Do you have any stories about parking in downtown Lansing, MI ?

When I now go to downtown Lansing (MI), I have to park on the streets.  When I worked there, I was one of the fortunate few who had an assigned parking spot.  So, I didn’t have to worry about parking tickets.

Grand Ledge resident Ted Kluck, in his blog–Ted Wins. (a Blog)–tells about his wife’s experience in getting two parking tickets in the same spot and shares the reaction of the meter person.  The tickets were costly.

They spent money downtown.  They are not encouraged about coming back to patronize downtown businesses.

By the way, Ted is a former professional indoor football player and has published several books.  Check out his website.

I invite you to read his post and then share your downtown parking experiences.  I’ve gotten a couple downtown parking tickets over the years.  Have you gotten any?

lansing mi, parking tickets, ted kluck,

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What are the boundaries for the Averill Woods (Lansing, MI) neighborhood?

Every so often, somebody will ask me what the boundaries are for our Averill Woods neighborhood on the southwest side of Lansing (MI).  Here’s the official definition from a neighborhood association brochure:

The official Averill Woods Neighborhood Association includes all residents in the areas bounded by Cooley, Deerfield, Holmes and Waverly.

Does anybody know the geographic area where the Woodmere Neighborhood Association fits on the southwest side?

Lansing (MI) Council Member A’Lynne Robinson talks about cell tower ordinance and police stations

Lansing (MI) Council Member A’Lynne Robinson stopped by an outside clean-up activity of the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association to share some hot coffee and news about issues being discussed at City Hall.

These included a new cell tower ordinance which the City Council is expected to have a final vote on at tomorrow night’s regular meeting and issues surrounding the talked-about consolidation of the city’s north and south police station.

If you have comments or questions from what she shares, you are invited to leave them on this post.

Post #3–Mark it down to bring cookies and punch to Averill School on Dec. 11

Averill School Principal Rosa Thill has invited Averill Woods Neighborhood Association members to bring cookies and punch to a school “Neighborhood Walk Through” at 1:30 pm on Thursday, Dec. 11.  For details read this blog or my Daily Grit where I have cross-posted this.

Post #2–Averill Woods Neighborhood to help with school updates

Averill School on Lansing’s (MI) southwest side has become a focal point for the Averill Woods neighborhood and its association.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: On Saturday, Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon, the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association will sponsor a “thin out”  of the forested area adjacent to the school.  Goal is to trim the perimeter of the forest back two to three feet to allow more visual access to the area.

This could be the first of regular monthly cleanups of the woods by neighborhood residents.

The project is part of a package of proposals developed by MSU senior lanscape architect student Trish Gilbert who divided her recommendations into four areas:

Painting of a mural on the north side of the  building by students was also discussed or by local mural artists was also discussed.

1. School’s front yard where school groups, including students,  would get involved in spring planting and other efforts to soften the institutional appearance of the building.
2. Installation of motion lights at the back of the school where there’s a playground, including a basketball hoop and other equipment, but also has been a hidden place where there’s been gatherings turned violent.
3. Resurfacing of the play areas which could include new asphalt and the painting of a area-size US map for students to play on.
4. Reclaiming the woods just north of the school which has become a tangle of growth and a hiding spot for illicit activity.  (Go to next page for video clip)

Post #1: Averill Woods and other southsiders praised by LPD for B & E arrests

Lansing (MI) Police Department Officer Jason Bock praised Averill Woods neighbors and others on the southside for calling police when they see unknown and suspicious people at neighbors’ homes.

Bock, who is the assigned officer to the Averill Woods neighborhood, said aware southside neighbors played a significant role in the capture of nine sets of young burglars in recent days, including a home on South Deerfield where thieves were caught with various pieces of electronic equipment.

LPD officer Jason Bock gives his monthly report to the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association. He talked about an increase in the number of breaking and enterings.

Highlights of his comments:

• Compared to past months in the Averill Woods neighborhood and the south side, he said, the area has been “getting hammered” with breaking and enterings.
• But, the thieves have been getting caught because of neighbors keeping watch for each other and calling 911 when they see something suspicious.  About when to call, he said, “Call all.  Think the worst.”
• Many of the burglars are teens who look like school kids with backpacks.  Two or three will come to a house with one acting as a lookout, another knocking on the front door while another goes through the back.  Often the stolen property will be hidden in the backpack.
• Recent experience has shown that many break-ins occur between the time when residents leave for work and when they come home.
• The biggest point of entry for burglars has been hidden back doors.
• Officer Bock said that LPD officers have been given permission from their commanders to work overtime to protect our area, find perpetrators and prevent additional break-ins.
• He also said there has been an increase in the number of calls for domestic problems.  Many times, Officer Bock added problems can be avoided when the two conflicting parties give each other space.
• In one other problem area, he said, there’s been an increase in motor vehicle accidents in the neighborhood because of cars slipping on wet leaves.

Coming shortly: News from last night’s Averill Woods meeting

I attended last night’s Averill Woods Neighborhood Association meeting and will be posting shortly about the highlights.

These include news about a rise in home invasions on the southside, including the Averill Woods neighborhood.  Police praised neighbors for their success in capturing thieves doing the break-ins.

I wil be posting summaries of the main points from the meeting, along with a video and photos.

Crime, police calls and new officers elected at Averill Woods Neighborhood Association meeting

If you missed tonight’s meeting of the Averill Woods Neighborhood Association in Averill Elementary School on Lansing’s (MI) southwest side, then you might be interested that:

• Lansing Police Department Officer Jason Bock, assigned to the Averill Woods neighborhood, passed out crime incidence maps with icons indicating where crime reports have been taken.  When questions were raised about other crimes in the neighborhood and where reports were taken, he shared that clerical staff had a backlog of police reports to put into the system.  He also indicated that a new system has been installed where reports can be completed inside a patrol car.
• A senior MSU lanscape architecture student who volunteered  to develop design recommendations for the Averill School grounds and nearby Averill Woods was introduced.  She shared her plans to gather information and to report back.  The area has been the source of fights, gunshots and late night group gatherings.
• With recent criminal activity concerns and reports in the neighborhood, Karen Chadwick, director of the 911 call center in the area described how her dispatchers take calls and how they assign priority to calls.  They are assigned with one of three categories.  The first being a call where a life is in danger, second where property is in danger and three for everything else.
• In another item, there were also reports of a large number of skunks showing up in the area.  For those sprayed, ideas were exchanged and everybody in the neighborhood was advised on be watchful.
• Officers were also elected and a by-laws committee was formed.

lansing, michigan, averill woods, lansing police department

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Cell tower ordinance and temporary moratorium – updates

City Council has developed a draft of a new ordinance to guide the placement of cell towers, guiding them to the more preferred areas.

Among other things, the new ordinance will streamline procedures for telecommunications companies wanting to locate in areas of Lansing predetermined as preferred locations. It also aims to prevent companies from locating towers on residentially zoned properties.

This ordinance will be voted on in the coming weeks and is currently being reviewed by the planning board.

While the ordinance is being reviewed a moratorium has been placed on new cell tower permits through 11/30/08. (Note that not all cell towers require permits, e.g. those in industrial and commercial areas.)

– Melissa

Are we prepared for a natural disaster on the scale of Ike?

September’s task is to “Collect emergency information” according to the http://www.do1thing.us/ website. That’s timely.

Sam and I pulled up live GIS maps from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Association to look at Hurricane Ike’s path tonight.

I wanted to measure how far inland was expected to be impacted, and how that compared to our distance to the Great Lakes.

I wondered if there were people who had to be prepared for the effects of this enormous hurricane who don’t normally think of the gulf waters in their daily life.

It turns out the impact was expected to reach up to 120 miles inland in the lowest lying areas. We are about 80 miles away from Lake Michigan. I can’t imagine having to be prepared for distasters that would originate that far away.

Not that we’re going to have a hurricane on Lake Michigan or anything, but it made me think about we sometimes feel impervious to distasters on that large of a scale because they seem so far away.

But remember the summer of the east coast power outage? That was a reminder of how we are all connected together, especially on the energy grid.

We learned that cell phones were unreliable at that point.

And if that power outage had happened now, anyone with Comcast phone service would have been without a phone after their 8 hours of back-up energy sources were exhausted.

And now, 25% of our nation’s oil drilling and refining facilities are likely to be impacted by the Hurricane Ike so we’ll likely all feel the impact.

Remember Katrina? Neighborhoods were abandoned and folks were scattered all across the country in the mass evacuation, and of course some folks were left behind without the resources to leave.

-If we had a mass evacuation in Lansing, would you be able to contact your neighbors wherever they fled to and see if they were okay?

-Would you know if you had neighbors with special needs and couldn’t evacuate or needed special assistance?

-If you were out of town and something happened to your house, would a neighbor know how to reach you or someone who knows where you are?

It’s just a reminder that knowing your neighbors is really important. Not only does it help us create a strong social fabric to enrich our lives and to fight crime, it can also help to keep us “safe in the storm” so to speak.

While the weather is still nice, take a walk around your block. Get to know your neighbors. Exchange information as much as you feel comfortable.

Here is an example of information that neighborhood watch block captains and coordinators can collect to help plan for an emergency as well as crime watch: http://www.averillwoods.org/resources/FamilyDataSheet2008+-+revised+MH.doc

You can also get a detailed, but simple list of things to do and information to collect at http://www.do1thing.us/files/calendar/GettingEmergencyInformation.pdf

–Melissa