Things We’d Change About Grand Rapids If We Were In Charge

Several times over the past few years, the city of Grand Rapids has asked for people to step up and make the community better by volunteering to be a city commissioner and to join the city council.

And while I have always personally believed that serving your community is one of the most important roles you can take on, I also firmly nbelieve there are some of us that shouldn't. Am I one of those people? Possibly.

However, knowing that fact that won't stop me for throwing my two cents in on things I would change if they put me in charge here in Grand Rapids.

1. I'd make all of the bridges blue

Sure, we're known for the iconic blue bridge

(Ooo, look at how pretty it is.)

But, it feels a little unfair that the other bridges crossing the Grand River downtown don't get the same pomp and circumstance as their friend just a block or so away. So, I'm grabbing the paint and LED lights and making us the first city in the US with THREE awesome bridges.

2. Make parking downtown easier

Sure there are tons of spots, but it can be a real headache to find out where you can easily park downtown that won't cost you an arm or a leg, or that isn't going to get you towed.

Also, side thought: what about having a punch card / get a free parking spot deal for those of us who go to Van Andel Arena all of the time? (Okay fine, maybe they won't give me that sort of power.)

3. Art Prize all year long

Art Prize is one of the coolest parts of Grand Rapids. It's fun to see what goes up each year, but the one downside to ArtPrize is how fast it goes by.

Imagine if we got new Art Prize installations each month or quarter? C'mon, we deserve cool stuff year round. World of Winter helps with that itch, but I crave more random installations.

4. The requirement of late night food options downtown

Beer City USA loves to stay up late. Between breweries, concerts and late night walks across the Grand River, we don't leave downtown until the early morning hours. But you know what does? All of the good food options.

Try leaving a late night show at The Intersection and trying to find a bite before you head home. It's not happening. So, my (not so) campaign promise is to require some of our amazing downtown spots to stay open a little later so we can finally get a few more options of what to eat to wash down those drinks.

Where are all of the people? Probably at home having a badly made grilled cheese because there was no food to be found.

5. There aren't enough Meijer stores

We are the HOME of Meijer, and sure we have six locations throughout the city, but that doesn't mean we don't need more of them.

If you've ever been to the city of Boston, they're known for Dunkin Doughnuts. You can't walk a block without hitting a location, so why don't we have the same deal here?

What about East Grand Rapids? Or Downtown? (Sure, the Bridge Street Market is great, but I can't buy pants and milk at the same time, so that's no life I'm willing to live.)

They always say you should be the change you want to see. While, I'm probably too much of a nuisance to be Mayor (you're safe for now, Lagrand.) maybe my pipe dreams of making a change could come true. For now, I'll just dream about when they ask me to volunteer.