54equalsunity

The privilege and lack of vision in this thread is incredible. There is so much harm to be done by "modernizing" 131. There isn't room for more lanes. There are still houses right next to the freeway in some places, and it's extremely obvious that 131 was not meant to fit as a "modern" freeway from 196 to 28th St by the lack of shoulders and tight on/off ramps. Not that it would do any good, anyway. Anyone who's been paying attention in the last 70 years is familiar with induced demand. Add more noise and air pollution to the mix and all we're doing is continuing the failure of a pattern that we've been stuck in since the 1950s. If any of you think electric cars are going to save us then I have a bridge to sell you. The only way forward is to shift the majority of investment into non-car transportation. Apparently none of you have been outside of America, because if you had you would realize that car-based infrastructure is only one piece of a much larger puzzle, and if we can't solve that without littering our downtown with parking garages then we should all just give up and go home. Calling this take political is like calling the "debate" about taking the COVID-19 vaccine political. It's not. It's pure common sense. If you want "political," how about we give up on 131 and drive a freeway through some white people's homes on the western edge of the metro to give the trucks a thru route? This state has done a great job of that with black folks, even if GR hasn't. And with the attitude of MDOT, one of the most egregious transportation (i.e., cars and trucks) departments in the country, it's definitely still possible today. If I get banned for this then whatever. It's worth it to not hear this crap.

This is awesome! Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

While we're at it we should just tear down 131 and figure something else out. It's burying heads in sand to say that rebuilding the highway for auto traffic is a smart move. That nasty, decrepit highway has already hurt tens of thousands through pollution of all kinds. I guess that's what an expanding metro needs, and poor people be damned. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Pedestrian malls have worked in more places than NYC. This article, published a few days ago, showcases some surviving (even thriving) examples of pedestrian malls. It also makes a fantastic point: context matters. IMO , the one lane of traffic on Monroe Center is terrible in the sense that I could taste the vehicle exhaust as I ate outside on a beautiful day at Brick and Porter. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-09-09/why-america-fell-out-of-love-with-the-pedestrian-mall?utm_content=citylab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

There are no streets that would be worse off than they are already with the current standard of unrestricted vehicle access. The Open Streets program in NYC has been very successful. At the very least that section of Bridge should be closed to vehicle traffic on Fridays and Saturdays. There are more than enough people walking through there to occupy the space and make it feel alive. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

I believe it is sign work, because MDOT doesn't waste enough money. It's slated to last through mid-September.

Traffic is a gas, not a liquid. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Yep, just repairs at Central Station. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

I really hope you heard wrong. No way is a third lane going to significantly improve travel times for at most 3 hours a day. That's the last thing we need, anyway. I do agree with your perception of EB. I don't know that I've ever been in a backup on that side, at any time of day. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

With this plus the Sligh development we will be gaining more than 1100 downtown-adjacent units of housing. That's incredible. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

I can see the resemblance, but the GVSU building looks like an extremely cheap knock off of that beautiful stone. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there a plan at some point to construct some kind of zig zagging path across the hill, or am I just dreaming? Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

So we're getting one modestly-sized office building and two GIANT garages that are going to be occupied 8-10 hours a day? I think Monroe North is on the losing end of this deal, but that's the way the money cookie crumbles.

Yesterday from Gillett Bridge. It probably looks even better in today's sunshine! Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Hopefully this results in more tickets being issued. Parking enforcement is so hit or miss in this city. This is especially a problem in the winter. Our street constantly had cars parked on the wrong side, making it difficult for the plows. Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

My wife and I recently purchased a 100 year old house in the city, and today during the course of our work on the basement we found The Grand Rapids Herald Sunday paper from 1/15/1933. It was a lot of fun to read all of the old stories and imagine the world in GR at that time.

This is (eventually) bad news for Allegan County, but if I was a pharmaceutical company in MI I can't think of any other place I'd rather be. It seems like a shame that the government had to hand over $2 million as part of the deal. This isn't Flint, for Christ's sake. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2020/10/perrigo-building-448m-headquarters-in-grand-rapids-plans-for-170-new-jobs.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

A lot of good points and information here. I think we defeat ourselves when we say public transportation is not feasible in the US. In GR we already have a mostly-suburban layout, even in much of the city limits, and we have a bus system that works fairly well (for a US system, at least). I don't really consider 30 minute headways to be acceptable, but it is what it is for now. The existence of a reliable service tells us that bussing (or in the pipe dream world, trams/streetcars) is a practical approach to this kind of layout. To get back on topic and talk about EBL, just because the current zoning doesn't permit "urban" development doesn't mean we can't just keep the existing road and increase the use of public transpo. I'm thinking of places like the apartment complex just north of Knapps Corner. Great little spot of density, but totally served by cars (there aren't even sidewalks on that side of the road, or a crosswalk until Knapp). It would be so much better if we could offer people an alternative to walk to Knapps Corner or take a bus downtown from right outside their apartment. I get the feeling that we'll be seeing a lot more of these apartment complexes, so doesn't it seem like a more practical approach to back public transpo instead of sinking money into widening roads? With that said, my digression is ended. I look forward to hearing more about EBL development! When traffic is light it almost feels like one of the winding state highways up north with all the greenery.

Cars are urban litter. I'd rather see actual parking enforcement instead of the pick-and-choose approach I see now before we penalize a scooter user for leaving one next to a sidewalk. The double standard here is crazy.

Yes, it's terrible, but only during rush hour, and only on certain portions of it. I've never been "stuck" (i.e., still crawling forward between lights) for more than 15-20 minutes. Nothing like "actual traffic" in a big city. Widening is a bad idea for multiple reasons. 1) We can't afford it, as a state. That is my original point. I doubt there's even money in place for R/R of EBL going forward. 2) We can't afford it, as a society. Widening means increased incentive to just keep funding and building auto-dominant nonsense, and we all know that regardless of any arguments for cars and equity or independence that they are not a sustainable form of transportation for a metropolitan environment. We are obviously going to need to keep building on land along EBL, but that doesn't mean it has to be subdivisions of SFHs and apartments with huge parking lots. Put enough pressure on the 4 lane setup and we'll find alternatives. 3) if we widen EBL then we take another step toward looking like Metro Detroit. Have you been to Metro Detroit? It's a terrible place for people. It's all 6-8 lanes of cars ZOOMING through what we're once perfectly pleasant little places. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

The bare minimum of maintenance and replacement won't happen without adequate funding. I pray that we don't see a project as ridiculous as widening the East Beltline anytime soon. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I hope not. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Ooh you haven't been to Flint in a while, I'm guessing? They redid the section of 69 from 75 to the Saginaw St ramp. I totally get the comparison, though. [emoji846] Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

"In the 1950s or 1960s, plans were laid to construct an M-52 expressway/freeway northerly from Adrian. The portions of M-52 completed in 1959 and 1962 from M-50 northerly to Manchester were constructed to limited-access standards with access only at crossroads and ample right-of-way to add an additional set of two lanes. A full cloverleaf interchange was graded out for a planned fully-controlled access interchange with a proposed US-12 freeway just north of the M-52 & US-12 junction. This interchange is still visible, especially the twin mounds of dirt for the US-12 overpasses. Why the planned expressway/freeway was cancelled is not yet clear." http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/M-052.html In these screenshots you can see the interchange right of ways, starting with the cloverleaf site:

Things are pretty crazy down there. I trained at the Walgreens in Byron Center and the patient population is exploding. Lots of people coming through the drive thru in black Yukons. It's all a bunch of suburban garbage to me, but I can tell that's where the "money" is. Plus, the high school is completing a multi million dollar addition/renovation and it seems like a new strip mall pops up daily at the 84th street exit. It's definitely the latest expansion of GR's sprawl, that's for sure. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk