Transit Updates for Greater Grand Rapids

[John E]

Can someone tell me why they put the curb / tripping hazard between the sidewalk and the north 1/2 of the bus shelter. It looks like a poor design to me

This photo shows the need for it with the sidewalk ramp:

This photo shows the room available to angle over to the bus stop location with the sidewalk that leads to the Kroc Center Building:

Here is a photo with two trees with the start of the new landscaping:

[John E]

Division Ave. between Alger and 28th Street is now open for normal traffic use.

SilverLine BRT Station construction at the Kroc Center Flickr Set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johne777/sets/72157633159420104/with/8903327446/

[GR8scott]

what is going on with the new amtrak station? when will it open?

[John E]

They are close to having things worked out with CSX and hope to start building it this summer.
It is looking like they will start operations out of the new station around the time the SilverLine begins theirs in August of 2014.

[GR8scott]

doesnt seem like the silverline should take that long to start up 

[John E]

Each station takes like 12 weeks to construct. When they start on the stations at Franklin and 28th Street on Division Ave. they will have 16 stations under construction at one time. There are 33 stations to be constructed. The station at Franklin Street has been delayed to local business complaing about the station blocking their sign. I believe the Rapid will pay to have their sign raised. You can see the station construction schedule which goes into 2014 here:
http://www.ridetherapid.org/futureplanning/silverline/construction-schedule

Also the special BRT buses are being built to order and will take over a year to build the 10 BRT buses.

[John E]

Also they are doing additional landscaping and brick crosswalk work for each station. Every station will have a rack or racks for bicycles.
The fare vending machines will not be installed until later. I'm suspecting that they will not be installed until after the video security system is up and running for all the stations.
They are planning on having more open house/public meetings to answer any questions about the SilverLine. They are talking about having one at the Kroc Center in July.
They are also in the works with planning their public education program for the bus dedicated lane and their usage. The plan so far is to have them only used for buses and public right turns during rush hour times. That means they would be open for public use during non-rush hour times.

They also are still in the planning stages for all the types of bus cards that will be used. Whatever they go with will be able to be used system wide with the current buses also. They are most likely going to go with smart cards. Will be able to just tap the card at a station or on the regular buses, as the current fare machines on the buses have that capability, which hasn't been used yet. They are looking into all options.

[Allison Slater]

Is there any details/info on the buses?  Last I remember -- and I think I recall the opposition trying to use this as a point towards their side in the voting -- the buses for the SilverLine were to be the same as the current ones, just given different graphics.

[GRDadof3]

Is there any details/info on the buses?  Last I remember -- and I think I recall the opposition trying to use this as a point towards their side in the voting -- the buses for the SilverLine were to be the same as the current ones, just given different graphics.

 

Pretty sure they're going to be a different model, branded differently, and all hybrid. But not like the buses in the videos that were made.

[John E]

They are going to be special BRT buses with wider doors. They don't have the specifics yet but they will be from the same manufacture as the current buses.

The video is not renditions, it is just an artists' conception with nothing being accurate. I hope they will be able to make a new one that will be more accurate.

[John E]

Construction of the SilverLine BRT Station at 28th Street has begun.

Beware of the traffic squeeze on Division Ave. near the 28th Street intersection.

[GRDadof3]

Construction of the SilverLine BRT Station at 28th Street has begun.

Beware of the traffic squeeze on Division Ave. near the 28th Street intersection.

 

 

That intersection is bad if you're heading North on Division. It took me about 20 minutes to get through it the other day, and once you're in the squeeze, it's hard to get out.

[organsnyder]

Southbound was almost as bad yesterday - though my two-year-old really appreciated seeing the "diggers" for an extended time. 28th Street isn't restricted right now, but at some point, they'll have to close lanes to put in the brick crosswalks.

[John E]

Southbound was almost as bad yesterday - though my two-year-old really appreciated seeing the "diggers" for an extended time. 28th Street isn't restricted right now, but at some point, they'll have to close lanes to put in the brick crosswalks.

They are not going to put brick crosswalks across 28th Street. It is not a local street and are not able to do that.

[Veloise]

For a good look at the brick crosswalks, roll down Fulton by St Cecelia's. And if you'd prefer to not have to take the one-block detour, SCMC's parking lot has access management with the adjacent church parking lot and sidewalk curb cuts.

 

Er, this pertains to bicycle usage only.

[John E]

SilverLine BRT Station plantings update at the Kroc Center.

 

[Allison Slater]

They're finally installing new thingamajiggers after having taken the old ones down last year.

 

[John E]

They're finally installing new thingamajiggers after having taken the old ones down last year.

 

The old ones had many problems. These new ones are much updated with real time bus arrival times. At the meeting for the SilverLine, Bill mentioned these to me and is excited about the new features.

[Allison Slater]

I do remember the old ones having problems often.  I was just surprised they were removed (what seems like) almost a year before the arrival of the replacements.

[John E]

The SilverLine BRT Station canopy is being installed at Burton Street.

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johne777/sets/72157634185194582/with/9069454187/

[John E]

The canopy framework is almost done.

[GRDadof3]

The canopy framework is almost done.

 

That's cool.

[Allison Slater]

Even though the size was clear in the renderings/sketches, seeing them actually in place makes them seem bigger than I expected.

[John E]

I was reading that a requirement for the the stations was for a water drain system for the roof (skylight yet, lol). I couldn't see how they could have one in the renderings and was wondering if they would have them. Sure enough as you can see in this photo that they will have drains. Each station will have two drains that will be going into the ground under the station via PVC pipes.

The location of the PVC pipes will vary depending on the stations location requirements. You can see that the PVC drain is right under the roofs drain tube in this photo:

[joeDowntown]

I noticed the Popeye's in the picture above is being replaced by a new Popeye's building next door. Are they knocking the current location down? Will it be used for BRT parking?

 

Joe