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

GR_Urbanist

By GR_Urbanist
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wingbert Burg

wingbert

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1 hour ago, WMrapids said:

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!"

Well sure, it wouldn't all happen overnight.  The real question is whether cities like Grand Rapids and Grandville would embrace the opportunity with zoning and permitting to allow for the types of businesses with docks and tie-ups to appeal to boaters seeking food, supplies, etc.  There's tons of boat traffic on the inland waterway from Cheboygan to Indian River and beyond or from Elk Rapids to Torch Lake and back.  That's lots of river travel.  People will do it just to say they did it.  Boating in and of itself, is a rather irrational endeavor.  Sometimes you feel like it would be better to just stand at the end of the dock and throw money into the water.

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ModSquad
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I can’t resist pointing out (a bit off topic here) that Hibma was the driving force behind the eventual demise of the Kent County Land Bank Authority.  He sued the KCLBA all the way to the Michigan Su

GRDadof3
GRDadof3

Money was set aside for a study by legislator Arlan Meekhof for his friend the developer without ever talking to any of the people along the river or any of the municipalities who would be responsible

joeDowntown
joeDowntown

New article on Mlive about the rapids restoration project. Sounds like they’ll submit a new application this summer, start moving snuffbox mussel habitat in August, and hope for construction in river

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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18 hours ago, wingbert said:

Well sure, it wouldn't all happen overnight.  The real question is whether cities like Grand Rapids and Grandville would embrace the opportunity with zoning and permitting to allow for the types of businesses with docks and tie-ups to appeal to boaters seeking food, supplies, etc.  There's tons of boat traffic on the inland waterway from Cheboygan to Indian River and beyond or from Elk Rapids to Torch Lake and back.  That's lots of river travel.  People will do it just to say they did it.  Boating in and of itself, is a rather irrational endeavor.  Sometimes you feel like it would be better to just stand at the end of the dock and throw money into the water.

Haha, that is true. People who have boats (present company included) do feel this unending guilt that they own it and should use it somewhere, anywhere. 

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GR8scott Burg

GR8scott

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It was dredged and used commercially at one point. There's no real obstacles along the way so it's a unique opportunity to utilize that most cities do not have. Saginaw still dredges and utilizes that river at a little less distance. It's obviously not necessary but would be an a some thjng for the area. 

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Raildude's dad Hamlet

Raildude's dad

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On 5/9/2017 at 0:56 PM, tSlater said:

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.

Those "ponds" on both sides of the freeway from Grandville to Market street are old gravel pits. The underlying material is gravel, very "porous" that lets the ground water flow back and forth plus there are culverts under the freeway.

Next spring notice the water elevation in the ponds follows the river elevation.

As for no wake zones, they are in place where there's a number boats tied up at docks or where the banks are eroding. There are a number of non no-wake zones. I've boated up to the Bass River area and have not seen any logs or dead heads in the summer.

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MJLO City

MJLO

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28 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

I forgot to add these of the new project on Monroe. It's actually tucked into a very nice setting (red winged blackbirds swooping at walkers notwithstanding).

 

HAH!  This happened to me there Saturday like 3 times.  It also happened to me two nights ago near the labor fountain by the Ford Museum.  Why are the birds in that area so aggressive right now??

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ctpgr34 Hamlet

ctpgr34

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2 minutes ago, MJLO said:

HAH!  This happened to me there Saturday like 3 times.  It also happened to me two nights ago near the labor fountain by the Ford Museum.  Why are the birds in that area so aggressive right now??

Always have been.  My wife walks the bridge to in between the Amway and DeVos Place and people have been bleeding from the birds!!

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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4 minutes ago, MJLO said:

HAH!  This happened to me there Saturday like 3 times.  It also happened to me two nights ago near the labor fountain by the Ford Museum.  Why are the birds in that area so aggressive right now??

Me too! A bird followed all the way along the Van Andel Museum last week. Attacked the top of my head whenever I was facing away from it.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I don't really know if this is the "real real deal" or not, because there have been so many updates and non-updates on this project, but on the Design Team agenda for the 28th, there's an item for a $35 Million project to restore the rapids in the Grand River. Presenters are Matt Chapman from Grand Rapids Whitewater and Quinn Donnelly of RiverRestoration.org. (link added to see their portfolio of similar projects). Timeline in the packet:

59510ddee2f81_GrandRiverRestoration.JPG.a39091b433de8dfef1d706687f5f1f95.JPG

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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13 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

I don't really know if this is the "real real deal" or not, because there have been so many updates and non-updates on this project, but on the Design Team agenda for the 28th, there's an item for a $35 Million project to restore the rapids in the Grand River. Presenters are Matt Chapman from Grand Rapids Whitewater and Quinn Donnelly of RiverRestoration.org. (link added to see their portfolio of similar projects). Timeline in the packet:

59510ddee2f81_GrandRiverRestoration.JPG.a39091b433de8dfef1d706687f5f1f95.JPG

So cool. Really wish it had a more aggressive timeline. Let's get this thing done. Where's the Kickstarter page?! :)

Joe

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WMrapids Hamlet

WMrapids

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7 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

They're going to start modifying the dam in 2020, that's only a couple of years away. It will go fast. 

I just think bought it es funny that I remembered putting on here that they'd be in the river making changes in 2017. I posted that almost two years ago and in two years (according to these plans) they should be in the river. Time goes by so fast now.

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scottythe1nonly Whistle-Stop

scottythe1nonly

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Speaking of reengineering the Grand River...

From the Grand Rapids Historical Society.  Worth following on FB!  https://www.facebook.com/GrandRapidsHistoricalSociety

Quote

Building the rip-rap wall August 11, 1936, just north of Fulton St bridge. The concrete staircase off the Fulton St bridge can be seen far right. #TBT

photo courtesy City of Grand Rapids Archives, #002003


19598809_1973040842721836_25908541324395

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WMrapids Hamlet

WMrapids

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On 6/22/2017 at 8:05 AM, GRDadof3 said:

The "Coldbrook Edge" trail had a ribbon cutting recently. This is the extension North of Canal Park up to Leonard. Other than the big ugly power lines, it's pretty nice.

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Quite a few people enjoying the new trail.

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