Kent County Transit Needs Assessment

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, in cooperation with ITP/The Rapid, successfully applied for and received a Service Development New Technology grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation to conduct a transit needs assessment for Kent County. The purpose of the Kent County Transit Needs Assessment (KCTNA) was to complete an assessment of the unmet need and demand for transit in Kent County, particularly those parts of Kent County that are not currently served by The Rapid. The information collected as part of this study provides information about the potential expansion of transit service beyond the current scope of existing transit service providers in the county. The KCTNA's primary goals are to:

In December 2009 RLS & Associates, Inc. was selected as the consultant to perform the KCTNA. Below are work documents from the study, including the final report. The KCTNA study was completed in July, 2011, after final presentations were made to both the GVMC Board and to the Kent County Board of Commissioners.

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council hosted a series of five public focus group meetings in June, 2010 to discuss the unmet transportation needs and the benefits of public transportation for the local community. This was the Kent County Transit Needs Assessment’s first round of public meetings to gain input and insight from the community about unmet transportation needs that could be addressed through public transportation.

The final round of public meetings to review the Draft KCTNA report were held May 23-26, 2011 at various times and locations (see chart below). These meetings were an opportunity for the public to hear and comment upon the results of the study including information about: existing transit services, costs, and ridership; an estimation of the level of unmet transit demand in Kent County; potential transit service options; alternatives to finance proposed service options and related governance alternatives.

Kent County Transit Needs Assessment Draft Report Public Meetings

Date	Location	Time
Mon., May 23, 2011	MDOT Grand Rapids TSC Conference Room 2660 Leonard St SE, Grand Rapids 49525	6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Tues., May 24, 2011	City of Lowell, City Hall 301 East Main St, Lowell 49331	6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Weds., May 25, 2011	City of Cedar Springs, City Hall 66 S. Main St, Cedar Springs 49319	2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Weds., May 25, 2011	Gaines Township Hall Room A&B 8555 Kalamazoo Ave SE, Caledonia 49316	6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Thurs., May 26, 2011	Hope Network Motivation Room, Education Building 775 36th St SE, Grand Rapids 49548	9:30 am - 11:00 am
Thurs., May 26, 2011	Plainfield Township Hall Board Room 6161 Belmont Ave NE, Belmont 49306	6:30 pm - 8:00 pm