The Grand River?! You mean GR has a River?

[GRLaker]

23 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

I thought maybe there was a thread for the DDA's expanded boundaries, but couldn't find it so I'll post this here.

Is anyone else getting frustrated/fatigued by the proposed parks or greenspaces downtown that never happen? I know the DDA likes to plan out for years in advance but all of these seem to change or overlap or never happen. Now they're talking about an "Interchange Park" under the 131/196 overpass and a switchback park to go up the hill to Belknap. 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/12/5_grand_rapids_public_spaces_t.html#0

Frustrated but not surprised. There's no money to be made with a public park in a high demand city. They'll start to learn though that potential resident interest will start to wane as people grow tired of having no legitimate green space to enjoy in an ever expanding urban center. 

[WMrapids]

Green space isn't something that I think we need more of but only if it's done wisely. Hopefully they can incorporate some nice, green elements in the new Calder Plaza plans.

Also, that interchange park seems like it could be a shady place. The park on Cherry and Division was bad enough and that was in the open.

Edited December 29, 2016 by WMrapids

[dadr]

Very short sighted and false economy to exclude green space from downtown planning. If you want downtown to be a viable residential neighborhood, as well as a place that people and businesses want to come, you need public open spaces.

Not just downtown, but the city as a whole seems to be lacking in large green spaces. Turning the riverfront into a green belt as much as possible and tying downtown open spaces into it would be a great thing for the future of GR. 

[GRDadof3]

14 hours ago, dadr said:

Very short sighted and false economy to exclude green space from downtown planning. If you want downtown to be a viable residential neighborhood, as well as a place that people and businesses want to come, you need public open spaces.

Not just downtown, but the city as a whole seems to be lacking in large green spaces. Turning the riverfront into a green belt as much as possible and tying downtown open spaces into it would be a great thing for the future of GR. 

Nobody disagrees with that, or maybe WMrapids does.  My problem with all of this is that they never seem to land on a solid plan for greenspace expansion. A lot of fancy fantasizing though. 

[WMrapids]

12 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Nobody disagrees with that, or maybe WMrapids does.  My problem with all of this is that they never seem to land on a solid plan for greenspace expansion. A lot of fancy fantasizing though. 

*is something...

Autocorrect.  I totally think we need more green space! Didn't even realize the mix up.

[joeDowntown]

Green space is huge for downtown living. From a place to hang out, to a spot to walk your dog, it's important. I think Calder Plaza could help with this if done right. I think the river might also provide some much needed natural spaces downtown. I agree, it's short sighted if we're not planning for it now. 

Joe

[Morris]

Until you solve the homeless problem, green spaces will attract them, even the little parks, like across from Clarks, have a problem with street people. So, I think parks are way on the back burner with City Hall. They would rather sell their parking lots, like everyone else in town, for new developments, not green space.  

The only new green space, I can think of, is the park on Pleasant and Madison. It was a parking lot for Social Services, until they moved. 

Edited January 2, 2017 by Morris

[GRDadof3]

7 hours ago, Morris said:

Until you solve the homeless problem, green spaces will attract them, even the little parks, like across from Clarks, have a problem with street people. So, I think parks are way on the back burner with City Hall. They would rather sell their parking lots, like everyone else in town, for new developments, not green space.  

The only new green space, I can think of, is the park on Pleasant and Madison. It was a parking lot for Social Services, until they moved. 

The city is aggressively buying land along the river for new parks. It's apparently in the master plan that no parkland can be sold for development, after the whole Salvation Army/Garfield Park uproar. 

The property just North of I-196 along the Grand would be great for development and a riverfront park, and I talked to the city about it, and they said "no development." 

[wingbert]

Use the roofs.  More green space, less homeless.  It's a win/win.

 

   

http://cookjenshel.com/green-roofs/

 

[Plainfielder]

On 1/2/2017 at 8:16 AM, GRDadof3 said:

The city is aggressively buying land along the river for new parks. It's apparently in the master plan that no parkland can be sold for development, after the whole Salvation Army/Garfield Park uproar. 

The property just North of I-196 along the Grand would be great for development and a riverfront park, and I talked to the city about it, and they said "no development." 

I drove past this parcel of land just north of I-196 and Monroe and they had the land staked out, a dozer, and a base of a crane on-site. I couldn't find any recent mention of potential developments for this land.

[Raildude's dad]

Anlaan Inc moving equipment in for the WB 196 bridge widening before weight restrictions were put on last week.

[GRDadof3]

On 1/27/2017 at 5:13 PM, Plainfielder said:

I drove past this parcel of land just north of I-196 and Monroe and they had the land staked out, a dozer, and a base of a crane on-site. I couldn't find any recent mention of potential developments for this land.

They're getting ready to do massive work in the river there to prepare for a complete rebuild of the I-196 bridge over the river. They're actually going to create earthen peninsulas in the river for construction equipment. I think it's posted in the highways and roads thread. 

[GRDadof3]

There's actually an item on the city commission agenda for the whitewater restoration project, authorizing payment to Fishbeck for engineering work related to permits. Sounds like at a breakdown of costs will be presented at a not-so-distant future commission meeting as well. 

This project really needs to happen. 

 

[mpchicago]

11 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

There's actually an item on the city commission agenda for the whitewater restoration project, authorizing payment to Fishbeck for engineering work related to permits. Sounds like at a breakdown of costs will be presented at a not-so-distant future commission meeting as well. 

This project really needs to happen. 

 

Agreed.  I know the Founder's folks are fully behind it, and continue to raise funds.  

Wonder if we will see some of the big names in town get behind this too?  BTW, are the Van Andel's still giving money or did that die with Jay.  

Let's hope the proposed federal budget doesn't blow this up along with the rest of the Great Lakes.

[MJLO]

5 hours ago, mpchicago said:

 

 BTW, are the Van Andel's still giving money or did that die with Jay.  

 

I think Jays fortune was divided up amongst the clan.  It wasn't kept in trust the way Fred Meijers fortune is.  This means there are no more Van Andel billionares at the moment.  If they are still giving it's not the very public way it used to be .

[HomePortSupplyCo]

Powerboat link from Grand Rapids to lakeshore would cost $2.1M, says study

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/05/study_grand_river_dredging.html#incart_gallery

[joeDowntown]

Wow. I didn't realize this actually got anywhere. While I think it would be great to see boats navigate the Grand, with marinas on the south end of downtown, it seems like there are a lot of hurdles (price, surprisingly not being a big one). With the environmental issues (snuffbox mussel relocation) GR whitewater has had to deal with, I can imagine this will be a huge environmental issue. It also sounds like a political hot potato to get the counties and municipalities to get on board  

But I hope they can do it. And with the players involved, you might someday be able to navigate a boat right up to the moat of the Grand Castle. And then be beset with a hailstorm of lit arrows and boiling oil upon your boat.

Joe

[TheSutterKing]

Honestly, I wonder if it would be possible and feasible to connect that small lake behind the castle to the river. Dig under the highway and create supports for the highway. Having a marina in that lake, especially with a big complex right there, would be very cool and could have an economic impact to the part of Grandville. 

[EastownLeo]

6 minutes ago, TheSutterKing said:

Honestly, I wonder if it would be possible and feasible to connect that small lake behind the castle to the river. Dig under the highway and create supports for the highway. Having a marina in that lake, especially with a big complex right there, would be very cool and could have an economic impact to the part of Grandville. 

This would only increase the possibility of flooding to the area because the river rises so high in the spring.  In many places the highway acts as a damn.

[MJLO]

Honestly that 2.1 million dollar price tag is not that much at all when considering such things.  I almost think the DDA should dip into it's piggy bank and contribute.  The implications on the downtown vibe, and increase for tourism i would think could be pretty significant. 

[joeDowntown]

6 hours ago, MJLO said:

Honestly that 2.1 million dollar price tag is not that much at all when considering such things.  I almost think the DDA should dip into it's piggy bank and contribute.  The implications on the downtown vibe, and increase for tourism i would think could be pretty significant. 

Agreed. I think it's down to politics, NIMBYism and environmental issues. 

Im sure this is part of the study, but all of the bridges from downtown to Grand Haven have the clear ace for boats of this size? I guess they would just for flooding reasons. 

[MJLO]

17 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Agreed. I think it's down to politics, NIMBYism and environmental issues. 

Im sure this is part of the study, but all of the bridges from downtown to Grand Haven have the clear ace for boats of this size? I guess they would just for flooding reasons. 

I don't think there would be a problem with bridge clearance  until you get to Wealthy, possibly as early as Wilson.  There is more than enough clearance on all of the bridges through Ottawa county.  Although peak boating season doesnt start for a good month after the typical flooding periods are passed. 

[GRDadof3]

18 hours ago, temporary.name said:

Having the Grand River dredged and maintain for boats would be a huge boon for GR. Just think of the yachters from Chicago being able to spend the night at the JW after a trip across Lake Michigan. 

Any yacht of any size would take hours to go from Grand Haven up to Grand Rapids. Even if they dredge it enough to not have a "no wake" zone, big yachts are not going to risk going fast up that river with all the dead heads and sh*t in it. A river as wild as the Grand is in the Spring and heavy rainfalls is going to constantly need to be dredged. 

Unless I'm missing something.

[WMrapids]

4 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Any yacht of any size would take hours to go from Grand Haven up to Grand Rapids. Even if they dredge it enough to not have a "no wake" zone, big yachts are not going to risk going fast up that river with all the dead heads and sh*t in it. A river as wild as the Grand is in the Spring and heavy rainfalls is going to constantly need to be dredged. 

Unless I'm missing something.

I'm not too optimistic about it either. Boats are already costly to maintain. Add the price of fuel to go down the Grand and you already have a very small percentile to work with. Not sure any business doing a "river cruise" would do to well either. "To our left, an industrial park and a wastewater plant. If you look a little further down the river, you may be able to see a castle!"

[Allison Slater]

23 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

This would only increase the possibility of flooding to the area because the river rises so high in the spring.  In many places the highway acts as a damn.

They would need a flood gate like the locks at Sault or something which can be opened for summer and closed for winter, I'd image.  No idea how costly or practical that would be.