Venues hopeful about ArtPrize shuttles

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The expanded shuttle service for ArtPrize 2010 announced Tuesday has Peaches Bed and Breakfast owner Jane Lovett hoping her venue will feel a little bit less isolated.

"Last year, we were definitely one of the fringe, outlying areas," Lovett told 24 Hour News 8.

This year, Peaches is close to Women's City Club, one of the seven ArtPrize "exhibition centers." They're the neighborhood hubs where the ArtPrize shuttle will stop.

"That'll be nice," Lovett said. "It gets them halfway up the hill, which is always a good thing."

The B&B owner hopes that shuttle will mean more people. Joe Edger at the downtown Y has the same hope.

"They're dropping them off and they're a road away from being here," Edger said. "So it's really, really easy to get to compared to last year."

You'll need an ArtPrize wristband to ride the Shuttle. A wristband plus an ArtPrize map will cost you $5. Extra wristbands are $1.

The shuttle is set to serve each ArtPrize neighborhood, with stops at Grand Valley State University's downtown campus, Heritage Hill, Heartside, Cathedral Square, the Art Museum, the Old Federal Building, a stop near the Sixth Street bridge and at the Rapid Central Station.

That wristband will let you ride the Rapid for free, too.

"At ArtPrize, we're really excited about the opportunity to work with the Rapid and Meijer," ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos told reporters Tuesday.

He joined Rapid CEO Peter Varga, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and Meijer CEO Hank Meijer to tout the buses and shuttles.

ArtPrize patrons can park for free at these six Meijer stores: Alpine Avenue in Walker, near M-6 and Kalamazoo in Gaines Township, near the mall in Grandville, at Knapp's Corner, in the Standale area and at 54th and Clyde Park in Wyoming.

"We've got stores and bus stops that we hope are very well located to help people navigate around town to all the 192 venues," Hank Meijer said.

The Rapid isn't offering special service for ArtPrize, just touting its existing service, which covers the six Meijer park-and-ride lots. To find the closest bus stop to you or to figure out how long it will take you to get to an ArtPrize venue, visit the Rapid's website.

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