Transit Updates for Greater Grand Rapids

[arcturus]

Some interesting bus stops. Trying to figure what would be unique to GR.

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/0...tive-bus-stops/

[Allison Slater]

Is the old Medical Mile catwalk still hanging out on Market? That could easily be chopped up and made into several shelters.

[Rizzo]

Interestingly, Eric Larson (Kent County Familes for Fiscal Responsiblity) won't be able to vote on this issue, as he lives in Cascade Twp. But he has every right to come out against it even if he can't vote on it.

My favorite is the person who posted a couple of videos walking around Monroe Center, complaining about the lack of people there, even though the Silver Line doesn't even serve Monroe Center.

The video you are referencing is by the same person who runs a website against The Rapid. The person makes the argument that downtown is a failure so people should move on to the suburbs. That people shouldn't have to subsidize downtown as a failed place. (see bottom of page)

In order to get people to say no, they have to scare them or make them question something as little as a street with little pedestrian activity after a rain storm.... Or that Medical Mile closes down after 5pm. Isn't Medical Mile staffed after 5pm?

Edited May 3, 2009 by Rizzo

[Veloise]

Is the old Medical Mile catwalk still hanging out on Market? That could easily be chopped up and made into several shelters.

It's there, but...seems like it would work better to obtain schamncy new shelters designed for that purpose.

Or have a contest with HS shop classes fabricating their own shelter designs.

Or allow an "adopt-a-shelter" project where the hoi polloi can be philanthropic.

[JoeSchmo]

I am pretty sure my intelligence has gone down 50 points after reading comments on wood that are against it. People seem to randomly assume without any background.

And if Eric Larson lives in Cascade township- why is he a spokesperson for fighting proposals that impact residents of a metro area his township is not a part of. I used to live in Ottawa County that doesnt mean I should go get involved in the local politics of Holland?? I suppose he has the right, but whats the purpose??

BTW that Moroccan bus stop looks like they cut my grandmas living room in half.

Adopt a shelter could be interesting....could get community more involved directly with the support of mass transit.

[Veloise]

...And if Eric Larson lives in Cascade township- why is he a spokesperson for fighting proposals that impact residents of a metro area his township is not a part of. I used to live in Ottawa County that doesnt mean I should go get involved in the local politics of Holland?? I suppose he has the right, but whats the purpose?? ...

Cascade Township, where site plan review is a theory, sidewalks are not needed, and ADA compliance is only a dream. (See the Fountainwalk plaza thread.) "We don't need no steenkin' Rapid service, no one rides the bus here."

There are several MDs in my family, but I don't offer medical advice.

[GRDadof3]

Cascade Township, where site plan review is a theory, sidewalks are not needed, and ADA compliance is only a dream. (See the Fountainwalk plaza thread.) "We don't need no steenkin' Rapid service, no one rides the bus here."

There are several MDs in my family, but I don't offer medical advice.

I'm sure he looks at Waterfall Shoppes as Manna from Heaven (no slight toward Jewish people or anything). Maybe he also dreams of the day that 28th St has no traffic signals or lane markings. Who knows.

[GR_Urbanist]

Interestingly, Eric Larson (Kent County Familes for Fiscal Responsiblity) won't be able to vote on this issue, as he lives in Cascade Twp. But he has every right to come out against it even if he can't vote on it.

My favorite is the person who posted a couple of videos walking around Monroe Center, complaining about the lack of people there, even though the Silver Line doesn't even serve Monroe Center.

I saw that video, and pointed out how he conveniently always moved the camera away when he approached places, like Jimmy John's or Barnes and Nobel, open places, when he did his movie on how nothing was open on Monroe. He also never ventured south of Ottawa.

On top of that he filmed on a cold Monday when it was raining. What did he expect to see?

I also made a polite suggestion that he should have been there on the Warm Saturday when the Chalk Flood event took place, and that his opposition to the Silver Line could have been made better.

Needless to say, my comment was not approved.

[Veloise]

I saw that video, and pointed out how he conveniently always moved the camera away when he approached places, like Jimmy John's or Barnes and Nobel, open places, when he did his movie on how nothing was open on Monroe. He also never ventured south of Ottawa.

On top of that he filmed on a cold Monday when it was raining. What did he expect to see?

I also made a polite suggestion that he should have been there on the Warm Saturday when the Chalk Flood event took place, and that his opposition to the Silver Line could have been made better.

Needless to say, my comment was not approved.

Did the video creator also describe how it was impossible to find a place to leave his suburban SUV?

[GRNetAdmin]

1- how many of you live/work along south division?

2- if you answered yes to #1, how many of you ride the current bus system?

just wondering.

[GRDadof3]

1- how many of you live/work along south division?

2- if you answered yes to #1, how many of you ride the current bus system?

just wondering.

Another question might be:

3 - how many people here live in Southern Kent County and use 131 for their commute?

[GRDadof3]

I saw that video, and pointed out how he conveniently always moved the camera away when he approached places, like Jimmy John's or Barnes and Nobel, open places, when he did his movie on how nothing was open on Monroe. He also never ventured south of Ottawa.

On top of that he filmed on a cold Monday when it was raining. What did he expect to see?

I also made a polite suggestion that he should have been there on the Warm Saturday when the Chalk Flood event took place, and that his opposition to the Silver Line could have been made better.

Needless to say, my comment was not approved.

I asked some questions too of the videographer, and they were never posted. I wasn't even being argumentative. One point I brought up is, the Silver Line doesn't even cross Monroe Center, anywhere. The closest it gets is Monroe and Pearl. The other funny part is that the person is saying "no one on Monroe Center, not a soul", when I can clearly see people almost bumping into the guy. And that's on a cold rainy day downtown. I wonder how busy Woodland Mall was that day (someone get out their camera and do a response video of the empty malls during weekdays around GR).

I'm not saying that opponents don't have a right to voice their concerns, but I have to laugh at some of the arguments against. Here are some of my favs:

) People walking with baby strollers along Division will get hit by faster buses. I don't even know what to say. Sidewalks?

) Highschoolers along South Division have been almost hit by crossing Division. Will the Silver Line do away with crosswalks? And conceivably won't fewer cars = fewer near car/pedestrian hits?

) Aggressive men on the buses turn away potential riders, so why invest in better buses. Gee, so you've never been a victim of road rage in Grand Rapids, particularly by men? We should all just stay home then because there are aggressive men in the world.

) I'm in Comstock Park, and this bus doesn't serve my area, so I'm voting NO!! Sorry, you can't vote.

By reading the comments on MLive and WOODTV, I think the opposition is a much smaller group than what many people think. Based on the same language being used over and over again, I can probably point to about 6 or 7 people who are vocal opponents (using different usernames). And I think a lot of people don't even realize that it doesn't effect their area, so they won't have to pay for it. Imagine their surprise on election day when they get all fired up and can't find the millage request on their ballot.

[Veloise]

...By reading the comments on MLive and WOODTV, I think the opposition is a much smaller group than what many people think. Based on the same language being used over and over again, I can probably point to about 6 or 7 people who are vocal opponents (using different usernames). And I think a lot of people don't even realize that it doesn't effect their area, so they won't have to pay for it. Imagine their surprise on election day when they get all fired up and can't find the millage request on their ballot.

I'm seeing many familiar user names on the Mlive site. (Hi Andy, John, Jeff...)

[GR_Urbanist]

By reading the comments on MLive and WOODTV, I think the opposition is a much smaller group than what many people think. Based on the same language being used over and over again, I can probably point to about 6 or 7 people who are vocal opponents (using different usernames). And I think a lot of people don't even realize that it doesn't effect their area, so they won't have to pay for it. Imagine their surprise on election day when they get all fired up and can't find the millage request on their ballot.

I'm not going to agree with that, no more than those that agree with it there are the same 6 people peddling the same ITP-prepared list of talking points.

Disagree with their position, but dont resort to denigrating their efforts as some sort of orchestrated fraud.

[GRDadof3]

I'm not going to agree with that, no more than those that agree with it there are the same 6 people peddling the same ITP-prepared list of talking points.

Disagree with their position, but dont resort to denigrating their efforts as some sort of orchestrated fraud.

Easy big fella. I never said fraud, but there are some consistencies in writing styles and arguments that can easily be identified as the same individuals. Because those sites don't require registering, you can post comments under a bunch of different names. That's not fraudulent, but it certainly makes it seem a lot less like some massive grass roots uprising that the media is portraying.

[GR_Urbanist]

Easy big fella. I never said fraud, but there are some consistencies in writing styles and arguments that can easily be identified as the same individuals. Because those sites don't require registering, you can post comments under a bunch of different names. That's not fraudulent, but it certainly makes it seem a lot less like some massive grass roots uprising that the media is portraying.

I guess fraud was a bit too strong.

But as far as the writing styles. The style for everyone there is about the same. All pretty lousy.

Take it from someone that knows about lousy writing!

That topic there seems to have ran on for weeks, so I'm not shocked that it all starts to sound the same by now. But I suppose we will see by Weds.

[numstead]

in the video, at 2:30 he says that the passerby just looked at him like he was a mugger,

my first thought was 'he probably looked at you're walking around all crazy like and carrying a camera'

then at 3:20 you see his reflection in the City Market window and dude is dressed like a bum with a couple filled trash bags strapped over his shoulder

ooooh, undercover reporting!

[aowwt]

Yeah I saw the video. I tried to post comments on it but failed. BTW the video taker had garbage bags hanging in front of him in the first few seconds of the 1st video.

[aowwt]

I would love to see somebody try to drive from 60th and Division to the federal court house using 131 and see if they could beat the BRT at 7AM?

Edited May 4, 2009 by aowwt

[GRDadof3]

I would love to see somebody try to drive from 60th and Division to the federal court house using 131 and see if they could beat the BRT at 7AM?

Including time to find a parking space, park your car, grab your stuff, lock it up, and head out to wherever you're going.

[aowwt]

Thats why if I get called for Jury Duty agian which considering I have served with no issues at all the two times in the past 7 years I think its quite possible. I did find out that I would only have to serve once every two years. So thats not too bad considering I vote and drive.

[JoeSchmo]

Is there going to be anything else on the ballot besides The Rapid?

[fotoman311]

Is there going to be anything else on the ballot besides The Rapid?

It depends on where you live, but there will definitely be other things:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...r_may_5_sc.html

[JoeSchmo]

It depends on where you live, but there will definitely be other things:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ind...r_may_5_sc.html

Thx fotoman..thats what I was looking for.

[Raildudes dad]

I would love to see somebody try to drive from 60th and Division to the federal court house using 131 and see if they could beat the BRT at 7AM?

The BRT schedule estimator says 29 minutes from 60th / Div to Michigan & Monroe. You can wait up to 15 minutes for the BRT. I'll bet you I can drive 131, park in a DASH lot and be in the courthouse in less than 36 minutes. 29 + 1/2 of 15 minutes (avg wait). Most days I bet I can equal the BRT time of 29 minutes. Now if we got rid of all those parking lots.......