City redesigning Leonard parking

Neighborhood pushback prompts officials to consider business use; eye south side of street |

Neighborhood pushback has caused the city of Grand Rapids to reevaluate plans to remove on-street parking along a key West Side corridor where business owners have long decried a lack of parking.

City planners are now developing an alternative streetscaping plan for a section of Leonard Street in the West Grand neighborhood to preserve on-street parking where business owners say they need it most.

The city received a $523,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation to resurface and improve Leonard Street from Powers Avenue NW to Alpine Avenue NW. The half-mile stretch includes a variety of restaurants, including Arnie’s Bakery, retailers, churches and the West Leonard branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library. The segment also includes the four-story Victory on Leonard mixed-use