Community

The Rapid Offers New Connections to Pine Rest and Spectrum Health South Pavilion

Bus service changes coming to the south end of Route 10 beginning August 29, 2022

**Sharing on behalf of The Rapid**

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 17, 2022 – The Rapid’s Route 10 Clyde Park service will be realigned south of 54th Street beginning August 29, 2022. This route will begin serving new stops at Pine Rest and Spectrum Health South Pavilion at the end of the month. “We are proud to work with The Rapid to create a new bus stop and turnaround on Pine Rest’s Cutlerville campus. Access to transportation is essential for our community and this service will greatly benefit our friends and neighbors who are seeking care at Pine Rest, as well as our employees who can now choose public transportation as an option,” said Mark Eastburg, Ph.D., President, and CEO at Pine Rest. “Providing more access to our campus gives more opportunity to receive mental health and emergency care at Pine Rest’s psychiatric urgent care center.”

At its June board meeting, Byron Township did not vote in favor of renewing its contract with The Rapid, which previously funded a portion of Route 10 south of 54th Street. This provided an opportunity to evaluate and change route patterns to serve critical destinations.

“This realignment will provide safer access to the Special Olympics of Michigan campus and co-located services provided by Disability Advocates of Kent County. It will also allow for greater access to quality behavioral and mental health services, Spectrum Health services, as well as new access to employment opportunities for our six-cities residents,” said Deb Prato, CEO of The Rapid. “We work hard to build partnerships and innovative services to meet the needs of the community we serve.”

Beginning on August 29, 2022, Route 10 will have stops at:

• Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) campus and Disability Advocates of Kent County
• Pine Rest
• Spectrum Health South Pavilion

The reroute impacts some of the existing stops along Route 10. Several stops along Division Avenue and 68th Street will be eliminated. The stops along 54th street will remain to serve Route 1 – Division but will no longer be used as stops for Route 10. Northbound stops along Clyde Park will remain in service south of 54th Street.

The Rapid also operates the Go!Bus paratransit services that provide rides to ADA-eligible customers within its service area. With transit agencies being required to provide services within ¾ mile of their fixed-transit routes, the areas served by Go!Bus will shift around the new route configuration.

“It’s great working with the Rapid staff to provide a workable solution for the new Special Olympics campus,” said Dave Bulkowski, Executive Director of Disability Advocates of Kent County. “The new routing will provide a mainline bus stop in front of our facilities on 68th Street. This makes it safer for transit customers by eliminating the need to cross five lanes of traffic to access Disability Advocates and the Special Olympics campus. With these stops, we also maintain Go!Bus paratransit service which is absolutely critical for our staff, volunteers, and participants.”

The updates to Route 10 will ultimately help drive The Rapid’s efforts in cultivating a more equitable community in all six-plus cities by providing access to these essential services.

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Contact:
Amanda Moore, Director of Communications
amoore@ridetherapid.org
616.774.1167