Commission approves pilot beach shuttle, downtown‑to‑beach circulator with expanded stops

The City of Muskegon on April 8 approved a pilot beach shuttle program and a downtown‑to‑beach circulator intended to reduce parking pressure and connect neighborhoods to the lakeshore.

Deputy City Manager Leanne Meixel told the commission the plan includes two separate services: a free shore circulator serving Kruesi, Beachwood, Pere Marquette, Margaret Drake Elliott and Harbour Town parks, and a downtown‑to‑beach connector to run between the downtown transit center, Lakeside and Pier Marquette with proposed additional stops east of downtown. Meixel said the city is recommending contracting with the existing providers identified in the procurement: the shore circulator would be operated by the provider identified as "Matt's" in the staff report and the downtown connector would be run by Pioneer Resources. "Our idea here is to create some transit options for people to get to the beach and to circulate among the beaches that we have," Meixel said.

Commissioners raised routing, frequency and equity questions. Several commissioners asked that stops be considered in East Side neighborhoods—Smith Ryerson Park, Jackson Hill and other locations—as well as in NIMS and Hartshorn Marina areas. Meixel said the original direct downtown‑to‑beach route would hit each stop two to three times per hour; adding the extra east‑side stops reduces frequency to about once every 45 minutes unless a second bus is added. The two‑bus option increases frequency (stops approximately every 20–25 minutes) but raises cost to the city; staff recommended adding a second bus for the downtown connector to maintain useful headways if additional stops are included.

Vice Mayor Sinclair and other commissioners emphasized bike access. "One of the things that I noticed on this is the bus that would go from the city center to the beach does not accommodate bikes," Sinclair said. "If it turns out this is a good fit... I would like us to try really hard next year to see if we can get that accommodation." Staff said the current contract cannot include bike racks for this season but that Pioneer Resources is working toward bike‑rack solutions for a future season and the city could add bike parking at stops.

Staff also told commissioners the pilot will be surveyed during the season to refine stops, frequency and signage. A revenue projection tied to higher parking rates was included in the briefing; Meixel said staff applied the new parking rates to last year’s pass and daily‑use counts to produce a projected increase in parking revenue.

Commissioner German moved to approve the recommendation; Commissioner Gorman supported the motion. Roll call recorded affirmative votes and the motion passed. Staff will finalize stop locations with the carriers and bring any required contracts back to the commission as required by procurement thresholds.

The circulator service is planned to be free for riders at beach parks; the downtown connector will be a pilot funded in the current fiscal year. Commissioners directed staff to prioritize east‑end stops for equity, to pursue bike‑rack installations for future seasons and to work with Lakeside businesses and the Lakeside business improvement district on stop placement and signage.