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Grand Rapids Metro Cruise

GoBroncos

By GoBroncos
in Grand Rapids Coffee House

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Beavis Whistle-Stop

Beavis

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I'm an old biker chick who also loves classic and muscle cars. My Dad used to race at Berlin - we spent lots of weekends out there when we were kids - I've always been a gearhead. I will definitely be at the Metro Cruise this weekend with my buddies. One of them has a 55 Cadillac convertible, red with white interior and huge fins. We went last year too - It's an absolute blast and while I love the Dream Cruise, it's nice to have a smaller version which we can enjoy in GR as well.

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GR1 Whistle-Stop

GR1

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Well? How did it go?

Reading the Saturday paper this morning I saw where The Rapid had a strong presence scheduled. (BTW I did not write the letter suggesting bikes and walking to see the classic cars. But I could have.)

The Metro Cruise went well; a lot more cars parked than actually driving, but fun to see. As for The Rapid, I saw 6 people at the most on the busses at one time, and busses were definitely holding up traffic as they stopped at the bus stops.

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civitas Burg

civitas

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There's 3 cars I'd love to see, 1 classic in a way, and 2 newer:

Delorean (I saw one parked somewhere along 28th very briefly when I was 12 or so)

Plymouth Prowler (Haven't seen one since it was on display at Wayland Plymouth)

Vauxhall VX-220 (Designed after the Elise, I forget who made the Elise) looks amazing in Silver or Orange

Incidentally, I just listed my 3 favourite cars =p (With the classic bug in 4th)

Deloreans were sold at Dan Pfeiffer Lincoln Mercury at 28th & Breton. You probably saw one there.

There are a number of Plymouth Prowlers in town, but they don't seem to get driven much.

The Elise is made by Lotus. There are a number of those in GR. The Vauxhall had the same body as the Lotus but a larger engine. One was on display at the Detroit Auto Show a number of years ago. I'm not sure they were ever imported. They didn't sell well because buyers prefered owning a Lotus.

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PBJ Burg

PBJ

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Well? How did it go?

Reading the Saturday paper this morning I saw where The Rapid had a strong presence scheduled. (BTW I did not write the letter suggesting bikes and walking to see the classic cars. But I could have.)

Well as stated already about the Woodward cruise.. it made it a pain in the arse to get anywhere around me Saturday. Tried to go get some Taco Bell (probably 2 blocks down 28th from me), took me 20+ minutes. I thought it'd be better by the time I had to go to work down at McFadden's.. at 10pm.. NOPE, 28th was JAMMED. So I took Madison to Wealthy. :D

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Veloise City

Veloise

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The Metro Cruise went well; a lot more cars parked than actually driving, but fun to see. As for The Rapid, I saw 6 people at the most on the busses at one time, and busses were definitely holding up traffic as they stopped at the bus stops.

OK, I'll bite.

The presence of the Rapid buses made the traffic go slower (presumably making things better for spectators). Was this a problem?

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GR1 Whistle-Stop

GR1

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OK, I'll bite.

The presence of the Rapid buses made the traffic go slower (presumably making things better for spectators). Was this a problem?

Not really. The busses would stop at the bus stops, actually blocking the view of the street for the spectators on the side of the road, and wait for passengers to hop on...except no one was getting on the busses.

It also created problems where bus stops were near the exits of businesses and the lines to get out of the parking lots stacked up while the busses were stopped loading up with imaginary passengers.

I think overall the idea of having the busses was good, but they weren't utilized enough to justify the annoyances they caused.

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PBJ Burg

PBJ

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Other than the fact 28th street is long, is there a reason this isn't held downtown? We have tons of parking lots that could be used. Monroe is a pretty straight shot, we have Rosa Parks circle, plus the parks along the river. It just seems like d/t could really embrace something like this, keep it all within walking distance yes I know it's a cruise but I saw PLENTY of parked cars and there could be a street such as Monroe for crusin. and to me, d/t is MUCH better than 28th street/no sidewalks/stripmall/fast food heaven.

Just a thought.

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dbrok Hamlet

dbrok

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Other than the fact 28th street is long, is there a reason this isn't held downtown? We have tons of parking lots that could be used. Monroe is a pretty straight shot, we have Rosa Parks circle, plus the parks along the river. It just seems like d/t could really embrace something like this, keep it all within walking distance yes I know it's a cruise but I saw PLENTY of parked cars and there could be a street such as Monroe for crusin. and to me, d/t is MUCH better than 28th street/no sidewalks/stripmall/fast food heaven.

Just a thought.

I think it's a good idea, but the car dealerships probably want to remain an integral part of the event for advertising sales leads and many are located along 28th.

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GoBroncos Unincorporated Area

GoBroncos

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Ok, after hearing your explanation it does sound like a pain for the people living close. I give. :D

One day??? The "official" DC is one day (or did they make it two?) but people start moving their lawn chairs to Woodward the week before. A while back I posted comments from a blogger who found it, ah, amusing that people will sit and watch normal rush hour traffic all week.

Many businesses close that week because there's no way regular customers can reach them, and DC spectators don't buy from them. (Woodward has drive ins and restaurants and the odd motel, but most of the retail is along the lines of Pier I and offices and opticians and furniture.) DC visitors park any old place, leaving no room for the local needing a new eyeglass spring or a waterbed.

As I understand it, if you are on one side of M-1 and want to cross, add a couple hours to your trip. And there's the usual neighborhood disruption from side street parking, litter, open containers, noise...think football Saturday with lawn chairs and noisy non-EPA compliant vehicles. One of the big problems is that non-classic vehicles clog Woodward "so they can see the cars," causing major traffic jams (and don't get me started on Ozone Action).

Your average resident of Royal Oak or Ferndale doesn't see the out-of-town dollars, but has to tolerate a major life dispruption. Think Ann Arbor Art Fair. I don't know how the police and safety agencies (in every community adjacent to M-1) pay for the overtime and back-up. I do know that DC Week would be a real bad time to have to be admitted to or visiting Beaumont (at the corner of 13 Mile).

One good thing about 28th Street: not nearly as much residential disruption.

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GoBroncos Unincorporated Area

GoBroncos

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Well? How did it go?

Reading the Saturday paper this morning I saw where The Rapid had a strong presence scheduled. (BTW I did not write the letter suggesting bikes and walking to see the classic cars. But I could have.)

The Metro Cruise was great. Estimates showed the amount of show cars doubled and the visitors were estimated at 180,000. Last year the visitor count was 125,000. Not bad. I was there all day and during the early afternoon hours the traffic was backed up almost the entire length of the cruise which spans 13 to 15 miles. This was definitely not the case last year. The only backups I remember last year were near the Wyoming area. The event which seemed to get the most attention was the low rider contest which was put on at Classic Chevy in Wyoming. My thoughts are that the Metro Cruise will continue to grow in popularity but I believe it can only get so big since 28th street is only 2 lanes in each direction whereas Woodward, I believe, has 3 in each direction? That extra lane makes a huge difference since the traffic is a mix of show cars and non-show cars.

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GoBroncos Unincorporated Area

GoBroncos

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Other than the fact 28th street is long, is there a reason this isn't held downtown? We have tons of parking lots that could be used. Monroe is a pretty straight shot, we have Rosa Parks circle, plus the parks along the river. It just seems like d/t could really embrace something like this, keep it all within walking distance yes I know it's a cruise but I saw PLENTY of parked cars and there could be a street such as Monroe for crusin. and to me, d/t is MUCH better than 28th street/no sidewalks/stripmall/fast food heaven.

Just a thought.

There is just so many more businesses along 28th which means a bigger opportunity for sponsors and this year they had alot of them. The major sponsor was AT&T. Another reason to have the cruise where it is now is that the Wyoming and Kentwood chamber of commerce is one entity and since they are the ones putting this event on they are going to want the cruise to go through Kentwood and Wyoming.

http://www.southkent.org/

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Veloise City

Veloise

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... My thoughts are that the Metro Cruise will continue to grow in popularity but I believe it can only get so big since 28th street is only 2 lanes in each direction whereas Woodward, I believe, has 3 in each direction? That extra lane makes a huge difference since the traffic is a mix of show cars and non-show cars.

M-1 varies from 3 to 5 lanes on each side of a grassy boulevard, with "Michigan left" turn lanes.

[wish they'd turn on the lights at RPC so I can type!]

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