Safe Routes to School Grant Proposal Impacts Parks

The City of East Lansing’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission gathered Wednesday (Dec. 13) to learn about grant applications from East Lansing’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS); hear conclusions from a 2022 survey East Lansing Farmers Market customers and vendors; and say farewell to a treasured member of the commission.

Safe Routes to School grant proposal looks at constructing a new pathway at the entrance of Harrison Meadows Park

SRTS volunteer Ginger Oglivie appeared before the commission to share information about a current grant application by the organization that would impact infrastructure at several East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) and two pieces of city park property. 

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an “international movement” managed in Michigan by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The East Lansing chapter operates with two part-time employees and relies largely on volunteers like Oglivie. 

Oglivie emphasized the program’s importance in promoting safety, being outside and daily exercise for young students. The current grant submission targets the infrastructure or engineering of walking routes at East Lansing schools, goals that can require significant funding for the creation, maintenance or adjustment of paved areas. 

Although the changes are usually focused on ELPS property rather than that of the city, Oglivie noted the projects proposed this year would impact two pieces of city property, most significantly at Harrison Meadows Park. 

Harrison Meadows can be used by residents of the surrounding neighborhood to access a crossing point on Harrison Road enroute to Robert L. Green Elementary School. Currently, there is a gap in the sidewalk along Roxburgh Avenue and the Northern Tier Trail leading to Harrison Road, requiring pedestrians to walk across a parking lot to reach the trail. SRTS’s proposed project would change that, adding in a walkway across a ditch at the entrance of the park to make the journey more seamless and safer for walkers. 

The commissioners agreed to write a letter of support to accompany the SRTS’s grant submission. This support will be expressed in addition to a letter from the City Council. 

Farmer’s market shopper experience surveys shed light on attendee demographics.

City of East Lansing Community Events Specialist Karla Forest-Hewitt was next to present, sharing findings from analyses of a 2022 “market experience surveys.” Forest-Hewitt designed and administered the surveys in collaboration with Community Sustainability Ph.D. student and Fulbright fellow Rafael Cavalcanti Lembi. 

“Our messaging [to promote the market] employed ‘explore, engage, enjoy,’” Forest-Hewitt said. “It was an invitation for [community members] to be curious, to connect and to have a good experience. And it’s good to do all of these things, but it’s also important to have a way to evaluate them. And I know we can also make changes based on that [evaluation].”

Forest-Hewitt and Lembi were interested in the question, “Who is represented in the vendor and customer populations? Are they representative of the community served?” Based on the answers from 2,737 market experience survey respondents and East Lansing Census data, they were able to highlight several patterns in the socioeconomic identities of farmers market attendees. 

Forest-Hewitt and Lembi discovered that 93.9% of respondents were white vs. 77% of the East Lansing population; 8.2% of respondents identified as BIPOC vs. 21.3% of the East Lansing population; 72.6% of respondents had a college degree vs 48.7% of the East Lansing population; and 50% of respondents had an income between $75,000-$99,999.

As she considers what’s next for the market, accessibility, affordability and equitable engagement are priorities for Forest-Hewitt. 

“We’re trying to maintain a level of inclusion,” Forest-Hewitt said. “We are asking hard questions and ensuring we’re giving opportunities to everyone in our community.” 

Lembi’s analyses also found that respondents to the 2022 survey were happy with their market experience, comparing the brand approval to that of the grocery store Trader Joe’s. 

“We could see that people were extremely satisfied with the market,” Lembi said. “The community is overwhelmingly supportive. It’s amazing to think that this is a single person operation that is heavily reliant on volunteers. You can see the impact of the hard work Karla puts in.” 

Forest-Hewitt is satisfied with the positive feedback from the survey, but has big dreams for what the market could grow into. Going forward, she imagines fewer barriers for vendors to sell at the market, more permanent infrastructure to help parking and weather challenges, and a vendor and shopper population that reflects the diversity of the East Lansing community. 

“The biggest takeaway for me [from this data] is that the effort that I’ve been putting into the market seems to be reaching people,” Forest-Hewitt said. “But even though we have all these good things at the market, we can still do more work on bringing in diverse communities and working with diverse vendors.”

Vice Chair Chuck Overbey moving to East Lansing’s Planning Commission.

The meeting concluded with commissioners’ saying farewell to fellow commissioner Chuck Overbey, current commission vice chair and active community member. Overbey is shifting his focus to East Lansing’s Planning Commission in 2024. 

To commemorate his work with the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission, Chair Adam DeLay presented him with multiple certificates of appreciation and achievement, one of which was signed by several state politicians, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The Parks & Rec Commission will next convene at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17.

Did you know that East Lansing is the only municipality in our region with the kind of independent coverage of local government, schools, and the arts and culture that ELi provides? If you value this nonprofit news service, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution TODAY.  Learn more about our Annual Campaign here, and find all your donation options here. Got a question? Write to us.