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Grand Rapids Airport (GRR) News and Developments


joeDowntown

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I'm starting to see now why its going to cost $120 million :shok:

Thats a biiiig buildin'!

edit: there must be more to it, a car doesn't need almost 230 sq ft of storage space.

Actually, I believe they figure about 300 sf per car for parking ramps, when you include driving lanes, entrances, exits, curves, etc.. 300 x 4900 spaces = 1.47 Million. The main page of the bid documents also says it has a 130,000 sf canopy, which extends over the airport drive.

tamias, I think you're a little late to propose mass transit to the airport instead of this parking ramp. BTW: the parking ramp will be four stories. :thumbsup:

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Actually, I believe they figure about 300 sf per car for parking ramps, when you include driving lanes, entrances, exits, curves, etc.. 300 x 4900 spaces = 1.47 Million. The main page of the bid documents also says it has a 130,000 sf canopy, which extends over the airport drive.

tamias, I think you're a little late to propose mass transit to the airport instead of this parking ramp. BTW: the parking ramp will be four stories. :thumbsup:

The footprint will cover the current surface parking lot, right? If so, than I'm all for a "nice looking parking structure" versus a sea of asphalt. Perhaps it's six of one, half-dozen of the other (i.e. doesn't matter either way).

I will really like being able to park my out of the elements in the winter and being able to walk to the terminal without being caked with ice and snow while toting a couple of suitcases. As long as the beancounters properly forecasted parking revenues being able to service the bond debt, and county coffers don't have to rescue the airport, it's progress IMO.

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The footprint will cover the current surface parking lot, right? If so, than I'm all for a "nice looking parking structure" versus a sea of asphalt. Perhaps it's six of one, half-dozen of the other (i.e. doesn't matter either way).

I will really like being able to park my out of the elements in the winter and being able to walk to the terminal without being caked with ice and snow while toting a couple of suitcases. As long as the beancounters properly forecasted parking revenues being able to service the bond debt, and county coffers don't have to rescue the airport, it's progress IMO.

I don't know how big the footprint is, but most likely. I don't disagree that a parking ramp is needed. Unlike mgreven, it seems like every time I've flown out of GRR (which is seldom because it's so expensive compared to other airports), I can only find a space WAY out by the charter companies at the East end of the long-term lots, and it's winter and friggin freezing.

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When we're talking surface parking, are we talking about just the current short term lot?

GRR was voted as the worst regional airport from US news and World Reports...

The food selection there is terrible, flights are often delayed, and the shocker to me, 78% of flights are booked full. With a number like that, you'd think more flights would be offered.

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....

tamias, I think you're a little late to propose mass transit to the airport instead of this parking ramp. BTW: the parking ramp will be four stories. :thumbsup:

I know. I just threw that statement into the ring for the sole purpose of venting. It's just disturbing that the huge amount of money being poured into the ramp is yet another subsidy for the car instead of going into a viable mass transit option from the airport to DT.

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I know. I just threw that statement into the ring for the sole purpose of venting. It's just disturbing that the huge amount of money being poured into the ramp is yet another subsidy for the car instead of going into a viable mass transit option from the airport to DT.

Shuttles run from the airport to downtown currently. That's mass transit, right?

Also, the new parking facilities include a new public transportation "terminal" for the airport.

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GRR was voted as the worst regional airport from US news and World Reports...

The food selection there is terrible, flights are often delayed, and the shocker to me, 78% of flights are booked full. With a number like that, you'd think more flights would be offered.

Whoa whoa whoa. What do you mean by selection? Does "Take it or Leave it" constitute selection? That airport concourse is a business econ 101 case study in the perils of monopolies. This little microcosm of single vender selection results in unmotivated staff, poor selection and an unkempt environment.

I like the look of the new parking structure though! :D

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Shuttles run from the airport to downtown currently. That's mass transit, right?

Also, the new parking facilities include a new public transportation "terminal" for the airport.

There are shuttle buses. Yes.. Also the public transit terminal is a nice touch. But the coast of the parking ramp could have provided a very large portion of the money needed for a hardier transit system such as an LRT connection between DT and the Airport. Not only it would have been able to serve the airport. If routed property, it could have been handy at whisking many of the Health Hill employees to and from work since many of them live along the I-96 corridor. That would have killed two birds with one stone-meaning reduced parking needs for the Airport and Health Hill. That would have equated to far smaller parking ramps for Health Hill and for the airport than the two giant monsters we are going to have to deal with now. It could have even stopped or at least delayed the need for MDOT to scrape the bottom Michigan's dismal budget to add additional lanes to I-196 and Michigan St. The cost of those two projects would have funded a nicely implemented LRT or BRT. I'm not here to bash the new parking ramp. It is a nice structure and is likely to serve the airport and its patrons for years to come. However, there are alternatives to the parking ramp that would cost the same or may have been a little more expensive but would have had a more long lasting and positive impact than the solution being implemented now.

Edited by tamias6
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I think you're asking too much of transit. LRT is great, heck if the rail sub from the NS rail yard to the airport is still intact you could forward light rail vehicles from downtown to the airport. I just don't think downtown to airport is really the best allocation or resources.

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Lets put it this way, if downtown with a daytime population of 25,000-30,000 can just inch its way to light rail I'm not too sure the airport can. Last I remember the airport gets about 8,000 travelers. If you break that down how many are commuting downtown or vise versa? I'm going to chance that right now its not doable for that very reason. You have to remember that the airport is its own draw from the entire region with just 8,000 people. If the 8,000 passenger count is correct that means its drawing passengers scattered thin all around the entire region.

Edited by Rizzo
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That makes since. Basically if we wanted mass transit in that area it would have to serve a purpose in addition to serving the just airport which is why I threw in Health Hill as a "for instance" example in my previous post.

Lets put it this way, if downtown with a daytime population of 25,000-30,000 can just inch its way to light rail I'm not too sure the airport can. Last I remember the airport gets about 8,000 travelers. If you break that down how many are commuting downtown or vise versa? I'm going to chance that right now its not doable for that very reason. You have to remember that the airport is its own draw from the entire region with just 8,000 people. If the 8,000 passenger count is correct that means its drawing passengers scattered thin all around the entire region.
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I think you're asking too much of transit. LRT is great, heck if the rail sub from the NS rail yard to the airport is still intact you could forward light rail vehicles from downtown to the airport. I just don't think downtown to airport is really the best allocation or resources.

NS to the airport? It went to the old airport, not the new one. CSX runs parallel to the north fence line of the airport. You're correct, insufficient airport to downtown demand.

Edited by Raildudes dad
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NS to the airport? It went to the old airport, not the new one. CSX runs parallel to the north fence line of the airport. You're correct, insufficient airport to downtown demand.

No, I'm mistaken on the spur and where it diverts. The CSX does run off just before the railyard. It dosen't terminate at the new airport but runs north of the facility.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Wow. That's going to completely change the face of the airport. I think that first-time visitors arriving at the airport will get a much-improved first impression of the vitality of the area...as long as GRR can keep that ramp full.

Now if we only had more flights, and a low cost carrier.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ss....xml&coll=6

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I'm not sure if this has been shared yet, but WZZM posted a walkthrough of the facility:

http://www.wzzm13.com/video/video_player_1...w=hi&cat=87

With these flyovers you can really get a feel for how massive things will be.

Thanks Rizzo. That's going to be HUGE. The parking ramp will be nicer than the terminal. :P

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One word comes to mind. GIGANTIC! :blink: . Anyway now that I've seen the vidclip the ramp will be a good looking addition to the Airport. I especially like the canopy. The clip seems to suggest that the terminal itself is in for some heavy updating.

I'm not sure if this has been shared yet, but WZZM posted a walkthrough of the facility:

http://www.wzzm13.com/video/video_player_1...w=hi&cat=87

With these flyovers you can really get a feel for how massive things will be.

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I can't believe how mammoth that thing is going to be. I like big projects as much as the next guy, but wow! This just blows my mind. the ramp is twice the size of the terminal! Do we really anticipate that we'll be growing enough to justify this thing?

I like it, but... WOW. I can understand the reservations on the aeronautics board about approving it...

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