Why is it that those in power can always find public funding for projects that benefit them, but rarely find public funding for people who are facing a housing insecurity?

On Saturday, MLive posted an article with the headline, Pedestrian bridge crossing Grand River envisioned for Grand Rapids amphitheater. 

The article states that the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, working with Grand Action 2.0, the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County officials submitted a proposal for $2 million in federal funds to be used for a walking bridge that would connect the future Amphitheater and the westside. The $2 million request was submitted to Rep. Scholten’s office, since it falls within her Congressional District. The article also states that the $2 million would only be a portion of the cost, although the article does not provide an estimated total cost for the walkable bridge. 

There are several questions or thoughts I have about this proposal walkable bridge, but how about we start with Rep. Scholten role in all of this. In October, GRIID posted an article about the fact that the US has been providing $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel on an annual basis. Now, according to the fabulous tool that the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights has created, which allows you to type in your city or state, which provides an amount of the $3.8 billion annually in US military aid to Israel that could stay in your community. If we type in Grand Rapids, we find that on an annual basis, $2,815,720.00 of the $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel could stay in our community. It’s also more than the $2 million requested by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority. As you can see from the graphic below here, the $2,815,720.00 could provide very urgent funding for real community needs.

Next, there is the issue on why the walkable bridge is being proposed by the local power structure. The MLive article states that the walkable bridge would connect Williams St on the east side of the Grand River to Front Street on the west side. Certainly one of the most pressing issues surrounding the Amphitheater and the soccer stadium is that no parking structures are part of the plan. This begs the question of where people will park? 

I would contend that the walkable bridge is being proposed to allow people coming to an event at the Amphitheater an opportunity to park on the west side and then cross over the Grand River. However, this does not really address the issue of where people will park, since it only means that more people who attend Amphitheater events will park on the westside near the river, where parking is also very limited. Ultimately, the walkable bridge will contribute to creating a parking nightmare for those who live on the westside. And since Amphitheater events will likely be in the evening, people who work during the day and live on the near west side will have to content with concert attendees, which adds another potential – and likely – problem to the 14,000 seat Amphitheater reality. 

Lastly, while we don’t yet know what the total cost of the walkable bridge, it is safe to say that it will be at least another $2 million, which means the City and the County will spend public money to cover the costs. The total cost of the Amphitheater is listed at $184 million, with more than half of that coming from public dollars. 

So the real question is, why is it that those in power can always find public funding for projects that benefit them, but rarely find public funding for projects that will directly impact that lives of thousands in Grand Rapids? The cost of the Amphitheater and the walkable bridge would easily be about $200 million. Imagine if $200 million of public money were invested in the 3rd Ward, the heart of the African American community. Imagine if $200 million was spent on providing relief to renters, for healthy food vouchers for families that are malnourished, or create a system of mass transit in this city and really address the climate crisis. This is why we need to collectively oppose these so-called transformational projects and see them for what they are……projects that put more money into the pockets of those who are already disgustingly rich in Grand Rapids.