Indian Mounds Drive is a 4-mile stretch of road that runs along the Grand River connecting Wilson Avenue in Grandville to Market Street in Grand Rapids, paralleling I-196 along the Kent Trails and through Hopewell Indian Mounds Park. Various stretches of Indian Mounds Drive fall within the boundaries of the cities of Grandville, Wyoming, and Grand Rapids, meaning that all three municipalities share responsibility for the safety and upkeep of this stretch of roadway and trails. Currently, Indian Mounds Drive is one-way, running northeast for vehicular traffic, with the other lane available for non-motorized travel as part of the Kent Trails network. 

Closing this stretch of road permanently to unauthorized vehicle traffic would:

• Decrease the amount of trash actively polluting the river and eliminate the roadway's use as a dumping ground for household and recreational garbage

• Mitigate riverbank erosion and the increased degradation of the river ecosystem and surrounding wildlife habitats

• Ensure safety for all users, particularly non-motorized users like walkers, runners, fishermen, and cyclists

Since 2020 I have helped coordinate multiple environmental clean-up events along Indian Mounds Drive that have resulted in the collection of hundreds of garbage bags full of plastic bottles, food waste/containers, clothing, fishing equipment, and camping supplies left behind by those utilizing this stretch of road for recreation. 

In addition to collecting large amounts of small trash items each year, volunteers have to work with city officials each year to coordinate the disposal of large items like furniture (couches, recliners), car parts (tires, bumpers), mattresses, and building materials that have been dumped from vehicles along this stretch of roadway.

While volunteer efforts are helping keep some of this trash from entering the Grand River and polluting our drinking water, the amount of trash collected by volunteers and city workers has continued to increase each year despite assertions by these city governments that this stretch of road is actively monitored by law enforcement and city personnel. It should also be noted that while there are benches for pedestrians, there are currently NO trash receptacles located along Indian Mounds Drive, except for a couple of trash cans near the Kayak Launch under the I-96 overpass where vehicles begin their one-way drive toward Grand Rapids.

In addition to these serious trash and dumping concerns, cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles regularly exit the roadway at various points to park right up along the edge of the riverbank, killing foliage and underbrush, and causing terrible ruts and muddy areas where vehicles get stuck and are occasionally abandoned. Vehicle offroading along this stretch also causes soil compaction, increased runoff, and erosion, which impacts both the ecosystem and the stability of the riverbank.

Lastly, in terms of safety, there are many documented accounts from local media and trail users of speeding and wrong-way drivers that demonstrate an increased level of danger for those using the non-vehicular lane, especially in the early morning and at dusk.

Please sign your name and join me in petitioning the city councils and governments of Grandville, Wyoming, and Grand Rapids (Michigan) to collaborate on the closure of Indian Mounds Drive to unauthorized vehicular traffic, rendering it a safe route for cyclists and pedestrians while at the same time protecting this natural stretch of roadway from continued environmental harm.

Resources and documentation:
Photos and Videos of trash, clean-up efforts, and riverbank erosion through the years
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c1YcY2Ut-VNlrCKRowyQYqqvnBcXiQJf?usp=sharing

'People don't care': Bicyclists spot wrong-way drivers regularly on Indian Mounds Drive (Fox 17 West Michigan, November 03, 2022)
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kent/people-dont-care-bicyclists-spot-wrong-way-drivers-regularly-on-indian-mounds-drive

Grand Rapids Reddit thread about Indian Mounds Drive
https://www.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/comments/1cz75gv/black_sedan_going_wrong_way_on_indian_mounds_dr/?rdt=50241