Would you want light-rail trains in Grand Rapids?
The Rapid is currently in the midst of a new 20 year transit master plan. Considerations for streetcars and light-rail are on the table. Would daily life in Grand Rapids be improved with the addition of light-rail? If you don't drive a car in the greater Grand Rapids area, you can't really get around. Think about how long it would take you to walk from your house to the nearest grocery store. It would take me 40 minutes each way, and I don't live in a rural area. Could Grand Rapids use another mode of transportation?
What if there were streetcars throughout downtown? What if there were trains connecting Grand Rapids to Rockford, Zeeland, Hudsonville, Grandville, Gerald R Ford Airport, Coopersville, Allendale, Caledonia, Lowell? All of these places are included in the extents of the 20 year transit master plan route. For those commuting down 131 from Rockford to Grand Rapids, what if you could avoid all of the traffic (and accidents) on the expressway and take a train instead? For those living out in the suburbs, what if you could meet friends at a bar downtown Grand Rapids and not have to worry about driving home after drinking? For vacationers and those traveling by plane often, what if you didn't have to pay $50 dollars for an Uber to get to GRR (or $15/day at an overnight lot), and instead you could take a train into the airport? What if your grandma, who is elderly and can't drive anymore, could take a train to visit her friends and family? What if international students at GVSU could travel around Grand Rapids without buying a car or relying on Uber? What if you were considering selling your car to save some money (gas, insurance, and maintenance costs add up) and could travel to work, school, and stores by train or bus? What if you could get to the beach in Holland from Grand Rapids in 30 minutes?
In 2014, there was a study done by the Rapid on the prospect of adding streetcars to downtown Grand Rapids (MLive Article February 4, 2014). This past week, I emailed the Rapid's Director of Planning to learn where that 2014 study ended up. He said that the whole team on that study was thrilled with the idea of adding a streetcar to Grand Rapids, but the cost was prohibitive -- $36M per mile. To put that into perspective, bus transit costs come to $3-5M per mile. The director said that around the US, light-rail is often added to develop disinvested places. Since downtown Grand Rapids is economically healthy, the cost of adding a streetcar to downtown wasn't justified. If incentivizing development is not a primary factor, streetcars become a "pedestrian accelerator." The current DASH bus service would probably provide the same travel time around downtown that a streetcar would. If you've been to Detroit recently, the QLINE light-rail system serves more as a downtown "pedestrian accelerator" than a means of getting around the greater Detroit area.
☞ If you think Grand Rapids could use streetcars and/or light-rail, you can add your input to the their 20 year transit master plan: https://mksk.mysocialpinpoint.com/therapid-transit-master-plan/grand-rapids-transit-master-plan-ideas#/.
There are also two public open house meetings: https://www.transitthriving.org/events.
The idea of this study is to think about long-term investments in transportation around Grand Rapids. Short term bus fixes may also be considered, but thinking in the grand scheme of things, what is Grand Rapids missing that could be added not next month, but 10, 20 years from now? Light-rail funding would take a long time to get funding for and to actually build.
Not sure how you would use public transportation? Consider putting yourself in someone else's shoes who must use public transportation every day. You can participate with many others in the Week Without Driving this October, 2023 to gain perspective.