General Meeting 7/18

Written By StrongTowns GR

17 July 2023 / 6:00 PM 

ATTENDEES

Board: Stefan, Andy, Anna, Adam, David

Members: 10 people

New Business

  1. Strong Towns 101- Andrew reviewed the 5 main issues we focus on as an organization: 

    1. Stronger Public Transit. The Rapid desires to increase ridership and usage within the city.Strong Towns GR can help by attending meetings and raising awareness that the Rapid is changing! 

    2. Ending Freeway Expansions- Strong Towns GR wants to make sure Grand Rapids doesn't get ruined by freeway expansions, US-131, I-96, M6,ect. 

    3. Ending Parking Minimums- Strong Towns GR wants the City to decrease the amount of parking required for each type of building and usage. This will help bring development and density to the City. 

    4. Transparent Local Accounting- Getting people involved in local government.  Ann Arbor has higher funding than GR, due to a millage they instituted, for the Rapid. We want to push the City to allocate funding to parts of the community that the public deems important.. 

    5. Safe and Productive Streets- Bring the street back to all users, not just the automobile. Create environments that force people to respect the crosswalks. Car ownership can be a burden to people, especially when in the city. Redesign roads to keep people alive when out and about in the City.

  2. Open discussion

    1. The Rapid and how it receives its funding was brought up. Max from the Rapid was attending tonight and was able to provide some excellent insight! The Rapid sponsored/funded by the authority of 6 cities in Kent county. The Rapid receives most of the funding by taxes collected. There is additional funding when the Rapid makes contracts with certain businesses or other cities. Example of this is the Alpine Meijer, and previously 28th Street.The Rapid is hard to fund due to land usage(sprawl) in the greater Grand Rapids area. One of the main issues with getting funding for these contract routes is convincing businesses that the Rapid is necessary. 

    2. Public infrastructure funding in the US severely underfunded public transit. Road maintenance and construction receive 64.3 billion a year. Amtrak only receives 2.4 billion.

      1. Anti car sentiment- increasing with younger generations. People want to be able to go about life without having to own a large necessary expense.

      2. Culture war on cars and creating little Mackinaw island.

        1. People have shifted to more openly rejecting the idea of cars in spaces designed for people. People want to be using the downtown area, but often feel unsafe due to the current infrastructure and built environment. We need to make Grand Rapids like a version of Mackinaw Island. Eliminate the car and everyone has a good time! 

        2. EGR is interesting due to the land usage and culture. Historically the streets there are always full of people. Yet the streets themselves are often very wide lanes. - SAFE walks to school program is a national project to increase safety. EGR participates in this, Grand Rapids does not. 

  3. STGR Updates

    1. Food Truck Fridays- Bike Valet- ends September 1st. 

      1. 2 shifts-6-7 people are needed! - Merch available!

      2. Transportation Master Planning- Great showing by STGR members! Consistent message is great for the city planners! 

      3. Neighborhood Associations involvement! Open board seats! 

        1. We will have a calendar and information available on these to help people get involved.  

        2. Corridor improvement authority

        3. Business associations wards. 

      4. Active projects- 

        1. Week Without Driving- The Rapid is a partner! The GR Bike Coalition is supportive of the event as well. Lots of branding opportunities and involvement from other groups in the GR area. The event is put on by America Walks. See Action Items 1&2. 

        2. The Community Engagement Calendar is in development. 

        3. Protected Bike lane push- Stefan reached out- however there is only 1 project scheduled for this year, on Turner- it is a fully separated bike lane. 

          1. Mobile GR needs to update messaging on road projects, in order to increase public perception. 

          2. Make biking a normal part of life, i.e. places people want to go, rather than destination bike paths. Vital Streets plan is 5% bike share by 2035. We should keep this topic in mind with the Community Master plan and Transit Master Plan happening. 

        4. Bike Rack Survey on Dash route- We will do a survey on the current infrastructure. How many bike racks, where, what kind, how far they are from the stop. 

NOTES

ACTION ITEMS

  1.  Contact North east Wellness Coalition. Inquire with Mobile GR about funding for Week Without Driving. 

  2. Together West Michigan- Might need to show up to these meetings.

  3. DTI- Downtown development Agency- looking for members to citizen alliance

Next Meeting’s Agenda

August 15th- Meeting room at the Creston Neighborhood


StrongTowns GR
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General Meeting 06/27