Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Planning Manager Tim Kelly emails a weekly GR Forward update to the project Steering Committee. Here's this week's communication:

Good Friday Everyone!

I hope your week is coming to a successful conclusion and you are looking forward to a tremendous weekend.

Two quick reminders for you this week.

First, we are looking forward to participating at another LINC First Friday tonight at 6p. We hope you can all stop by for a night of music, poetry, art, and delicious food!

Second, as I mentioned last week we are gearing up for our second Public Forum on Thursday, April 16 at 6p at Innovation Central High. Please help us spread the word by distributing the attached flyer within your networks. This will be another opportunity for the entire community to come together to see the work happening through GR Forward and to provide more feedback as we move to development of the draft plan.

Web Numbers

The latest web and social media numbers are below. We hit another milestone this week with our 30,000^th website view. Be sure to share the links below so that everyone can stay up to date with GR Forward activities.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/grfwd

Twitter - https://twitter.com/grfwd

Instagram - http://instagram.com/grfwd#

Resources

I know many of you will be heading out on Spring Break this weekend, so I thought I would send a couple of resources for your travels.

First, for anyone that has ever wanted to understand the science behind parking economics (I know, probably not a lot of you) this article on the recently retired parking guru Donald Shoup is a great place to start: http://shoup.luskin.ucla.edu/legacy/

There is a wealth of information on the groundbreaking research Shoup has conducted over the years in the tabs at the top of the page. Some of my personal favorites are SFpark: Pricing Parking by Demand, and the High Cost of Free Parking, which was adapted from his book by the same title.

In addition, this article from City Lab on Asheville, NC, and their plans to build a whitewater course as an economic development tool is interesting and provides some great lessons for Grand Rapids as we think about the restoration of the Grand River.

As the article outlines, officials in Ashville see their river project as much more than just a recreation benefit. They believe it will help re-brand their city as an outdoorsy arts and culture mecca, and will help highlight the unique things that make Asheville special. Further, the project is part of a larger River Arts District redevelopment plan which they believe will help attract new permanent residents. The river enhancements will be accessible to the downtown's bustling retail area with its restaurants, bars, galleries and artists’ studios, and has already helped to attract New Belgium Brewing Company, which is building its second location just a hundred yards away. The City hopes the New Belgium project is just the beginning, and that more businesses are soon to follow as the look to provide access to amenities for their employees. As the Vice-Mayor says, “I’m convinced that there are more and more larger-size employers that are prioritizing quality of life and culture (for their workers)—corporate culture and community culture.”

While the true benefits remain to be seen, it is interesting to see how other cities are viewing the possible benefits to be realized by enhancing their waterways. Given the scale of the proposed Grand River restoration, it is exciting think about the transformative impacts that project can have for Grand Rapids.

As always, let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, have a great Easter weekend!