Lansing small businesses feeling effects of Michigan Ave construction despite free parking
Lansing is offering free two-hour parking as construction on Michigan Avenue continues to interfere with traffic to for nearby businesses. The project has transitioned into its second phase, closing the road from Fairview Avenue to Foster Avenue.
Mayor Andy Schor announced Tuesday that Lot 8, the city-owned parking lot behind the businesses on Michigan Avenue’s 2000 block, will include free parking until Sept. 30 to encourage patronage at local shops.
“Offering complimentary parking in this city lot is one way that we can help support small businesses during this construction project,” Schor said in a statement. “I look forward to a more accessible and pedestrian-friendly corridor after the construction is completed; in the meantime, the free parking will offer some relief to parking challenges for residents and visitors who want to visit these businesses.”
The construction, which began April 1, consists of six phases. As each phase progresses westward along Michigan Avenue, street closures and cumbersome detours disrupt the usual routines of residents, workers and small business owners.
Alan R. Coe, co-owner of Triple Goddess Bookstore, told WKAR they’ve noticed construction has affected access to their store, neighboring restaurants and the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Specialty Hospital since March.
“That’s going to be carrying on for quite a while,” Coe said. “I just hope everybody’s okay getting to and from the hospital.”
Coe said some businesses impacted by earlier phases of construction had to buy signage to inform customers that they were still open.
Greg Drake is the owner of Local Tattoo and Laser, located across the street from Triple Goddess Bookstore. He said the CATA bus route, which used to frequent the area every ten minutes, has not driven past his storefront in nearly five months.
“And it’s not going to come by here for another four to five months,” Drake said. “To tell a business they’re not going to have any foot traffic for a year and expect them to realistically survive. I don’t think the city ever cared about that.”
Drake said many business owners in the area feel that the city was not informative enough about the project to begin with.
Some business owners, like Scott Harris of Everybody Reads Bookstore, said Lansing could be doing more for those impacted by the ongoing construction, like offering subsidies or loans to support locally-owned stores.
“Something else that the city could do, which is relatively simple, is put up signs around the city, up and down Michigan Avenue, telling people that we are still open,” Harris said. “Do something to help promote our businesses or do something more proactively to drive revenue.”
Harris described the current conditions as “bleak” for the business he’s owned since 2006.
“We’ve done our best to try to become more than white noise,” he said. “To let people know we exist and the importance of having locally-owned small businesses, unique businesses, not chains up and down Michigan Avenue.”
The construction is part of a complete redevelopment of a one-and-a-half mile stretch of Michigan Avenue between US-127 and Pennsylvania Avenue. City officials said the project includes adding bus lanes, bike lanes and narrowing the two eastbound traffic lanes down to one. The city is taking advantage of the road repair to also replace or remove sidewalks and trees, as well as upgrade sewer systems and water mains in the area.
The Michigan Avenue project will continue into the fall of 2025. To stay up to date on road closures and detours, visit Lansing’s Michigan Avenue Rehabilitation page.
