A Citizen's History of the Grand Rapids Streetcar

6th-generation Grand Rapids, MI citizen Fred Quillin displays his passion for Grand Rapids history, and outlines how learning from the past can provide innovations for the future.

Special thanks to:

Michael Tuffelmire
The Grand Rapids Public Library
Tim Gleisner
Jack Hoffman
The Community Media Center
Chad Becker
Patrick Vidro
Brad Smit
Luisa Schumacher

*UPDATE* This millage increase passed by 136 votes: 17,284 - 17,148.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• CitizensHistoryofGRStreetcar

[natetheguitarkid]

That place where he was at the beginning is really close to where i live. I get my food from the store 2 streets away (Duthlers)

[nebraskafrankcourtny]

I love that music. stop making me cry!

[mondays89]

Haven't you seen the lip dub? We have so much history and we are so unique, we don't need a revolutionary transit system to stand out in the world anymore.

[InfraUSA]

Great video! We added it to Show Us Your Infra! on InfrastructureUSA, as well as our YouTube playlist. If you do anything else in the future that you'd like to share with the infra community, please don't hesitate to sign up at Show Us Your Infra and join the discussion!

[1nickknock]

Didn't Mich vote in a Tea Bagger for Governor. Be glad if you get an old bus.

[kabooki09]

In Pittsburgh the street car companies & bus companies were bought out by the city.

Now we have fewer routes, less trips per day and no one wants to travel all over the city for an hour when it takes less than 15 minutes by car.

[kabooki09]

I'm from Pittsburgh PA and we lost our streetcars in the 70's. Pittsburgh's topography is hills & mountains but the streetcars could go where our present bus system cannot.(especially when its snowy, icy weather. The people in one neighborhood fought valiantly to keep trolleys & just lost recently.

Instead we're getting an under the river system that nobody but the pols want.

Pittsburgh would be delighted to have the old street cars back, you never even had to have a schedule then.

[ewermike]

@mikeknorr1 Trams/streetcars go up hills all over the world. In most cases there's some kind of cog system to help them up. I have been on trams going up hills all over Europe. It's not impossible. Just a little more challenging. But the technology exists already.

[ewermike]

@aboveriver The millage increase is only for those that pay the millage already, that is the 6 cities: GR, EGR, Walker, Grandville, Wyoming, Kentwood. They want to bring the bus to Plainfield Township and there's plans to do so in the Master Plan but this needs the support of the township (or at least of the businesses in that area). Our local bus is the 11 but it cuts short of most of the businesses up on Plainfield Avenue so we don't shop up there much. Also plans for north riverbank route.

[jonrwert]

congratulations, the millage passed!