The grant is part of Michigan’s Transportation Enhancement Program, a federal government-funded opportunity allowing Michigan communities to further develop areas surrounding road construction projects.

East Grand River Avenue might look a little more pedestrian-friendly if the city’s application for a competitive federal enhancement grant is chosen from the rest of the pack.

The city of East Lansing is eligible for the grant because city officials have planned for a portion of East Grand River Avenue past Collingwood Drive to be repaved and upgraded by the Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT, in 2013.

If the city is awarded the grant, additions to the area would include replacement of existing sidewalks, the addition of two medians to provide safe zones for pedestrians, trees and the addition of sharrow symbols — signs indicating the presence of a shared lane for bicycles and vehicles — East Lansing’s Community Development Specialist Heather Pope said in an email.

MDOT Spokeswoman Kari Arend said enhancement projects often are wrapped into road work projects, such as the upcoming project on Grand River Avenue, and said MDOT often works with communities to make the expected goal happen.

“We definitely work with communities to try and help them with their application to make them competitive and work with them throughout the process,” Arend said.

Should the city be awarded the grant, the non-motorized portion of the enhancement would be jointly funded by the Transportation Enhancement Program, MDOT and East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority, or DDA.

Estimates for the enhancement project’s cost are between $650,000 and $750,000, a figure which does not include costs for the road work, East Lansing’s Community and Economic Development Administrator Lori Mullins said. The DDA only would be expected to pay for 20 percent of the fund, which would not exceed $150,000, Mullins said.

During its August board meeting, the DDA board determined the cost would be acceptable in terms of its budget. Mullins said the DDA recently expanded to encompass Grand River Avenue until Hagadorn Road, allowing for a larger portion of East Lansing to be determined a downtown area.

She said improvements on the eastern stretch of the road would be a vital move in better merging the two areas of downtown East Lansing.

“It’s really an important step in making two parts of the downtown feel more connected and feel like one,” Mullins said.

City officials and the DDA were given the go-ahead to apply for the enhancement grant by the East Lansing City Council at its Sept. 6 meeting in a decision of 4-1.

East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis was the only council member who voted against the motion. Alhough he said he supported the idea behind the enhancement program, Loomis said he was unsure the DDA has sufficient funds to allocate to its portion of the grant and didn’t want to see the authority’s other programs suffer because of the project.

“If the DDA can’t pay for this, it falls back on the general fund or some other general funding source,” Loomis said. “I think the DDA has other jobs they’re going to need nominal free cash flow for.”