grbrit

That was my first thought too, but what amazing photos! How do I get up there?

There's been a picnic table in there since last year. That's if the ice didn't break it up. Could be a different one. I think the fishermen use it, but the flag is a new addition. I guess someone's claiming that rock in the name of America, just in case it was in dispute

High Water More...

More photos from Festival of the Arts downpour!

I set off with the intention of catching the trolley, but then just kept walking...and walking...and walking... I started to feel like Forest Gump after about five miles so was glad that I'd decided to take the round trip http://snurl.com/29d1r Funny how some parts of town - which I'd previously considered "a bit scary" - are really not bad places when you're on foot on a sunny day. Saw all the Spring Fling signs, but not many customers. I checked out a couple of stores and patronized Sami's, The Meanwhile and The Sparrows. Check out the Meanwhile's new beer garden on a sunny day. Not really a "garden" but a nice quiet haven and a bit of a sun trap.

Thanks for the info, although I'm a little disappointed to learn they may be fake. Very gothic. Made me do a double-take when I thought that they were part of the original architecture.

I walked by there about an hour ago (and the guy sat on the floor had painted about another 6"). I just assumed they were touching up the white, I didn't even realize the color of the building had changed. For what it's worth, I actually like the black. Red brick is ugly. While walking down that stretch of Ionia, I noticed a massive red gargoyle on one of the buildings between Taps & Black Rose. Anyone know the history on that? I would have taken a snap, but for a tech-savvy person, I have a real hard time making my phone take pictures

All your concerns are valid for a regular commuter, but schedules and expense aren't always the main factor: Flying out of GRR: You know ahead of time when you need to be there and don't want to pay to leave the car in long term. Being able to go out for a drink/meal in any of the other tri-city areas without drink driving (sometimes I feel I'm the only one in WM who doesn't drink and drive). Out-of-town tourist with no transport.

It could be extremely cheap, and simple to write too. No need even for an SMS server if the messages are sent to phones via email. Seems like a more "real time" solution would be to fit the buses with GPS units and display them as a blip on a map at each stop on their route, but now we're just getting into sci-fi I like the idea of the tri-cities commuter rail, but it wouldn't be much fun if it stopped running after the commuters have gone home.

I've been thinking about the streetcar proposal over the last few weeks, and I have to confess I don't really understand the attraction. I mean, we're talking about a fixed route over an easily-walkable area. Where's the benefit? The attraction of streetcars (or trams as they're called in Europe) is that they criss-cross the entire city, connect to outlying towns, allow easy transfer to national transportation networks and have ample room for cycles (see Amsterdam as a perfect example). Many add subterranean routes at great expense to existing cities to avoid traffic congestion on the surface (see Sheffield or Manchester, UK). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Europe It seems that some here are almost suggesting that the streetcar system would be an attraction in itself rather than actually serving a useful purpose. Not sure how a bus with metal wheels would reach the status of attraction. For GR, I'd rather see a night bus schedule that runs from downtown to outlying burbs until after the last bar, theater, club closes. This would solve parking, polution and drink-driving issues all in one go. Also, routes can be changed at will without needing to dig up the road. Something that we have all too much of around here as it is! Please enlighten me if I'm missing the point.

Hi All, The company I work for is unleashing a new, regular podcast on the world in the next couple of weeks. It's called "Inside Grand Rapids" and consists of "interviews with community leaders, business leaders and individuals committed to building a stronger future". I'm in charge of putting together the web site for it and I'd love to use some of the great photos in this thread for the header of the site. I grabbed some a while back, but unfortunately I didn't make a note of who took them. Here are the ones I'd like to use initially for launch. If you're the owner of the photo and you'd prefer I didn't use it, then please let me know via PM. Alternatively, if you're happy for the image to be used, send me your name and I'll be happy to give you credit on the site. We are a commercial business, but this is a free public service we're providing for the benefit of the community. If you have any suggestions then feel free to send them to me via PM. Many thanks!

Gotcha. Point taken. I was taking your use of the word "suburban" to be the atithesis of metropolitan and an insinuation that was undesirable.

Not a criticism, but you seem to be suggesting GR would be better if it were more "big city". The thing I like best about GR is that - while covering a fairly large area - it still has a "small town feel" to it IMO. Am I misinterpretting your comments?

Sorry to disturb the wildlife, but I hope you snappers are ready for the "river of blood" next month "The tracer dye, known as Rhodamine-WT, will be placed in the river near the U.S. 31 drawbridge on June 6 and again on July 18" I realize this is probably old news...

Thanks for the welcome. The solar traffic signals are neat, but as for any of this reaching GR? Let's hope so, but I'm not holding my breath. By the way, I can't stop scrolling through the archives looking at the amazing pictures some of you folks have posted. They really make you appreciate the city in a whole new light. Struggling to keep up with the threads via RSS though!

No, but they do have light-sensitive resistors on the top. If the light sensor detects light i.e. daylight, then the resistor prevents the electricity flowing to the bulb. When there is no light, i.e. at night then the electricity flows and the bulb lights. There's been some recent development to control the amount of electricity used with ultra-sensitive photocells to control the brightness even at night [read more] Hi by the way. Short time reader, first time poster Andy