  We present analytical calculations, Finite Element Analysis modeling, and
physical measurements of the interstrip capacitances for different potential
strip geometries and dimensions of the readout boards for the GE2/1 triple-Gas
Electron Multiplier detector in the CMS muon system upgrade. The main goal of
the study is to find configurations that minimize the interstrip capacitances
and consequently maximize the signal-to-noise ratio for the detector. We find
agreement at the 1.5--4.8% level between the two methods of calculations and on
the average at the 17% level between calculations and measurements. A
configuration with halved strip lengths and doubled strip widths results in a
measured 27--29% reduction over the original configuration while leaving the
total number of strips unchanged. We have now adopted this design modification
for all eight module types of the GE2/1 detector and will produce the final
detector with this new strip design.
