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River Bank Books Closed

dragt

By dragt
in Grand Rapids

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mgreven Hamlet

mgreven

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Letter to the Editor Today - How mad does this make you?

Store closing not surprising

As a lover of books and a writer I was sorry to read about River Bank Books & Music closing, but not surprised ("You can close the book on it," Press, Jan. 4). This is another local bookstore shutting its doors, driven out by the big stores and chain stores which some people regard as the evil empire of the book business.

When River Bank Books & Music opened, I visited the store. To get to the store, though, I had to contend with the traffic and the maddening maze of one-way streets in the heart of Grand Rapids. Once I actually got close to the store, I spent another 10 minutes trying to find a parking space. When I visit one of the large bookstores, I park with no hassle within easy walking distance of the door. And it's free.

A downtown bookstore is an excellent idea. Whether it will ever be a viable reality in Grand Rapids, I have serious doubts. It's hard to enjoy browsing in a bookstore when I know the parking meter is running out or my tab at the lot/garage is growing by the minute. A downtown bookstore will have to offer something the chains and other big sellers don't. At the moment, I'm not sure what that would be.

ALBERT BELL/Holland

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Rizzo City

Rizzo

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We should look at his comments as an opportunity. I give Mr. Bell credit, he came out from Holland to visit this store. We shouldn't huff and puff because the guy had a negative experience. What downtown business should do is learn from the criticism.

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Ted Whistle-Stop

Ted

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I can only hope that his prose is as easily accessible as a Barnes and Noble otherwise why should we bother to read his work? It sure sucks when downtown shopping isn't as good as his latest solipsism. And what could be more tortuous than the tick-tick-tick of the big city parking meter - how could anyone 'browse' under these conditions?!? It's the 'Telltale Heart' all over again! We all know that nothing could be more confusing to our Ottawa County friends than exiting at the Ottawa downtown exit and then making one left turn to get to the store: those two one way streets downtown...who can tell which way they go?

It might just be better if he stayed home next time and 'wrote' from a more truly uninformed place.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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I can only hope that his prose is as easily accessible as a Barnes and Noble otherwise why should we bother to read his work? It sure sucks when downtown shopping isn't as good as his latest solipsism. And what could be more tortuous than the tick-tick-tick of the big city parking meter - how could anyone 'browse' under these conditions?!? It's the 'Telltale Heart' all over again! We all know that nothing could be more confusing to our Ottawa County friends than exiting at the Ottawa downtown exit and then making one left turn to get to the store: those two one way streets downtown...who can tell which way they go?

It might just be better if he stayed home next time and 'wrote' from a more truly uninformed place.

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Ted Whistle-Stop

Ted

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Too funny Ted. But I warned you guys that to outsiders and visitors, the one-way streets are pain in the a**. Why are Ionia and Ottawa one-way streets again? I can see Monroe Center staying one-way, but those other two boggle me.
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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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I find the One-ways convenient after knowing the streets well. I've got it down to where I can hunt for street-side parking in the core without ever having to worry about a red light. Go down Monroe Center, turn left when possible (left-turn on red light for one-way-roads law comes in handy here), go down to Michigan, take that U street on over to Ottawa, and go back towards Monroe Center. I almost always find a parking spot before I reach Monroe Center again. And if I don't, turn left onto Monroe Center and head towards Heartside.

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Mark Miller Whistle-Stop

Mark Miller

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Store closing not surprising

As a lover of books and a writer I was sorry to read about River Bank Books & Music closing, but not surprised ("You can close the book on it," Press, Jan. 4). This is another local bookstore shutting its doors, driven out by the big stores and chain stores which some people regard as the evil empire of the book business.

When River Bank Books & Music opened, I visited the store. To get to the store, though, I had to contend with the traffic and the maddening maze of one-way streets in the heart of Grand Rapids. Once I actually got close to the store, I spent another 10 minutes trying to find a parking space. When I visit one of the large bookstores, I park with no hassle within easy walking distance of the door. And it's free.

A downtown bookstore is an excellent idea. Whether it will ever be a viable reality in Grand Rapids, I have serious doubts. It's hard to enjoy browsing in a bookstore when I know the parking meter is running out or my tab at the lot/garage is growing by the minute. A downtown bookstore will have to offer something the chains and other big sellers don't. At the moment, I'm not sure what that would be.

ALBERT BELL/Holland

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twoshort Town

twoshort

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Let's just level the whole downtown, put a big Target store at one end and a Barnes and Noble at the other end and connect them with a huge parking lot. We can add some outparcels with an Applebees, Red Robin and maybe even a starbucks and make the whole thing seem really familiar. Get rid of all those damn streets, all those pedestrians, all the street life and make it really easy to navigate. Maybe we can make a new ramp off from 131 that slides right on into the 16 acres of free parking bliss. Get rid of the HPC because all they do is protect this old dirty crap, rename downtown Grand Rapids with some corny suburban moniker like River Walk--maybe we can make the whole thing into one big happy lifestyle center...that would be sweet, and maybe then everyone will stop their beotching about how bad the city is.

But seriously, free parking? Is any parking really free? Are Mr. Bell's trips to Big Box Mart really free? That parking and the streets (and highways) that he drives on to get there are NOT free and while he does not pay a direct cost, we all pay a very high indirect cost to continue to subsidize this kind of development.

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Ted Whistle-Stop

Ted

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I think if you check back in history, they were made one way about the time the freeways were built. Both streets were / are one way at their junctions with 131 and 196. 196 hadsn't changed since then but the "downtown" 131 ramps have been reconfigured several times.
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Ted Whistle-Stop

Ted

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The streets were and still are under the jurisdiction of the City of GR. Any decisions on their status were made and continue to be made by the city. MDOT has no say in streets / roads unless they have an I, US, or M in front of a number assinmged to the street (I -96, US 131, M-37, M-44). Cities are very autonomous in what can be done to streets under their jurisdiction ie speed limits and parking restrictions. Road Commissions on the other hand must have concurence of the Michigan State Police for speed limits and parking restrictions.
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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

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That's just not the case. MDOT funds or partially funds most if not all of the road improvements in downtown - the City is constantly going to them to fund projects. When they contribute funding they get their say. Furthermore, if any of these streets connect to anything MDOT owned, they get their say. Now, I may have been a bit glib, but when future funding is at stake it is certainly naive to believe that the City is not going to take MDOT's wishes into account.
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