Archive: Around Town

The Triphammer Road project is nearly complete.  The final paving has been done, lanes painted, and traffic lights are in operation.  Village of Lansing Engineer Dave Putnam reported that the primary contractor, Suit-Cote, is finished.  "The second left turn lane onto Pyramid Drive opened today," he said in Monday's Board of Trustees meeting.  "I just came over the bridge and there were two left turn arrows."

Putnam said that some subcontractors are still completing work, including installing and hooking up street lights, and beginning to plant trees along the route.  As with any construction project there are some adjustments and final touches that have yet to be completed.  Officials worried that drivers making a left turn off of Graham Road were not looking before they turned, causing some near accidents.  They discussed at length the timing of the traffic light there and solutions to the turn.  

Another concern was speeding.  Now that the road is completed, traffic flows noticeably faster, and cars are speeding through the lanes.  Trustee Lynn Leopold suggested looking into permanent speed limit signs with radar built in to tell drivers how fast they are going.  Deputy Mayor Larry Fresinski brought up a less expensive solution.  "One municipality put up signs that said that the speed was 27 1/4," he related.  "It remarkably slowed the drive through, because people thought, 'Boy they must really pay attention to speeding!" he said.  "On average they saw a 14 mile per hour reduction of speed."

Putnam also said temporary sensors on the light poles were removed.  The square boxes sensed traffic at the intersections.  "They were so big that people thought they were cameras," Fresinski said.  That prompted a discussion about using cameras to control speeding, but Village Attorney David Dubow said that cameras are not effective in enforcing the speed limit, because they photograph license plates, not drivers.  He said there is no way to prove that the owner of a car was driving it.

Leopold also expressed a concern that the Village educate residents about what can safely go into storm sewers, now that they have been installed along the route.  She noted that small plaques are available that could be installed on the sidewalk above each storm sewer grate.  "It seems to me that it would be a great public education effort if we could get the little plaques," she said, noting that they are eye catching and warn not to pour substances into the drain.  But while the Trustees attended to final details, it was clear they were happy to be nearly at the end of the project, and that they are pleased with the results.


An ongoing peripheral issue in the project has been creating a village identity.  Signs at the entrances to the Village have sought to address this, and the distinctive street lights and plantings planned for the Triphammer expanse will create a special look for what is arguably the Village Center.  Signs were another topic of discussion Monday when Planning Board Chairman Ned Hickey reported on a plan for way finding using uniform signs along the commercial portion of Triphammer.  "People coming into the Village for the first time may need some wayfinding assistance," he said.

The idea is to have signs with the village logo and are branded with 'The Village of Lansing Since 1974' with arrows that show where principal businesses are located.  Hickey showed the Trustees samples that a manufacturer had provided.  He said at first the planning Board discussed signs pointing to virtually every commercial establishment along the route, but they rejected the idea because the signs would be too busy, too plentiful, and too hard to read.  Hickey came up with an alternate plan.  

"I tried to group things that need to be identified because they sit off of Triphammer Road, so they really need some direction to get to them," he said.  He identified locations such as the YMCA, Pyramid Mall, Triphammer Mall, the Small Mall, the Deanco Building, and the Village Office Campus, among others, as examples.  Directory signs, that tell what businesses are in a particular mall or campus, were also discussed.  But while the Planning Board regulates what signs look like in the Village, the intent is for the businesses themselves to pay for directory signs if they are erected.

Hickey reported that the Planning Board is still debating the best wayfinding plan for the Village.  The signs will be yet another finishing touch that may come later.  For now details are being completed along the road, and traffic is flowing more smoothly than ever.  That's good news for drivers and area businesses.

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