Transit Updates for Greater Grand Rapids

[Rizzo]

Sounds as if they want to put in a pathway on the Grand Rapids Eastern spur.

Also, sounds like they want to partially fund O&M costs for the streetcar through the North Monroe TIF. They should do a better job of describing the streetcar system -- certainly not considered "rapid transit."

Also sounds like Michigan will provide 20% of the BRT cost. Next on is a local match and then of course the federal money will be unlocked.

Edited October 17, 2008 by Rizzo

[fotoman311]

Sounds as if they want to put in a pathway on the Grand Rapids Eastern spur.

Also, sounds like they want to partially fund O&M costs for the streetcar through the North Monroe TIF. They should do a better job of describing the streetcar system -- certainly not considered "rapid transit."

That would be one more step, as long as the ultimate goal is to connect the trail all the way up to Ann where the trail to Riverside Park begins. The "easy way out," instead building along the rest of that railway up to Ann, would be to funnel people back over to the remodeled Monroe between Leonard and Ann. I've been told they are going to have the unmarked bicycle lanes on that stretch of Monroe when they finish the reconstruction next summer. The city seems to favor these over actually marked bicycle lanes.

Edited October 17, 2008 by fotoman311

[Rizzo]

Meijer was going to stop dial-a-ride service in Grand Haven, but has reversed its decision for one year. You'd think that by providing direct door to door transit at 70 cents a ticket would be a ROI for Meijer. Unless these folks are window browsing or stopping by for a pack of gum.

Grand Haven Tribune article

[aowwt]

Update from the Fisher Station design:

Well as some of you know I been getting involved in the BRT line that is being run from 60th and Division to Medical Hill and then to the Bus Depot. At present there has been one design meeting finished for one station, the other is currently being held for the 54th and Division Station aka Fisher Station. The first thing I would like to say is that the meeting was quite educational and rather fun. One thing I was dissapointed was the lack of community support. For an area that was lets just say rather bland and needing help seeing only half of the Kentwood Planning and one of the Wyoming Planning is pathetic. Yes I am upset with them. Frankly not even seeing one of the council members of Wyoming was even worse. Of course I was a little peeved that the residents in the area did not show up. I could count on my hands and toes the number of actual residents that had land in the 1 mile area around the stations that showed up. The ones that did were great and frankly benifical but it should have been better. I myself do not live in the area and will end up over a mile and quarter away from the nearest station but I still attended.

Now that my rant is over here is what was disscussed. First one design did propose to put more emphasis on the 60th and Division area, the other 3 designs worked more along 54th and Division. Next I do hope they take our groups proposal of a boulevard to heart. Those style streets are much easier to cross than any other. Next background on the initial work was slightly lacking in the aspect that the number of lanes on Division that would be for traffic and the BRT. I do hope they take serious consideration of a more organic appearence of the street grid that should be built than a square design. I also think a traffic calming measure like bump outs should be used initial off division. My thoughts along these lines will be addressed come Tommorrow. From what I heard is that will have two presentations one at 5pm for the Wyoming City Council and one at 7pm for the Kentwood City Council. In anycase there is another meeting for the final picture on Thursday at 7pm.

One final note is that the current numbers are looking at 120 acres of land available in this plan for development with a 400% return of investment. That should provide a lot of emphasis in creating a vibrant area versus the present ambadoment area.

[Rizzo]

You're not likely to see any real optimism from some of us either.

When planning groups put out the "Bus rapid transit or light rail transit?" fliers in our neighborhood, folks were excited and genuinely interested. You know why? Of course it was later revealed that every kind of transit mode had to be included in planning regardless of its eligibility. It was quite effective at lowering enthusiasm as people realized they didn't have a real choice in the matter. Residents see buses everyday on the street, why will this one be any different? No one has enthusiasm, because it really is just a bus project. There's little in way of improved service or infrastructure. Now, its lobbied locally as poor man's solution with all the benefits of the real McCoy. It doesn't work that way.

I still say it knowing that this project was the best available option concerning how the community wanted to fund the project.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Rizzo

[aowwt]

Well according to the BRT people they seen some major improvements with this system. I think what people are forgetting is that the BRT line will be given primary usage of the street vs the current cars over the busses. This means that it will be given dedicated lane to travel at times plus be given the ability to extend the green light. Another item is that the BRT line will have hybrid vehicles as a rule along with better access into the bus with multiple entrences and exits. Another item is that each station will have bus tickets on site so no need for change needing to placed into the machine as you get on. Thats why I like this system. Btw I like to see this be named the 'Wave' with a ~ as its logo. I think it would tie into the entire transit system in grand rapids. We have the rapid like the river rapids as a result a wave is part of the rapids. okay maybe I am a little strange to think that. But this BRT line is a good start and hopefully not the end of the transit ideas.

[GRDadof3]

Well according to the BRT people they seen some major improvements with this system. I think what people are forgetting is that the BRT line will be given primary usage of the street vs the current cars over the busses. This means that it will be given dedicated lane to travel at times plus be given the ability to extend the green light. Another item is that the BRT line will have hybrid vehicles as a rule along with better access into the bus with multiple entrences and exits. Another item is that each station will have bus tickets on site so no need for change needing to placed into the machine as you get on. Thats why I like this system. Btw I like to see this be named the 'Wave' with a ~ as its logo. I think it would tie into the entire transit system in grand rapids. We have the rapid like the river rapids as a result a wave is part of the rapids. okay maybe I am a little strange to think that. But this BRT line is a good start and hopefully not the end of the transit ideas.

It won't have its own lanes. It will share Division with auto traffic, with all the cars entering and exiting Division through literally hundreds of driveways and side-streets. It will have traffic light priority, but that's only over traffic entering a lighted intersection from a cross-street. If there are cars in front of the bus at lights, it will have to wait in line. Unless they have made changes that they haven't made public, like adding passing lanes for the buses at intersections. Rizzo, is that how you understand it?

Correction: it looks like it will have dedicated lanes during rush hour.

http://www.ridetherapid.org/about/great-transit

[Veloise]

It won't have its own lanes. It will share Division with auto traffic, with all the cars entering and exiting Division through literally hundreds of driveways and side-streets. It will have traffic signal priority, but that's only over traffic entering a signalizedintersection from a cross-street. If there are cars in front of the bus at signals, it will have to wait in line. Unless they have made changes that they haven't made public, like adding passing lanes for the buses at intersections. Rizzo, is that how you understand it?

Correction: it looks like it will have dedicated lanes during rush hour.

http://www.ridetherapid.org/about/great-transit

[Rizzo]

Well according to the BRT people they seen some major improvements with this system. I think what people are forgetting is that the BRT line will be given primary usage of the street vs the current cars over the busses. This means that it will be given dedicated lane to travel at times plus be given the ability to extend the green light. Another item is that the BRT line will have hybrid vehicles as a rule along with better access into the bus with multiple entrences and exits. Another item is that each station will have bus tickets on site so no need for change needing to placed into the machine as you get on. Thats why I like this system. Btw I like to see this be named the 'Wave' with a ~ as its logo. I think it would tie into the entire transit system in grand rapids. We have the rapid like the river rapids as a result a wave is part of the rapids. okay maybe I am a little strange to think that. But this BRT line is a good start and hopefully not the end of the transit ideas.

Don't get me wrong, I see the improvements over the existing service. To address your concerns of low turn out at these design charrettes, let me go further.

I'm assuming that these meetings were well promoted. If not, the time line and wait is probably more of an explanation for the low turn out couple with the type of project. The process has been long drawn out over a bus. You've got this long process that pretty much allowed for this project to escaped everyone's mind. To think from start to finish the process may damn near be a decade or so.

Just think for a minute though. The precedent has been set that if West Michigan wants at a basic minimum enhanced bus routes that it's going to take YEARS. If we start officially planning for commuter bus service for folks in the North suburbs, now, it's going to be 2018 at the earliest. I don't know how anyone can really justify that kind of wait for a bus. Which brings me to the why for such a long wait.

How do we realize our transportation future for today's urgency? Gas prices, the economy, environmental issues, etc... There must be a change in funding strategy. If the Feds are the only way out, how is West Michigan expected to ever develop a system that serves choice riders? We shouldn't be in the business of letting the Federal government determine our transit future. There needs to be a local funding option beyond property tax mileage increases. To put things into perspective, the Rapid could have been lost in this last mileage increase.

How much was the convention center? How did that get done?

Covering my bases, the above was a rant. It wasn't directed to you, aowwt! By the way, thanks for covering this project -- we can always use the help.

It won't have its own lanes. It will share Division with auto traffic, with all the cars entering and exiting Division through literally hundreds of driveways and side-streets. It will have traffic light priority, but that's only over traffic entering a lighted intersection from a cross-street. If there are cars in front of the bus at lights, it will have to wait in line. Unless they have made changes that they haven't made public, like adding passing lanes for the buses at intersections. Rizzo, is that how you understand it?

Correction: it looks like it will have dedicated lanes during rush hour.

http://www.ridetherapid.org/about/great-transit

It's supposed to have dedicate lanes and keep a green light longer when approaching. I think dedicated lanes will exist in time frame only. Not dedicated lanes like you'd see in Tacoma in their bus project.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Rizzo

[Rizzo]

The Press is calling for strong, diverse and visionary leaders at the County board for the upcoming election. Yesterday, the Press editorialized support for faces supporting farmland preservation and expanded transit into the suburbs.

[Rizzo]

aowwt, when you were at the charrette was it ever mentioned that park and ride lots for commuters would be planned for?

[aowwt]

The current layout for that charrett is the following:

54th St- Southwest: internal bus depot with additional parking for about 200 park and riders. Additional streets with on street parking and two lanes of traffic on internal streets. Northwest is pretty much the same street setup but also an extension of the Kentwood bike trail across Division to the current Bike Path running to Kellogg Park. Northeast, not much in new streets but the current light industry in the area is to be kept but development is placed around it to keep it nicely covered up. The Southwest is different, it includes a slightly larger Kelloggsville park on the west side of it, along with a front road that curves on that side. The apartments do stay as they are doing nicely. Also a small civic park to be placed after the apartments but about 1/4 mile before the intersection to help with the eyes. It would allow some green space so the entire developement in that area does not get overwhelmed. The buildings in the 1/8 radius around the intersection is to be 4 to 5 stories in height with the bottom level being higher ceilings ie 16ft and office/residential on floors 2 to 5. The next 1/8th is to be buildings from 2 to 3 stories with mostly townhouses, condos, along with some commerical. The total amount of commerical should be around 60k to 120k sq ft depending if they classify the stop as one or two.

The area between 54th and 60th: Pretty much 40ft to 35ft wide lots for single families with a green space around it. Mostly for trails and walking. More broken up than currently.

The 60th section is actually going to be moved north about 1/16 of a mile. The reason is that Townline on the Southeast side makes placing it as the focal point would not work. As a result development is based slightly north with the stops more than likely on Division south 60th for the turn around and the one running north would be north of 60th. The key thing is to allow the people living in the Mobile home park in Byron Center Township, southwest, to get on the BRT line. Their is no plan right now to put a park and ride for that area although one probally should be placed of a smaller amount for the apartment complex thats a mile away on Eastern and 60th. It might be possible to just use the current parking thats on street for that type of park and ride. The kentwood side is pretty small for redevelopment in fact it has shrunk a little bit since Monday at 5pm. The Wyoming Planning Commission was shown the latest version last night at 7pm. That version showed the complex being cut off about 1/8 mile or so on the east side. The northwest side shows a nice funnel designed park opening into Ideal park west of the power lines. The goal is to allow biking and walking from the trail into the BRT redevolement area.

Well if you have any questions I may be able to answer them. There is a final design meeting come Thursday night at 7pm at the Grace Lutheran Church, 150 50th St SW. Its on the south side of the street just after the consumers power line and bike trail. If you want input before the meeting you can go to the office suite, 88 54th St Suite 103.

[Rizzo]

The current layout for that charrett is the following:

54th St- Southwest: internal bus depot with additional parking for about 200 park and riders. Additional streets with on street parking and two lanes of traffic on internal streets. Northwest is pretty much the same street setup but also an extension of the Kentwood bike trail across Division to the current Bike Path running to Kellogg Park. Northeast, not much in new streets but the current light industry in the area is to be kept but development is placed around it to keep it nicely covered up. The Southwest is different, it includes a slightly larger Kelloggsville park on the west side of it, along with a front road that curves on that side. The apartments do stay as they are doing nicely. Also a small civic park to be placed after the apartments but about 1/4 mile before the intersection to help with the eyes. It would allow some green space so the entire developement in that area does not get overwhelmed. The buildings in the 1/8 radius around the intersection is to be 4 to 5 stories in height with the bottom level being higher ceilings ie 16ft and office/residential on floors 2 to 5. The next 1/8th is to be buildings from 2 to 3 stories with mostly townhouses, condos, along with some commerical. The total amount of commerical should be around 60k to 120k sq ft depending if they classify the stop as one or two.

The area between 54th and 60th: Pretty much 40ft to 35ft wide lots for single families with a green space around it. Mostly for trails and walking. More broken up than currently.

The 60th section is actually going to be moved north about 1/16 of a mile. The reason is that Townline on the Southeast side makes placing it as the focal point would not work. As a result development is based slightly north with the stops more than likely on Division south 60th for the turn around and the one running north would be north of 60th. The key thing is to allow the people living in the Mobile home park in Byron Center Township, southwest, to get on the BRT line. Their is no plan right now to put a park and ride for that area although one probally should be placed of a smaller amount for the apartment complex thats a mile away on Eastern and 60th. It might be possible to just use the current parking thats on street for that type of park and ride. The kentwood side is pretty small for redevelopment in fact it has shrunk a little bit since Monday at 5pm. The Wyoming Planning Commission was shown the latest version last night at 7pm. That version showed the complex being cut off about 1/8 mile or so on the east side. The northwest side shows a nice funnel designed park opening into Ideal park west of the power lines. The goal is to allow biking and walking from the trail into the BRT redevolement area.

Well if you have any questions I may be able to answer them. There is a final design meeting come Thursday night at 7pm at the Grace Lutheran Church, 150 50th St SW. Its on the south side of the street just after the consumers power line and bike trail. If you want input before the meeting you can go to the office suite, 88 54th St Suite 103.

So they are really envisioning this as a real town center. I'm quite surprised to hear that kind of mass on 54th st. Do you have contact information for that office suite? Email or phone even? I'll see if I can get people I know out there for some input.

[aowwt]

Just stop by tommorrow before 6pm starting at 9am. Or show up at the Church come 7pm. The final design looks impressive. There is some change in the plan that as I said occured mainly on the 60th st terminal. I also learned a secret that I wont share. But overall though I think this may just be on the smaller scale of whats going to happen on this line. If it succedds here I would love to see Mdot turn control of M-11 to the cities and a BRT line ran on it. BTW I think the symbol for the line should be this ~ with the name being 'the Wave' since this is part of the Rapid transit system and since waves are formed from rapids. hehe okay I am thinking a little off but I do like that name.

[Raildudes dad]

If it succedds here I would love to see Mdot turn control of M-11 to the cities and a BRT line ran on it.

If Kentwood, GR and Wyoming approached MDOT and requested to take it over, I bet MDOT would agree. But it won't happen. It takes a lot of jack to maintain that street, far more than they'll get from Act 51.

[aowwt]

Well if they put the BRT running East to West, I think 28th would be the most logical. I know I just caused a bunch of gasps now. Lets look at a possible route. Start at Metro Village, run south on Byron to 44th then west to Wilson then south to 28th. Take 28th east to Kraft then south to 36th then west to Patterson and finally to the airport terminal. This route would by and large be very long, 22 miles in fact if not a bit longer. That would need at minimal 23 but more than likely 40 some spots for pick up. I figure the entire strech of 28th would need a stop every 1/2 mile. The station at Division and 28th would need to be rather large and redesigned from the previous BRT line. This also would allow rather fast transport from downtown to metro and downtown to GRR.

The only other line I can see them doing after the 'wave I' would be to make a spur from Division and Michigan up Division then to Plainfeild all the way up across the River. That would give you about a 9.5 mile run. A very easy system to use to see and probally one that could be of concern for MDot as they would need to convert CONN M-44 to a boulvevard as they tend to balk at such ideas. An urban street like that for MDot is supposed to be 5 lanes to make travel faster although they do not understand that people walking make a diffrence.

If given a preference I would like to see the Phase II to be 28th as this would connect existing commerical districts to GRR and the current line along with helping the cities in developing 28th into the urban center they would like to see. One thing people do not understand is that this would also connect several entertainment venues together as well. overall I would like to see Phase III be several lines like the North extension, a southern line linking Division to 68th then east to Caledonia, another line extending the line from Michigan west to Alpine then North all the way up to 6 mile Rd then south to 5/3 Ballpark during the spring to fall. Another line could be an extension from the Main Station to Hudsonville running along Chicago Drive.

The one problem as I stated before is that Wyoming has been pestering Mdot to convert M-11 to a boulevard which it should be considering the development on that street. The problem is that Mdot is so wrapped up with getting people from Point A to Point B with cars that they forget not everybody including my generation hate traffic and hence would prefer a public transit if going on shopping trips, errands, and entertainment venues.

[Rizzo]

Just stop by tommorrow before 6pm starting at 9am. Or show up at the Church come 7pm. The final design looks impressive. There is some change in the plan that as I said occured mainly on the 60th st terminal. I also learned a secret that I wont share. But overall though I think this may just be on the smaller scale of whats going to happen on this line. If it succedds here I would love to see Mdot turn control of M-11 to the cities and a BRT line ran on it. BTW I think the symbol for the line should be this ~ with the name being 'the Wave' since this is part of the Rapid transit system and since waves are formed from rapids. hehe okay I am thinking a little off but I do like that name.

You learned a secret you won't share related to the BRT project or some kind of building proposal?

Why would MDOT have to turn over M-11 to the cities for BRT to run on it?

[aowwt]

just something that I was told that is nothing related to the BRT. Just something I found pretty cool. I hope that I prove correct in my policy of standing firm in not saying anything, besides giving that nod. In anycase the real story is that even though this is 4 years off for the BRT the property is getting grabbed pretty rapidly. BTW I was looking at the street grid north of 50th and uhm I see that Division Ave is going to be very difficult to create a good walkable crossings ie Boulveboard running down the Line.

As for the M-11 the reason is as I stated in the prevous post is that it would nearly impossible for a BRT line be successful with a 5 lane Airport street scape without a boulvebard. 4 lanes is not much better. Mdot has been over the course of many years been relectant if not impossible with giving cities better control of the commerical districts that get created with the introduction of state routes that were initially designed to move people from Point A to Point B.

Edited October 23, 2008 by aowwt

[GRDadof3]

just something that I was told that is nothing related to the BRT. Just something I found pretty cool. I hope that I prove correct in my policy of standing firm in not saying anything, besides giving that nod. In anycase the real story is that even though this is 4 years off for the BRT the property is getting grabbed pretty rapidly. BTW I was looking at the street grid north of 50th and uhm I see that Division Ave is going to be very difficult to create a good walkable crossings ie Boulveboard running down the Line.

As for the M-11 the reason is as I stated in the prevous post is that it would nearly impossible for a BRT line be successful with a 5 lane Airport street scape without a boulvebard. 4 lanes is not much better. Mdot has been over the course of many years been relectant if not impossible with giving cities better control of the commerical districts that get created with the introduction of state routes that were initially designed to move people from Point A to Point B.

Devil's Advocate here: Why would BRT on 28th Street be better than the current bus route? You realize there is already a RAPID route on 28th Street? So you spend $30 - $40 MILLION to knock 5 minutes off the trip, then what?

[aowwt]

The thing is that 28th has a lot of dead spots. Also we do not have a connector linking Metro Health to the Airport. Plus if you do this properly you can have people leave one bus and a minute later catch another bus that goes 90 degrees another direction. The other aspect is I hate the 5 lanes of the streets in the area. I much prefer the driving of 44th Street which seams to drive much better. I would say that 44th would be better but the issue it has a lot of residential that would need to be redevoloped that is not in the best intrest. You have to choose corridors that have plenty of depth for redevolopment or infill.

[GRDadof3]

The thing is that 28th has a lot of dead spots. Also we do not have a connector linking Metro Health to the Airport. Plus if you do this properly you can have people leave one bus and a minute later catch another bus that goes 90 degrees another direction. The other aspect is I hate the 5 lanes of the streets in the area. I much prefer the driving of 44th Street which seams to drive much better. I would say that 44th would be better but the issue it has a lot of residential that would need to be redevoloped that is not in the best intrest. You have to choose corridors that have plenty of depth for redevolopment or infill.

How many people do you think travel from Metro Health to the airport? And how much redevelopment is there around BRT? Have you seen any studies?

[Allison Slater]

Metro -> Route 16 to 44th st -> Route 44 to Woodland -> Transfer to 17 (same bus, just different route name) -> Route 17 terminates at Airport.

Route 16 is usually rather empty around Metro Health. Most of the route's business is north of 44th.

[Rizzo]

I'm kind of left scratching my head....

aowwt, I don't understand why you would mention knowing a secret unrelated to this thread. I'm curious as to why you would bring it up without any intention of sharing -- especially as it isn't relevant.

According to The Rapid, there is very little need for an airport connection. That can be best summed up by their own decision to cancel the "airporter."

Also, I'm kind of surprised you would make the statement that BRT needs a boulevard or elaborate street scape improvements to be successful. If that's the case the point can be made that this project is going to incur major indirect costs. It seems strange that $40 million is only going to bus a thousand more people then the existing Route 1 bus.

[aowwt]

its just something that was directed to a reader here, thats it.

As for the connector from the Airport to Woodland Mall to Downtown GV to Rivertown Mall to Metro Health is this. It would cross connect with the Division BRT Line. As a result it would allow people living around those areas to be able to get to downtown without a lot of hassle and would be rather quick. As for the connector to the airport I think the problem I see is that sometimes somebody would need to use 3 busses just to connect plus ever try to lug baggage up to the bus height. Those are nearly impossible for some people. The BRT line would have the ability to just roll it right on the bus without heaving lifting. The reason for some of those locations is also for the aspect of Park and Ride areas. That allows a good portion of the population to be drive to certian locations and hit several diffrent areas and even to get to downtown much faster. The aspect of going to Metro health is to allow people that are going to be served there due to their doctors to be able get there without having to drive. More lines would be needed overtime but overall you need a few long routes to get things started first.

As for development here are some numbers that were pulled from the 54th St Charrette. The range for return of investment when a line gets put into place runs from 300% to well over 1000% of return. For the Division Ave BRT line it is predicted to be around 400% rather low but expectations are for a decent return. The other thing is that a BRT line to be successful needs walkability. If anybody tried to walk accross 28th St knows, well lets just forget about walking since you can only do that in a sprint. Also anybody knows that standing in the middle of a road is not really all that safe when you yourself is on pavement. If you are located on an raised island like you see with boulevards, it creates some ease and makes it a little safer not completely but at least a vehicle is going to take some effort to get up over the curb. The other item I like with this is that it creates a more vibrant appearence. A four lane street is not terrible to cross its just that it is typically easier to do it with 2 sets of 2 lanes with a landing inbetween.

The great thing with this BRT is that brings back the neighborhoods that this area is seeming to lack anymore. A good majority of people barely talk to each other unless you are in a hood that has houses on top of each other. In most designed BRT line stops they tend to create infill between the stops with built up houses that most cities are forgetting about. The nice thing with houses like those is that are easier to mantain than the regular single family homes built since the 70's. The other thing with BRT lines is that as long as there is major employment centers on a line it will be successful. A good number of employers are on 28th plus the aspect that it would connect to downtown via the Division corridor.

The great thing also with BRT lines is that open space around BRT spots at major cross interections does create a huge amount of development. Its not so much that development has to be in place before a BRT line is run, rather it is better that areas of under development are included with stops since it would create a neighboorhood before your eyes. I do want to stress that by 2014 we need to be ready to start another line if the Division Ave corridor is booming. We do not want to sit back and do studies on 2014 with no line being ran for another 10 years. It be best to have a study started I would say by December of 2010. The cool thing is that an extension really would need no major study work but rather just some planning design by the areas affected with the COOL transport. As I said as the line is succesful we need to move towards Phase III and should be ready for Phase II. The only thing I might change is a sub line running to Calvin College if a need is wanted for the 28th St Line.

As for other Phase III lines, well a West Side line running to GVSU would be nice the only issue I see with that is how verticle these stops tend to create. Would the west side of GR want to see 4 to 5 story Mixed use intersections on a line. The other aspect I have to continue to stress is that this is NOT a car centrict street developments. These are in fact a pedistrian and everybodies favourite mode of transit here, bike centrict streets. As a result cars still get the ability to travel but they are restricted by the ability to turn left as they will only be able to do so when there is an opening in the islands.

[Allison Slater]

I cross 44th almost daily at Byron Center Ave. and occasionally cross 44th at Ivanrest, where there is a landscaped median. I have to say I much prefer the crossing at Byron Center Ave. because I can cross the street in one trip. By the time I reach the opposite end of the median at Ivanrest I have to stop and wait for the next light cycle to continue crossing. Also, it involves more walking to cross the street as the thoroughfare in its entirety is much wider.

I could go on about other issues with your post as well, but, I shall save those for another time.