On Tuesday, September 22nd the City Commission occurs at 7:00pm at City Hall (300 Monroe Ave NW), in the City Commission chambers (8th floor). The second to last item of any City Commission meeting is open public comment. During this period anyone may use a single allocation of up to three (3) minutes to address the City Commission.
StrongtownsGR is inviting everyone to come to this City Commission to address mobility issues, particularly, but not exclusively, concerning bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian safety. If you have never made public comment at a City Commission meeting before, this is an opportunity to not do so alone. You can also ask at this weeks StrongtownsGR member meet-up.
Topics or points to consider include, but are not at all limited to:
The Soccer Stadium will open in the spring of next year (2027). Multi-modalism was emphasized during both the amphitheater and the stadium; in neither case is first-world bicycle connectivity provided. Bicycle connectivity is planned on Mt. Vernon Ave, but it will not be available when the stadium opens. Reconstruction, which will include bicycle facilities, are planned on the southern portion of Mt. Vernon (to Fulton) in 2027-2028, while work is not expected on the northern portion of Mt. Vernon (to Bridge St) until 2028-2029 at the earliest. The mayor and the MobileGR commissions have spoken many times of quick-built temporary or experimental infrastructure to support cyclists, and the need for the city to be more agile and adaptive regarding project management. Wouldn’t the soccer stadium be an ideal opportunity to deploy a quick-build solution to connect this amenity to Turner Ave and the excellent infrastructure available north of Bridge St?
When infrastructure is planned a greater priority should be placed on continuity, as only when a corridor provides a cohesive user experience will the full value of the communities investments. The city has created some excellent infrastructure, but those parts remain scattered and disconnected. The Vital Streets program, adopted by the city at the ballot box in 2015, includes in its “Project Prioritization” chapter not only asset management - which has clearly been front-and-center in Vital Streets projects, but also - as an “and” not an “or” - a section on “Connectivity and Continuity” which states:
To build out the multimodal transportation system in Grand Rapids, projects may be needed to complete key gaps. Projects may be prioritized to provide access to community destination likes parks, schools, and employment centers. This will be measured by buffering around key public destinations and existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities to determine where opportunities might lie.
What are the key gaps in the city’s cycling infrastructure as you experience it?
The City has stated that it would prioritize multi-modal transportation in the 2024 Master Plan, the 2002 Master Plan, the 2015 Vital Streets millage, and the 2025 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP).
Goal #2 of Downtown’s GRForward plan (2015) states, within the first goal related to restoration of the river: “Enhance neighborhood access to the river”. This connectivity to the river should be for all users, especially given the significant investment the city and larger region has made in the Grand Rapid as a recreational corridor.
Goal #3 of Downtown’s GRForward plan (2015) states that a priority will be to “Implement a 21st century mobility strategy”, including providing a “stress free” pedestrian experience for all ages and abilities.
As a user of the city’s existing infrastructure what is you experience with the maintenance of that infrastructure? How do you perceive the enforcement of permitted and safe use of that infrastructure?
What corridors which you use to you believe need bicycle or pedestrian facilities?
Try to be specific about why these corridors are an important part of a network, including what destinations important to the community exist on those corridors. Perhaps include what particular aspects of those corridors make them dangerous.
Where you have or even frequently experience near miss events.
FYI, The Grand Valley Metro Council (GVMC) which manages regional transportation projects and funds has a form for reporting near miss experiences; please report your incident(s) into this database @ https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/dad8ca39423740998f66a14b22353e13
Share a personal anecdote on why you choose not to use a personal vehicle as a default mode of transportation.
The average cost of owning an automobile in the United States, in 2024, was $1,124/mo ($12,297/yr). https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/breaking-down-the-cost-of-car-ownership
Over five (5) years at 4% interest, $1,124/mo in savings could have earned $7,189 in interest. The economic case for public transportation, cycling, and walking has not been this good since 2012; this last time fuel prices were above $5/gallon for an extended period of time.