Eh, its like the boardman river in Traverse city and the lake (boardman lake) it runs into, most people just dont use it at all. It is something of value that gos underutilitized and therefore under appreciated, although they do have the bay to play in.
It would be nice to see more on the river but how much can you actually do with a shallow river? Fish and thats about it. If someone would pony up the dough to have it dredged we may see that riverboat that sits down by the sewage treatment plant toward grandville strolling up the river.
After living here almost 3 years I never walked down by the river other than eberhard center and I was dissapointed. Graffiti everywhere, as mentioned earlier, most of it was closed off, and even if it wasnt there is nothing to do but walk. They need rows of trendy shops and restaraunts facing that direction to draw people to the river. Most people dont want to drive downtown just to take a walk.
Maybe the proposed theatre will spark some life down by the river. Also they need to change the bridge lightbulbs. only about 1/3 of them are light up. Whats up with that?