Ride Share - WKTV Journal

Get active by walking or riding a bike to work this week. (pxhere.com)

Active Commute Week – a movement to promote more eco-friendly modes of transportation – is underway and runs through Friday.

“Active Commute Week is a great collaboration between individuals, organizations, and employers to promote healthy, sustainable modes of transportation around our region,” said Bill Kirk, spokesperson for The Rapid, and former participant in ACW. The Rapid and its commuter transportation program, West Michigan Rideshare, administer the technology utilized for Active Commute Week.

“Whether participants elect to ride The Rapid, hop on their own bike, take a walk, or utilize a scooter or bikeshare bike, that choice benefits our entire community by reducing emissions and improving public health outcomes,” said Kirk.

Kirk emphasized that the challenge is not just for work commute – participants can log a trip to the grocery store, restaurant, or library.

“Personally, I will be riding my bike or taking Route 5 to work and trying to make all my trips around my neighborhood by foot,” said Kirk.

The event will feature an employer challenge, designed to encourage friendly competition among organizations. Currently there are 25 Grand Rapids employers participating in the challenge.

Active Commute Week was postponed in 2020, but the event in 2019 was the largest yet. In a five-day period in June of 2019, a total of 393 individuals logged more than 4,000 green trips. The actions of those participating in the challenge reduced vehicle miles traveled by 19,293 miles, reducing pollutants by nearly 20,000 lbs, and saving commuters more than 900 gallons of gas. This year the event will take place across a seven-day period, in order to encourage participation on the weekend.

The Happy Hour recap event will take place on September 17 at Garfield Park. There will be an awards ceremony, and challenge participants will have a chance to win prize packages. It is not too late to sign up – Details on the event can be found at wmrideshare.org/acwgr

The new Cell Phone & Ride Share Lot at the Gerald R. Ford International Airpot.

With an eye towards helping to reduce congestion at its terminal building, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) has opened a new parking area for those waiting to pick up passengers.

The Cell Phone & Ride Share Lot includes 30 spaces for individuals waiting for passenger arrivals, along with 30 spaces to accommodate staging for ride share providers.

The new lot is located off Patterson Avenue as you enter the airport headed north, making an immediate right on Van Laar Drive, and another immediate right on Pederson Court. Directional signage is in place to guide new visitors to the area.

“This expanded area will give those customers looking to enter and exit quickly, an opportunity to park in this new lot for a short time period while waiting for their arriving guest to call them,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill. “In addition, we are excited to finish a partnership with our rideshare partners to work together to solidify that added service at our airport.”

The new Cell Phone and Ride Share lot is located in the lower left corner of the map.

The Ford Airport board approved the construction project in April. Increased passenger and construction traffic prompted the relocation and construction of the new lot.

“We are excited to open this new, expanded space for our growing passenger base,” said GFIA Board Chairman Dan Koorndyk. “At the Ford Airport we are all about making things easier for our passengers so when it comes to giving them more transportation options, we are happy to make that happen.”

Other renovations in the area include new LED lighting to improve safety, and updated signage. The lot is free with a limit of 30 minutes which will be enforced.