West Michigan Park Projects - Updates

[GRDadof3]

5 hours ago, Raildude's dad said:

Amway is not the big user, King Milling is. They get 20-30 cars at a time of western wheat. They recently shipped out a few cars of flour , first time in 30? years. I don't see rucks as an alternative for inbound wheat.

I've looked at the RR property for a trail. for a number of  years. There's a lot of area where the track bed is in wetlands. Can't build a trail there unless it's boardwalk and IF and that's a big IF, the RR will allow it. Boar walks are $$ to build, slippery when wet and need maintenance. 

There is a good location for a trail. My boss and I have both scoped it out :).

You should share it! 

[GR_Urbanist]

Outdoor climbing wall coming to Grand Rapids - YouTube

The location is in Highland Park. Looks like just south of College. The completion date should be just before the end of May.

 

[grandrollerz]

what a great way to invigorate an underutilized park!

[joeDowntown]

Agreed, definitely seems like a great destination activity for the park which’ll generate more overall interest to the park. Cool idea. 

Joe

[GR8scott]

Not sure if this is a good spot for this but the city is taking survey on community improvements here, https://grbj.com/news/government/public-generates-over-100-project-ideas/

[cstonesparty]

On 3/24/2022 at 3:18 PM, CalderCity946 said:

This is more Kent County parks, but FYI rumor is the bulk of the old silver lake country club is going to be converted to a county park and the remaining land is going to be housing. 

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/residents-unhappy-with-proposal-for-old-silver-lake-golf-course

[Guest]

1 hour ago, cstonesparty said:

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/residents-unhappy-with-proposal-for-old-silver-lake-golf-course

lol,, they should be happy there's only a quarter of it being developed.  Some old NIMB?Y arguments, decreed property values and "increased traffic on Belding road".  Traffic probably increases on that road daily daily.  What do you expect?  It will probably be five lanes soon.

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

lol,, they should be happy there's only a quarter of it being developed.  Some old NIMB?Y arguments, decreed property values and "increased traffic on Belding road".  Traffic probably increases on that road daily daily.  What do you expect?  It will probably be five lanes soon.

Plus, anyone see the property value on Solver Lake these days?!  They will be JUST fine.

Joe

[GRDadof3]

9 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Plus, anyone see the property value on Solver Lake these days?!  They will be JUST fine.

Joe

It's probably mostly the condo owners who are complaining, which they're not on the lake. Two of my girls played golf tournaments there, every fairway is surrounded by condos. 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

It's probably mostly the condo owners who are complaining, which they're not on the lake. Two of my girls played golf tournaments there, every fairway is surrounded by condos. 

As I've said before, if you don't own the land or it's not in some sort of conservancy, expect it to get to developed.  The developer could have added way more than the 50 units proposed and still been within the zoning.

And yeah properties on the lake are going up and past $1m.  I have friends that live on the lake and they said people are buying multiple lots, tearing the houses/cottages down and building new.  Kinda similar with Dean Lake, except more renovations than raze/rebuild .  It's crazy, but it's a natural inland lake within 20 mins of GR.  

[grandrollerz]

Dropping a link to this survey opportunity from Kent County as they seek input on how to spend $176 million of federal dollars.  The idea I submitted was for more parks and green space and connectivity thereof.....

https://grbj.com/news/government/county-seeks-community-input-on-federal-funding/?_hsmi=214556933&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--EJm5S9B2w6KYPX2arQnuBGER4vZ62Sv36QxuXbHYvk7MM7uwyvGY6kU4jRsEUdYJaTxWEKGRI3N88XIEX0ysCmwD_oA

Submit ideas here: https://kentcountyarpa.com/

[cstonesparty]

1 hour ago, grandrollerz said:

Dropping a link to this survey opportunity from Kent County as they seek input on how to spend $176 million of federal dollars.  The idea I submitted was for more parks and green space and connectivity thereof.....

https://grbj.com/news/government/county-seeks-community-input-on-federal-funding/?_hsmi=214556933&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--EJm5S9B2w6KYPX2arQnuBGER4vZ62Sv36QxuXbHYvk7MM7uwyvGY6kU4jRsEUdYJaTxWEKGRI3N88XIEX0ysCmwD_oA

Submit ideas here: https://kentcountyarpa.com/

Since these are one-time funds, I hope they're wise enough to use them on one-time expenses and not programmatic expenses...

[Guest]

On 4/3/2022 at 11:25 AM, Raildude's dad said:

Amway is not the big user, King Milling is. They get 20-30 cars at a time of western wheat. They recently shipped out a few cars of flour , first time in 30? years. I don't see rucks as an alternative for inbound wheat.

I've looked at the RR property for a trail. for a number of  years. There's a lot of area where the track bed is in wetlands. Can't build a trail there unless it's boardwalk and IF and that's a big IF, the RR will allow it. Boar walks are $$ to build, slippery when wet and need maintenance. 

There is a good location for a trail. My boss and I have both scoped it out :).

I feel like expensive boardwalks haven't stopped other trail systems.  The Cannon trail has an extensive boardwalk and that trail is way less popular that the White Pine.  Cannon township is working on extending it with my board walks, retaining walls, etc.  I feel like the communities have the money and people really value trails.

It would be great to connect ALL the trails in Kent County.  I think that is the end goal, but it would be great!

20 hours ago, grandrollerz said:

Dropping a link to this survey opportunity from Kent County as they seek input on how to spend $176 million of federal dollars.  The idea I submitted was for more parks and green space and connectivity thereof.....

https://grbj.com/news/government/county-seeks-community-input-on-federal-funding/?_hsmi=214556933&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--EJm5S9B2w6KYPX2arQnuBGER4vZ62Sv36QxuXbHYvk7MM7uwyvGY6kU4jRsEUdYJaTxWEKGRI3N88XIEX0ysCmwD_oA

Submit ideas here: https://kentcountyarpa.com/

That's a great idea!  This could certainly help connect the river trail all the way to the lakeshore!

[grandrollerz]

@GRDadof3 - can you change this thread title to GR and Kent Co parks? No biggie if not...

Posting a survey for Kent County, if you are a resident please consider completing it.  posting in this thread because the survey asked for best feature of Kent Co,,,,to which i replied: the parks

https://surveys.zencity.io/kent-county/7Olb26?source=sd

 

[joeDowntown]

An article about the tunnel under 196 and the hillside park along division. I guess I never realized they were talking about vacating that section of Division and moving traffic to Ionia (which I think is brilliant). $40M price tag. I think the Hillside park could be a “game changer” (LOL) for Monroe North/Belknap and could boost residential development in and around the Spectrum development. Hope they find funding:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/08/expansive-park-trail-network-under-discussion-for-two-grand-rapids-neighborhoods.html

[Guest]

2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

An article about the tunnel under 196 and the hillside park along division. I guess I never realized they were talking about vacating that section of Division and moving traffic to Ionia (which I think is brilliant). $40M price tag. I think the Hillside park could be a “game changer” (LOL) for Monroe North/Belknap and could boost residential development in and around the Spectrum development. Hope they find funding:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/08/expansive-park-trail-network-under-discussion-for-two-grand-rapids-neighborhoods.html

From what I've heard there is a good chance this will happen.

It looks like the design would be similar to Monroe, which would be great!  I love the tree canopy on Monroe, Ionia is just a sea of concrete and asphalt.

[grandrollerz]

From Downtown Neighbors, a cycling survey:

Quote

If you’re an avid bicyclist, or interested in learning more about how bikes benefit our community, take note: What’s new: Grand Rapids has been selected by the League of American Bicyclists to host a regional Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) Workshop this fall. The League wants to understand our community’s bicycle friendliness (or lack thereof). Why it matters: As micromobility options continue to expand, it is important to make sure that design and infrastructure keep cyclists safe. Michigan ranks 11th in the nation on the League’s Bicycle Friendly list and Grand Rapids received a Bronze rating for the bicycle friendliness of our community in 2017. Your feedback will inform the Workshop and could help us earn a Silver rating and possibly break into the Top 10 for bicycle friendly places in the US… The bottom line: Please respond to this survey and share it with your neighbors. I’m attending the Workshop next month and will report back to you on what we accomplish with your feedback!

 

[walker]

Don't know what the status is of the proposals that the county take over Cannonsburg Ski Area and Silver Lake Country Club that we talked about on this thread back in the spring, but it looks like Kent County is about to just about double the size of Townsend Park. 

Townsend Park is  just down the street from the ski area and borders on the Village of Cannonsburg:

    MLIVE: state-grant-will-nearly-double-acreage-of-kent-county-parkl

[Khorasaurus1]

13 hours ago, walker said:

Don't know what the status is of the proposals that the county take over Cannonsburg Ski Area and Silver Lake Country Club that we talked about on this thread back in the spring, but it looks like Kent County is about to just about double the size of Townsend Park. 

Townsend Park is  just down the street from the ski area and borders on the Village of Cannonsburg:

    MLIVE: state-grant-will-nearly-double-acreage-of-kent-county-parkl

Very cool. I like the County's strategy of acquiring land in the exurbs. Ottawa County has done well acquiring park land as well. We're on our way to having our own version of the Metroparks in the Detroit region. 

[Hoeks]

East is upgrading the trails at Manhattan park.   The Fredd Bunn Trails at Manhattan park, will be 3 miles of interconnected trail loops "with varying degrees of difficulty with a starting point near the Manhattan park playground.   The trails are being designed to allow walkers, joggers and mountain bikers the ability to enjoy the natural areas of the park simultaneously".   Per the letter, the city has been working with the West Michigan Biking Alliance.  The trail map also shows parking being added on Reeds Lake Drive (near the boardwalk portion of walking path).  

[grandrollerz]

A couple updates from @whitemice on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/x82v88/extension_of_plaster_creek_trail_connecting/

 

and 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/x82v88/extension_of_plaster_creek_trail_connecting/

Edited September 7, 2022 by grandrollerz

[GR_Urbanist]

Not necessarily a "park", but it's a parking lot that is owned by the city.

On portions of the DSASH lot on Seward, just south of Bridge, there appears to be a series of "tall cages" built in a line where some sort of hardtop soccer (association football, football...futbol ?) setup on the inside. Two nets on either side, but high enough fencing to keep the ball from getting away.

I didnt get the best view, so there may be some details I missed.

[joeDowntown]

6 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

Not necessarily a "park", but it's a parking lot that is owned by the city.

On portions of the DSASH lot on Seward, just south of Bridge, there appears to be a series of "tall cages" built in a line where some sort of hardtop soccer (association football, football...futbol ?) setup on the inside. Two nets on either side, but high enough fencing to keep the ball from getting away.

I didnt get the best view, so there may be some details I missed.

LOL. You described it like it was an alien obelisk sitting in the parking lot.   they’re Futsal courts- small sided soccer on a hard surface).

They’ve been open for a bit, and seem to be pretty popular with regular league play, etc. Probably will be much more popular next summer as they opened pretty late in the year for outdoor.

Futsal is pretty popular in the area, and a lot of club soccer teams play Futsal all winter. Fast paced, good for ball handling skills.

Joe

[walker]

On 3/24/2022 at 10:53 PM, walker said:

Well as long as you brought up Kent County Parks in this thread, the county is also seriously considering buying Cannonsburg Ski Resort:

  WOODTV: kent-county-could-buy-cannonsburg

random coincidence I suppose that Cannonsburg and Silver Lake Country Club are only about ten minutes from each other.

EDIT: Might as well add the Mlive article link :

MLIVE: kent-county-eyes-purchase-of-272-acre-cannonsburg-ski-hill-outdoor-rec-area

Looks like the grant from the state was denied that the county was depending on for the Cannonsburg purchase.  So it's back to the financial drawing board to figure out how to get the money for this project:

WOODTV: kent-county-denied-state-grant-to-help-buy-cannonsburg-ski-area 

[GR_Urbanist]

Cherry Park renovations are well under way as the tennis and basketball courts have been completely removed. Plans are for that area to serve as parking.

Ok, just kidding,

I couldn't really find a better picture of what it is to look like in the end, but it is a little different than the original concept for the tennis court area. The rest is to be done at a later date.