Archive: Opinions

EditorialI think of Lansing as a sleepy rural town, probably because I live in a sleepy rural portion of it.  And I've seen events fill up -- the CDC auction, or the Myers Park Playground functions, sports events, Harbor Festival.  Individual events.  But last Friday my opinion changed.  Lansing is a happening place!

I was at the East Shore Festival Of The Arts opening in the town square, thrilled at the size of the turnout the first annual version of the event attracted.  But I had to leave for a while to take pictures of the basketball fundraiser at the high school.  That event was packed -- the bleachers were pretty full, and scores of people were participating in the game.  Coming back to the art show I noticed a robust presence on the Town ball fields.

My stereotype bubble of a one-event-at-a-time town was burst.  I don't know why I should be surprised at the number of people who were out and about in Lansing.  I already knew this is a very active community with a lot of people doing positive things that make the community and the world a better place.  It did get me thinking about the proposed Town Center, and how that will contribute to highlighting how vibrant Lansing really is.

That's the thing -- connecting the major hubs of activity in the town will certainly bring more attention to them.  Sidewalks and safe walking pathways will bring visual unity to these areas, as well as actual unity.  It may not physically bring the schools and the park and the town center closer together, but it will make them seem more like one thing.

At Wednesday's Town Board meeting councilwoman Kathy Miller reported on how individuals on the Town Center committee are responding to the tentative plan architects have provided.  One is pursuing the sidewalk idea with the DOT (34B is a state road), while others want to see what it will take to create a town green between the Town hall and library.  They also want to build a covered structure for all those chicken barbecues.

While a full fledged town center is years away, these modest projects may go a long way toward making the center of town seem like a Center.  That will promote interest in locating businesses and home development in the area, which eventually will grow into a real town center.

Seeing all that activity on a Friday night somehow helped me to picture it as a reality.  In my mind's eye I could see people walking between events on attractive walkways, and perhaps going to a park that is part of the tentative town center proposal, across the street, north of the library.

Some day there will be a physical town center in Lansing.  For now that center is its people, a pretty great start.  We don't need a town center to create community here -- that piece is already strong.  What we want it for is to define that community and to act as a focus for it.  That piece will come.

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