Grand Rapids — Streetcar Route Selected

Rail Transit Online, February 2008

The Public Transportation Tomorrow Task Force has announced selection of a 1.5-mi. (2.4 km) initial route for a downtown circulator using modern streetcars. The tracks would be placed in the curb lane from Sixth Street NW south down Monroe Avenue to Market Avenue and over to Central Station, the local transit system's bus hub.

Consultant DMJM Harris will conduct a $360,000 feasibility study of the line, which is somewhat shorter than the original proposal, to determine costs, ridership and development potential.

"There seems to be a lot of positive energy behind this, but we have a long way to go," Jim Fetzer, director of development for the local transit system known as "The Rapid", told The Grand Rapids Press. There is strong political and public support for the project, according to Fetzer. Transit officials predict revenue service won't begin for at least five years.