I still think the commuter costs in Grand Rapids are waaaay too close to Chicago costs, without nearly the benefit. I lived there for twelve years; just moved back to GR last winter. I am shocked that I'm paying only two or three dollars less for parking; the meters are MORE expensive; and now there's talk of a light rail pass from a GR suburb for $75??? I paid only $95 from a suburb 25 miles outside Chicago! And had access to the shows, restaurants, shopping, jobs, lakeshore, museums...
I understand--and agree--that there is too much surface area in downtown Grand Rapids devoted to parking. That doesn't mean it's convenient to go downtown. No, people driving into downtown won't walk more than a couple blocks. No, people won't pay a lot without griping--or turning around and heading to the 'burbs. They do what's easiest, and, I can tell you from years of experience, taking the train from park-and-ride lots ain't easy. Don't get me wrong--it's a great option to have for daily commuters, but that doesn't even begin to fix the let's-go-downtown-to-eat-or-shop problem.
Any reason why GR can't do what Naperville, Illinois does with it's downtown parking? (Naperville pop. ~150,000, with a county population of ~932,000). Naperville created Special Service Areas to specifically pay for FREE parking.
Recent memorandum discussing the SSAs
http://www.naperville.il.us/emplibrary/4-1...20Worksheet.pdf