NorthCoast

I know its big news now because we talked about it my Urban Sociology class today.

Yeah! Poo on Hudsonville!

I don't know what GVSU's next phase of construction will entail but hope it includes a new library, renovation of the Lakes, and some elevated parking structures to reduce the number of surface lots. The Fieldhouse is about due for make-over as well. Don't even get me started on The Meadows...

Here are the pictures I promised. They didn't turn out as well as I wanted them to due to poor weather and a cruddy camera...

I just got done taking some pictures of the 9-11 memorial set up on GVSU's Arboretum...I'll try to upload them tonight. Its been a gray day today so I hope they turned out.

They've got 4 concrete towers up...i'm assuming they are the stairwells. The Kirkhof addition looks like its going to take awhile. The frame for the new atheltic facility is already up. It's bigger than I thought it would be.

I don't necessarily disagree with you but I bet the townships would prefer to be under county rule as opposed to the city's. It's that whole conservative "rural" way of thinking. I think this is the way things may end up playing out if the state does end up deciding to consolidate governments. The only chance GR has of adding any type of population and or tax dollars would be from the cities which surround it such as Walker, Wyoming, Kentwood, etc. and even then I wouldn't expect total annexation.

Because, in general, people living in Grand Rapids Township live there because they don't want to live in the City of. If you are them think about it, why live on one side of the street and pay double the taxes that you would if you lived on the other side of the street. In townships you can enjoy all the amenities and basic services that a city offers at a lower price. Now, if current rumblings are true and township affairs are put more into the control of the county perhaps you may see some places changing their tune. You have to remember, for as large of a constiguency that there is on this board that is pro-urban, there is just as large if not larger who want nothing to do with urban living. You may really dislike it but they have the right to live how they want to. I'm not defending them, I just don't want to be an elitist urbanist and dismiss those people who do enjoy suburb living as "stupid".

I'm not sure why but news out of Jamestown is that Meijer is not really being that active in getting that store off the ground as of late. The plans have been put on hold for the time being from what I understand.

Outdoor malls and 'community centers' are really big down south and out west, obviously due to their climate. I went to an outdoor mall in Phoenix and even though it looked typically suburban surrounded by a sea of parking lots and a parking garage. However, once you were in the complex, even I couldn't help but be drawn in and impressed. I found it's website online, apparently it's called Biltmore Fashion Park. Looks pretty much like the same set up we are familar with Orchard/Rochester Hills. http://www.shopbiltmore.com/default.asp

Here is a picture of the Jenison Meijer c. 1972 from 'Bend in the River', a local history book of Jenison-Grandville. I apologize for the poor quality. I believe this store was constructed around 1969 so this is probably pretty close to what the building originally looked like when it opened. Unfortunately I don't have a present day picture in which to contrast it with.

Just an idea here but perhaps it is about time to somehow organize all of the wonderful photos, renderings, etc. on this site into one easily accessible and well structured sub-forum. I just wonder if it wouldn't be easier (especially for newer UP'ers) to access these great images. It would also serve as a great database that we could all utilize. I know it would probably take a lot of work so I understand if it doesn't happen. I just thought I'd at least put it out there.

This from the burbs but I'll put it up anyway just in case anyone has to come through the Jenison area... Starting Monday, April 16 thru July resurfacing will be occurring on Old M-21/Chicago Drive from Main Street in Jenison for about 3.4 miles down to Rush Creek near Hudsonville. When work is being done the road will be down to 1 lane at times in each direction. Resurfacing also begins in June on Baldwin, east of Main Street (the portion barely anyone uses) in Jenison to Cottonwood Drive. This is one of the preliminary steps in constructing the new ramp. The bridge which crosses Rush Creek will also be replaced so that it will be able to hold the capacity which will be necessary once the ramp is completed. *Note they also seem to be doing a lot of utility work in the entire township, they've been cutting trees all along Fillmore and putting up new power poles. It can cause some delays getting up 'the hill' on the way to GV.

The next question is would all stations be uniform or would they each be designed to be unique to the area in which they serve?

That looks great. I'm sure Grandville would love an idea like this. The potential for redevelopment in their downtown as well as the area between 28th Street and Chicago Drive is enormous.

According to the images from REGIS and Ottawa County I've looked at, there seems to be enough room for 2 additional lines in the existing ROW. However, it appears the ROW was not officially acquired until after alot of the existing development b/c some runs right through parking lots. But its definitely a possibility.

You probably could get away with abandoning that portion of Division between Chicago Drive and the tracks. I can't imagine a single LTR line would take up too much space from the pictures I've seen. The only thing you'd have to do is convince the business/property owners in the DT area that the parking they are losing would be compensated by the LTR line and even possible stop being located close to their shops. Some of the lost parking could probably be re-located to that little strip of Franklin between the tracks and Chicago Drive. That too could be abandoned. I'd still be interested to see if the embedded track between lanes would work. If I remember correctly, that portion of Chicago Drive is 4 lanes total. There is a fair amount of traffic in the area but I wouldn't really say its a problem, especially with all the side streets and alternative routes. Adequate parking already exist behind those buildings on Chicago Dr., especially those on the southside. If I was more computer drafting savvy I'd whip a design for it but I'm much better with a pad of paper and a pen.

Psssh.......money....who needs that? At least if big whigs out there ever start talking about this, we'll have the basics covered for them.

Would it be possible to construct a LTR line above the CSX line? Has something like that even ever been done? Grandville is in the middle of passing through plans to decrease the size of Chicago Drive through their downtown with on the street parking. So really the only option would be for them to abandon these existing plans and add an embedded track or get really creative and develop some sort of elevated system. Unless of course there was an alternate route that the line could take once it got into Grandville. I'm not sure what area, if any, would work though. I would actually love to see a transit stop in Jenison in the area of Chicago Drive south of land currently used by the defunct Handy Andy big box store which is now home to an AutoZone, Dollar Store, and Hobby Lobby. It would be great to see that land redeveloped into a huge park and ride spot with some mixed in retail. It would be in walking distance of Meijer as well as provide a shot in the arm for redevelopment in the area. The only thing is that some sort of bridge would be required across the tracks and westbound Chicago Drive to the platform. The Michigan turns would also have to be addressed. And as if there aren't enough interesting factors in this fantasy, there is also the idea that there is serious consideration that Chicago Drive may one day be merged back into a single roadway in the Jenison/Hudsonville area. With the westbound lanes being abandoned and destroyed. This could also provide for some alternative space to put a rail line. Chicago Drive through Jenison (I don't know how to transfer images from Yahoo! Maps to UP)

I would say that most of the traffic from GVSU is students going to and from classes that live on the west/southwest/south side of Grand Rapids....Grandville, Wyoming, Byron Center, etc. Most of the students who live to the west usually take one of the county roads south to Chicago Drive or use Lake Michigan or Fillmore. I would expect the amount of residents commuting to Grand Rapids on the other hand to be a significant amount. I'm ashamed to admit there is also a signifcant amount who actually get on the highway to go to Grandville rather than take the surface streets. With the increase in downtown activity and growth I still do believe that some sort of mass transit route is still a very good idea for this area. Concerning CSX, that was a bit of an outlandish, pipe-dream option. I basically assumed that the freight operation would be ended. I don't know anything about freight economy or CSX in general but I would hazard a guess that this is unlikely.

The funny thing is there's already enough existing infrastructure to make this happen. The line could either be run over top of the existing CSX rail line or could be run right down the middle of Chicago drive (west to Holland and east to Granville Ave/Grand Rapids) with some sort of skywalk to provide pedestrian access a la the El in Chicago. There is vacant land behind both Target and the Post Office which could adequately serve as some sort of park and ride and/or transit space. This same line could also spur development along Grandville Avenue as well as spark interest in redeveloping Chicago Drive through Wyoming. Imagine being able to ride the Chicago Drive Line beginning in Grand Rapids with stops in Grandville, Jenison, Hudsonville, Zeeland, and Holland connecting to a lakeshore line running up 31 to places like Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Muskegon, etc.

Thats an excellent point. The Jenison/Georgetown problem is really a two fold problem. a)The township has experienced tremendous growth over the past 20 years. Jenison itself is projected to have a population around 24,000 (the US census data for this region is flawed, the area in which they measure population for Jenison is way too small). Georgetown Township is an additional 18,000 people. Add in Hudsonville's 9,000 and that makes for 51,000 people. Projections for this area indicate the population to increase to around 62,000 (Georgetown-Hudsonville) by 2025. b)Grand Valley State University's student population has exploded in the past decade. The university is home to now around 24,000 students. Many of these students are commuter students who have to drive through Jenison in order to get to the highway. From about 3pm to 6pm you can usually count on sitting through 2 or 3 light cycles idling on Cottonwood and then doing the same thing at the Main Street/CSX light. Construction on the new Baldwin ramp begins this year and will only increase traffic problems in the area: -Baldwin will be widened to 5 lanes from Main Street east to the new ramp -Yet another intersection will have to be constructed at Main and Baldwin -Main Street will be resurfaced -The bridges over Rush and Buck creeks will have to be reconstructed -Merge/Weave lanes will have to be added -The ramps themselves will have to be constructed The ramps proposed purpose is to ease the traffic flow in this area by providing alternative access to I-196. Emergency vehicles will also be able to access the highway/township easier and without disruption of waiting for trains which still often travel the CSX line. However, while I don't disagree with the construction of this ramps I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment that is going to solve the area's traffic problems. Honestly, I think things are going to end up being worse. There seems to be a prevailing thought that traffic will be equally be split between the two ramps but I believe the split is going to be a far larger and unequal split along the lines of 70/30 with the heaviest traffic being in the area of the new ramp. Traffic is a huge issue in this corridor and there is virtually no bus service. I'm a firm believer that if any sort of mass transit program is to succeed it will have to incorporate the suburban communities.

Yep, that store was renovated. They finished it not too long before the big sell. The store, as I've been told, was a lot smaller than it is now. I was bummed when things hit the skids the summer before the Spartan buyout because my store in Jenison was slated to be remodeled as well but it never came to fruition and now it continues to operate in its sub-standard conditions. Little has been invested in it b/c its slated to be closed and merged with the Georgetown store. However while Spartans intentions are rather well known, they have yet to even approach the township about there plans or even seek a re-zoning. I'm not sure the township is going to be crazy about building yet another new shopping plaza on perfectly good baseball diamonds especially since not only will it increase traffic and alter the character of the rural/residential planned location but will also leave the township not one but two vacant grocery stores in already suffering commerical districts. But back to the topic....I have a prof who lives close to Orchard Hills and she is rather exited about the whole project because she will have a grocery store that isn't Meijer in close proximity. Not to mention all the other retail and dining opportunities.

From what I've seen come down the company news wire, Spartan Stores has every intention of building a new "D&W Fresh Market" (yes, thats what they all are called now) within this complex. The only way it doesn't happen is if the entire project somehow folds. They've even gone as far as making it publically known. This will be the first new D&W built with the company now under Spartan ownership. It will be the prototype design and look for all future D&W's Spartan will construct. To the same token this is the first newly built D&W in quite a while. I couldn't even tell you when the last brand new store (new building, new site, new market) was actually constructed....maybe Portage in the mid to late 90's. Most of the other stores were either acquistions, remodels, or relocations.

There is nothing more I'd like to see than a park n' ride rail system in the GR metro area.