whimsical changes, however, a public 
 hearing is required and also a three-fourths vote 
 of the City Council. 
 
 Additional provisions of this character may 
 be enumerated but it is recommended that 
 these be studied in the ordinance itself. The 
 zoning ordinance as it has been prepared is in 
 conformity with the state law, is complete and 
 ready for adoption. It has been prepared in 
 connection with an intirnate study of the present 
 City of Lansing and the possibilities of future 
 growth. In its actual application after adoption 
 it will serve to guide and direct a more orderly, 
 more wholesome development of the entire city. 
 
 Application of the Zone Ordinance 
 
 The various districts, "A" Residence, "B" 
 Residence, Commercial, Industrial and Un- 
 restricted reflect broadly actual conditions. 
 Sections of the city in which residences prevail 
 are residential, despite occasional corner stores 
 and similar commercial or industrial irregular- 
 ities. The main business section has been 
 designated a commercial district and consid- 
 erably enlarged. Certain secondary commer- 
 cial districts of smaller size have likewise been 
 established at important street intersections. 
 The central industrial areas have been retained 
 as "industrial" but the objectionable industries 
 
 Rear lot structures of necessity must keep company with 
 the unhealthy surroundings of back yards. 
 
 Where it is possible for multiple-family dwellings and 
 apartments to intrude themselves among single- 
 family dwellings, the latter invariably suffer. 
 
 59 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 NOTES 
 
 on s comer /a^/Tisy f>e 
 e/eef /ess 7«c?/> //4rA 
 
 ei7fire /o^ em /fV ^/r^f- % 
 (^i/tfffmenf-^ -/ora fair 
 
 a. 
 
 TYPICAL BLOCK LAYOUT 
 
 SHOWING Height andAeea Regulations 
 
 LAN^>lNe - MICHIGAN 
 
 "A DISTRICT 
 
 num liigU a tuildmjs 55t' 
 
 "B" DISTRICT 
 
 M ul n fJi; Re 5 1 d c nc e *;A pj rl men I 
 10 Families pcAcre 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 I ^ 
 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 
 °n 
 i 
 
 
 
 STREET 
 
 Scale. hncVi - ^ofac+r 
 
 HAI2Z.AND Bartholomew. 
 
 CtTYPLAN tNCINEEtt. ATn-OUIi. 
 
 Plate No. 29 
 
 have been relegated to unrestricted sections 
 on the outskirts of the city. 
 
 In the mapping of these several districts the 
 adaptability of the topography, railroad facili- 
 ties, street system, and similar determining 
 factors have been considered. Likewise 
 tendencies of growth have been recognized. 
 It will be found upon examination of the Use 
 District and Height and Area District maps 
 that the whole scheme of zoning but emphasizes 
 other elements of the plan for directing this 
 growth. The zoning ordinance consequently 
 is not to be considered a thing apart. It is a 
 part of the city plan which can be put in the 
 form of an ordinance and made effective im- 
 mediately. 
 
 In its operation it will serve to stabilize the 
 future development of Lansing. The city will 
 become more healthful, more orderly, more 
 economical. The zoning ordinance will do 
 this by defining the manner in which private 
 property may be used and developed. There 
 will be some abridgments of action as regards 
 property use but these minor sacrifices must 
 be made in order that larger benefits may 
 accrue to larger numbers. There may be per- 
 sons owning property in certain of the more 
 highly restricted districts who would rather use 
 
 their holdings for non-conforming purposes. 
 These few may feel aggrieved at the interfer- 
 ence of the ordinance. Yet their dissatisfaction 
 is not to be compared to the contentment of 
 the scores of other property ow^ners of the 
 district who appreciate the zone plan and the 
 protection which it gives them and their prop- 
 erty from such value-destroying invasion. 
 
 In substance, it is the aim of the zone plan 
 to reserve certain sections of the city for the uses 
 to which these districts may best be put. Low, 
 level areas convenient to railroad facilities are 
 
 TYPICAL BLOCIC U\Y0UT5 
 
 LANSING -MCHIGAN" 
 
 HAQLANO BARTHOLOMEW CITY DLAN tNGlNEEE. 
 
 NoTt - Oiiainol 1 
 
 P^ 
 
 flIPi 
 
 s 
 
 1121? 
 
 a? 
 
 a 
 
 "i^ 
 
 aldJ] aialBl 
 
 CB 
 
 iTPi ' 
 
 [!:»]] 
 
 cS 
 
 
 3SJ 
 
 ujere SO > IW 
 MICHIGAN AVL 
 
 ffl 
 
 ^ 
 
 & 
 
 ^^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 ^:ph — I 
 
 ■EXb 
 
 Rg^" 
 
 m.. 
 
 C3) 
 
 JT2i 
 
 m 
 
 jisi 
 
 -^ 
 
 HIUSDALC AVL 
 
 EUCERA AVE 
 
 Plate No. 30 
 
 60 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 not as suitable for homes as for factories and 
 warehouses. Consequently in the division of 
 the city into districts these sections are desig- 
 nated industrial. Residences that are already 
 there may remain and others may be erected, 
 but persons wishing thus to use their property 
 do so knowing the conditions which are likely 
 to surround them in the future. 
 
 Other sections of the city, comprising higher 
 ground, wooded tracts, predominately home 
 neighborhoods, are made residential districts. 
 Here a person may build a home and have 
 assurance that nothing but homes will be built 
 near him. In the "A" Residence District no 
 apartments can be built, property thus classified 
 enjoying the highest protection. A district for 
 apartments, as well as for single and double 
 family homes, however, is provided close to 
 the central business section v^'here land values 
 dictate a more intensive use of property. 
 
 Not all attention in the zoning ordinance has 
 been centered on the use of property. Supple- 
 menting the plan for an orderly, scientific 
 allocation of homes, business houses, factories 
 and the like, is another plan for further regulat- 
 ing the manner in which property may be im- 
 proved. Even if all homes were in the right 
 place and industries were given exclusive ter- 
 ritory there would be no protection of human 
 values against airless rooms, congestion, over- 
 intensive use of land and other conditions 
 which menace the public welfare. The use of 
 land space in Lansing has not heretofore been 
 wholly to the best interest of the city. Plate 
 No. 30 will illustrate a tendency to congestion 
 caused by ( 1 ) poor land subdivision, (2) im- 
 perfect regulation of the use of land. A phase 
 of the zoning ordinance, therefore, aims to 
 regulate the size and height of buildings, to 
 define minimum amounts of open space which 
 they must have around them and to fix def- 
 initely the number of persons who may be 
 housed on a given area. These "height and 
 area" regulations are closely interwoven with 
 the "use" restrictions and the two should be 
 considered together in examining the ordi- 
 nance. 
 
 It will be found, furthermore, that the height 
 and area provisions of the zoning ordinance are 
 harmonized with the State Housing Code, 
 designed and adopted several years ago to 
 curb house building practices which were det- 
 rimental to the public interest. Housing code, 
 building code, fire regulations and similar in- 
 struments which aim to raise the standard of 
 
 buildings and to safeguard life in the city will 
 be supplemented and their range of influence 
 enlarged by the zoning ordinance. 
 
 The fundamental justification of the zoning 
 ordinance is in the object v/hich it seeks to 
 accomplish, the improvement of living con- 
 ditions. Under our form of government each 
 state is charged with the responsibility of look- 
 ing after the health, comfort, and physical well- 
 being of its citizens. The state consequently 
 delegates to municipal corporations certain 
 powers to control, regulate, even to restrict 
 civic development in the interest of public 
 welfare. The Michigan zoning law, under 
 authority of which the Lansing ordinance has 
 been prepared, is an example of such grant of 
 pov^^er. The principle of zoning or of regulat- 
 ing by districts the use and development of 
 private property holds sufficient promise of 
 improving city life as to warrant state recogni- 
 tion. 
 
 In testing the merit of a particular ordinance, 
 however, its reasonableness is the chief 
 criterion. When a city undertakes to enforce 
 a zone plan it invades private property rights, 
 a field that has long had the fullest protection 
 of courts and legislative assemblies. A man 
 may do as he pleases with his own property; 
 this has been a fundamental concept in our 
 law^s. As states have developed, howrever, 
 they have been called upon more and more 
 frequently to use statutory power for the regula- 
 tion of private affairs. Conditions in cities 
 particularly have made it necessary to restrict 
 the use of certain property in the interest of 
 the general public. The state makes no pay- 
 ment to a man when it forbids him to build a 
 frame structure within the fire limits of a city; 
 
 An example of what is known as the high-class apartment. 
 
 Sixty families in this building must depend for fresh 
 
 air and sunlight upon the streets and parks nearby. 
 
 61 
 
THE LANSING PLAN 
 
 it does not compensate the owner of a piece from time to time to interfere with a man s use 
 
 of property when it keeps him from using his of his own property the "police power. Under 
 
 land as a site for a slaughter house. These such power is the Lansing zone ordinance to 
 
 small sacrifices of freedom are viewed as be enforced. Its strongest support will be 
 
 reasonable and just, inasmuch as they are made found in the uniformity of its provisions, its 
 
 to protect the health of the larger numbers. timeliness, its application to all alike, and in 
 
 The state has called this power which it invokes its reasonableness. 
 
 62 
 
''4. irihr-|r'ir 
 //■rOuLJiJlJiJLJL 
 
 I. / o^ 
 
 CI TV O F 
 
 LANSING 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 COMPRtUCNSIVt PLAN 
 roe Tuc DicccnoN oc 
 
 rUTURE GROWTU &■ IMPf^O/CMENT 
 
 HAH.LAKD BARTHOLOMEW 
 CITY PIAN ENGINEER.- SAINT LOUIS 
 1921 
 
 LKCND 
 
 A^AJOB. STBtCTSOrSUfriCIENT WIDTH 
 MAJOli STREETS TO 9E WIDENED 
 
 
 JLJLJU-;-^nr^^^<-'--7A^^--= (f) PRDPOSCD SCH< 
 
 i::]qnnr3>jj ^.;'Xv/4-_^. _ pckent street 
 
 ][JC:ll ][][^lji )^, \v — NEW TCACIC 
 
 -----= MAJOe. STREETS EXTENSIONSc&CONNEGIONS 
 s^::;: TYPES OP LAND SUBDIVISION 
 iS=s PARKS <&^E(OULCVAIJDS 
 CAILROADS 
 
 PROPOSED RAILPOAD TUACIC ELEVATION 
 
 SUBWAY 
 — " VIADUCT 
 
 - PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
 
 <°) PROPOSED PLAYGROUNDS 
 
 PROPOSED SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS 
 RAILWAY TRACK. USED 
 
 ■ir ii 
 
 TRACK. ABANDONED