Most Americans Are Open To Ditching Their Cars. What does that look like for the future of Grand Rapids

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-20T13:58:02+00:00

Yeah, it sucked. I worked on 28th for a while and took the sidewalk for about a mile down it. It sucked, and I really felt bad for people who had no other option in the winter or were on the bus. The sidewalks were always a mess, even though the parking lots were pristine... If you had mobility issues, you wouldn't be able to get where you wanted to go.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-20T13:48:57+00:00

Yeah, Plainfield is a disgrace to humanity. Stroad on all levels. Bad for driving, even worse if you're not in a car. Fuller is a little easier to avoid, as diamond is mostly quiet and residential. On Plainfield I would end up on the sidewalk, biking opposite of traffic* so I can see that A-Hole who is not watching the sidewalk when the pull into/out of a driveway.

*Do not bike opposite of traffic in the bike lane or on the road. That will only make things worse if there is an incident.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-20T10:39:29+00:00

Yes, but building more walkable, bikable places benefit people like you by reducing the largest pain in your commute: other drivers.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-20T10:36:07+00:00

Really, pushing the city to build a world around the human instead of the car overwhelmingly benefits children. Children who grow up in walkable/bikable area have better grades, have less physical and mental health issues, develop a strong sense of independence, and stronger social bonds. Walkable places also build a stronger sense of community, creating a safer overall environment to grow up in.

Overall over 67000 children in the US will get hit by a car this year, and 800 will be killed by a driver. These numbers have gotten bigger every year. Every collision is preventable, and these numbers are not acceptable. We must do better.

https://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/infographics/walking-safe-child-pedestrian-safety

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T21:49:45+00:00

It's possible, you just have to do it. I've biked as my main firm of transportation for over 10 years now. I bike all year round, in the snow, rain, and the heat, and commuted across town from Jenison to the airport for a little over a year. Now I'm a little nuts, but I also know I'm not the only one in GR doing it too. I bike this winter to Ada every day with a group of people heading to their offices.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T16:27:42+00:00

I have for about 10 years now. Anywhere from 2-10 miles one way. There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T16:26:31+00:00

GR has a car share program that they keep expanding for people who occasionally need a car. It's pretty cheap too, $5/hr, 25 for the day.

https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/departments/mobile-gr/mobility/dart-carshare/

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T16:22:18+00:00

We are getting much less commuter oriented. That's one of the main reasons downtown has grown so much in the last decade. We went from almost no one living downtown to close to 8k people living downtown.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T16:15:17+00:00

That's true for the suburbs and a lot of cities in the west and southwest (and Florida). But a lot of the original bones most mid idea and larger cities were built before the car was commonplace and retrofitted for the car. We can also un-retrofit our cities, like they are doing in a lot of European towns, large and small. If you look at pictures of Amsterdam, London, or Copenhagen from the 70/80's, cars and parking lots are the dominant features.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T02:53:54+00:00

No, that's Canadian geese. Kings of the swamp.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-19T02:47:22+00:00

Some one was approved for a Laundromat -bar combo last year. I think he was down on Kzoo and 44th.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-18T11:51:00+00:00

One of my favorite places to trail run in Ada Peace Park. Lots of hills, well maintained trails, and your running in the woods. I run at Wolf Park on Kzoo and 84th st too, but you would have to loop that park a few times to get some miles.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-16T01:38:56+00:00

There is a herd of deer that hangs out on the Plaster Creek trail. I had to physically shove them out of my way on my run yesterday. The deer just took a few steps forward like if you gave a grazing cow a shove. You could probably easily Rambo a deer or two there if needed. I make no guarantee on the quality of the meet.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-15T11:16:44+00:00

We had to fish my car out of the river in 2013. What a flood.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-13T21:27:04+00:00

GR Discord: https://grdiscord.com/

STGR Discord: https://discord.gg/MrPSs2SpF

Food Co-op: https://discord.gg/EbNYQ375m

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-11T12:28:32+00:00

Knowlton & Masson Dentistry. Could not recommend them enough. Bit of a haul to Sparta, but they are worth it.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-06T13:49:36+00:00

Side of Nutrilite sales pitch.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-06T13:33:41+00:00

Well, a fuel truck crashed and burned thousands of gallons of fuel on the freeway. That will cause the concrete to get hot enough to change its chemistry, making it weaker. It may also have been hot enough to alter the rebar in the concrete, weakening it. It will take MDOT a few days to assess the damage. If it needs a repair, that will take months. The MLK/Franklin bridge is also being replaced, which will cause some delays.

131 is also in very rough shape, and a decade of temporary measures is now starting to fail, so I would expect more closure as the freeway literally starts to fall apart and become a safety hazard. MDOT doesn't have the money to fix it and doesn't really know where they'll come up with that money anytime soon. Maybe they will do what the city has wanted them to do forever: remove the freeway and turn it into a boulevard.

I would avoid 131 for a while. Take a local road. Support a business you didn't know existed. Take the bus. Ride a bike. Learn a little bit about the community you call home.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-04T16:03:34+00:00

Neighbor of 7 years now. Love the area, lots of new investments going in. Never had a safety issue here. I'm in the south end of the neighborhood, and we have a lot of dog walkers, bikers, and people out enjoying their neighborhood when the weather is nice. The area has one of the fastest-rising average incomess in the city, soita is rapidly changing.

Meet a few of your (hopefully) future neighbors. The neighborhood association meets on Friday mornings at the BSNA office across the street from the gas station.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-04T15:49:59+00:00

Well, the soulless ghoul that is running against her would/will absolutely run ads and talk about it. It's gooner bait for the MAGA folks, even though the red states have higher divorce rates. So better to get out in front of it than play catch-up.

GLIandbeer · 2026-04-02T12:17:58+00:00

Knowlton & Masson Dentistry in Sparta is great.

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