New waterfront park planned for Reeds Lake

[GRDadof3]

EGR: Park emphasizes water access

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

By Juanita Westaby

The Grand Rapids Press

EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- The city's latest park proposal gets people so close to Reeds Lake, they're in it.

In addition to providing fishermen with two large docks, plans for Gilmore Waterfront Park include a "lake environment observation floating boardwalks" in two places. The park is proposed for 17 acres bounded by Lakeside Drive to the south and west, Reeds Lake Boulevard and Reeds Lake to the east, and a small channel to the north, located just south of Remington Field.

Boardwalks hug the shore and, in one place, span a small inlet located close to the southern portion of Lakeside Drive. But the wreckage of old boat docks off the shore -- leftover from the city's amusement park days -- have created a small series of islands farther north. Those islands will be joined by boardwalks allowing nature lovers to go about 400 feet out into open water.

You can read more here at the Press

There was also talk of rerouting Reeds Lake Boulevard over to Lakeside Drive, and then creating a roundabout behind Gaslight Village, allowing the park to be larger and uninterrupted by a road crossing, but those plans were dropped.

These plans are preliminary, and public input is still being sought.

[dbrok]

So this is a plan for the area along Reeds Lake north of Rose's? EGR did a pretty nice job with the development of Collins Park, so I'm interested to see how this turns out.

[cheshireguy]

I think that the people of EGR and surrounding areas will be overjoyed with this plan to utilize more of the lake's natural bounty...

... and I can faintly hear the collective groan of pissed-off Reed's Lake homeowners.

[jthrasher]

I like this idea and it will be nice, but I would have liked to have seen some retail/mixed spaces along with the boardwalk/park. There is already a fairly large waterfront park with Collins park. I think a few more retail spaces, restaurants, etc. would have been a great addition to this area. An expansion of Gaslight Village.

[Quercus]

I like these plans!

The flora in that area is pretty healthy. Fertilized by runners and tri-athletes...

Also, I believe there is a geo-cache box in there somewhere, accessible by kayak or canoe only.

[GRDadof3]

Some people didn't like the new parking lot in the middle, but I like it. It's better than the dirt lot they have now IMO. If they pave the lot and trails, they should make them pervious.

[jas49503]

I like this idea and it will be nice, but I would have liked to have seen some retail/mixed spaces along with the boardwalk/park. There is already a fairly large waterfront park with Collins park. I think a few more retail spaces, restaurants, etc. would have been a great addition to this area. An expansion of Gaslight Village.

[jthrasher]

I think that the idea was to restrore pre-existing wetlands for the health of the lake. any significant developent would have had the opposite effect.

[GRDadof3]

not if done properly. Oh wait, this is GR we don't do anything properly. Maybe you're right. ;-)

[Quercus]

From the article, it sounds like they're going to do as much as they can to restore it to a "natural" state. Interesting that the area where the parking lot is pictured is considered too far gone to be repaired. I wonder if the swampy area on the other side of the lake (close to the beltline by the hill before Hall street) is considered a healthy ecosystem and if they'll try to produce something similar in the park.

[tamias6]

For heavens sake! Build it. This would not only be an asset to EGR. This new park would be a quality of life improvement for much of the metro area. If West Michigan is to attract knowledge base people and employment we need allot more quality of life enhancers like this proposed park.

[suydam]

I predict the park will be built pretty close to what you see.

While they're still seeking public input, there have been a few sessions already, so what you see here is the result of a few public planning sessions that occurred over the past couple months so there's already some public support for this plan over a few others that were floated originally (including tying the park development in with a re-route of Reeds Lake Blvd so that it bent along the channel between Fisk/Reeds and connected to Lakeside Dr. at Durant I believe).

The only thing I see that would stop it from happening is the reliance on Michigan DNR funds to help make it happen. Any project depending on state funds right now is iffy, wouldn't you say? EGR has a community foundation that seeks donations for this sort of thing too, but based on the Press article today, I'm thinking the DNR grant is the major funding source.

At any rate, as a resident, I'm all in favor of this... it would be another great asset to our town and the entire metro area.

[joshleo]

I remember seeing old postcards of people wearing fancy Victorian outfits taking a nice little canoe or paddle boat on the channel that connects fisk and reeds lake. There even was a nice little bridge that they went under. I wish something like that was possible, but the road is too low, the property owners probably don't allow people to canoe on fisk, and making a big bridge like that might be difficult anyway...

[EGR-ARCHI]

I remember seeing old postcards of people wearing fancy Victorian outfits taking a nice little canoe or paddle boat on the channel that connects fisk and reeds lake. There even was a nice little bridge that they went under. I wish something like that was possible, but the road is too low, the property owners probably don't allow people to canoe on fisk, and making a big bridge like that might be difficult anyway...

[joeDowntown]

I think they've been doing a "proper" job on Reed's Lake. Look at what Wege contributed when they rebuilt the main park. I think Reed's Lake is being maintained properly.

And since when don't we do anything right in GR? That is silly.

Joe

not if done properly. Oh wait, this is GR we don't do anything properly. Maybe you're right. ;-)

[GRDadof3]

Yeesh. Due to lack of funding, playground, dock and bridge cut from plans.

[GR_Urbanist]

Yeesh. Due to lack of funding, playground, dock and bridge cut from plans.