Mayor Heartwell reads the proclamation.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 13, 2010 Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell opened the first Complete Street in Grand Rapids.

Among those present at the event were members of the disability, bicycling and transit communities, as well as the environmentally astute and representatives from the Dyer-Ives Foundation, The Grand Rapids Foundation, and five of Grand Rapids’ seven City Commissioners.

Here is a short video of Mayor Heartwell reading the proclamation that, among other things, expressed strong support for Complete Streets policies.

Other speakers at the event included Kevin McCurren from the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition, Clark Goodrich from Concerned Citizens for Improved Transportation/Disability Advocates of Kent County, and Conrad Venema from The Rapid.

...and the ribbon is cut!

Grand Rapidians have expressed a strong desire to improve the walkability of their streets, establish a visible presence for cyclists with bike lanes and paths, and support transit use through various planning initiatives such as the 2002 Master Plan and Green Grand Rapids. Lake Drive is the first street in the city to be officially recognized as a Complete Street because of the addition of new on-street bike lanes and sharrows, pedestrian crossings at every intersection, enhanced bus stops with seating, and newly repaved vehicular travel lanes.

This is great first step in working towards completing Michigan’s streets, thanks and congratulations to Grand Rapids for being a leader on implementing policies that make our communities, and our state, more walkable, bikeable and livable!