Corktown Connection Detroit - Can residential neighborhoods be spared commercial truck traffic

Details

Posted inCity Council Notebook

Can residential neighborhoods be spared commercial truck traffic?

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/222118-2/?utm_source=Bridge%20Detroit&utm_campaign=feef833bd1-BridgeDetroit%20newsletter%2007%2F23%2F2025&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-d050c59a73-82999256

Can residential neighborhoods be spared commercial truck traffic?

Avatar photo by Malachi Barrett July 23, 2025 5:45 am

Trucks idle on the Ambassador Bridge returning to Detroit from Canada on Oct. 17, 2023. Credit: Lauren Abdel-Razzaq

Today in the notebook

Detroit may limit commercial trucks in residential neighborhoods

Increased fines for curfew violations? More discussion scheduled

Debated housing hotline contract is extended

Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero is aiming to pass new measures before the end of this year to divert commercial truck traffic away from neighborhoods.

Santiago-Romero said she’s working with Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration to draft an ordinance that would implement recommendations from a 2024 report on how industrial trucks navigate Southwest Detroit. The ordinance hasn’t been unveiled yet, but the report recommends banning trucks from certain streets near residential areas and suggests alternative routes.

Residents and representatives of the Trucks Off Our Street Coalition advocated for the City Council to protect them from air pollution, noise, property damage and other safety issues. Toby Lewis, a pediatric pulmonologist at the University of Michigan, said poor air quality contributes to asthma and premature births and amplifies respiratory infections.

Natalie Sampson, a professor of public health at U-M Dearborn, said 16% of children in Detroit have asthma, more than double the national rate. She said local leaders have the ability to separate trucks from residential areas, install vegetative buffers, protective zoning rules and health interventions.

“It’s often just not safe to breathe in our city of Detroit,” Sampson said. “This is all preventable.”

District 6 Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero. City of Detroit file photo

Simone Zagovac, project manager of the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition, said Detroit had the highest asthma hospitalization rate in the country last year. Trucks emit diesel fumes and kick up toxic dust that can cause a range of health issues, she said.

Zagovac noted that Wayne County is considered a nonattainment area by the EPA, meaning it doesn’t meet federal air quality standards.

“Trucks are wreaking havoc on residential streets,” she said.

Rachel Marquez, an environmental justice organizer at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, said an ongoing health study focused on the Gordie Howe International Bridge is finding families who live closer to freeways experience higher rates of asthma.

“I don’t understand why we’re expanding that problem even further by allowing trucks to freely pass on residential streets,” Marquez said.

The 2024 report states Southwest Detroit is an international commercial gateway and key node for freight, logistics, and manufacturing sectors. Southwest Detroit is bordered by the I-75, I-94, and I-96 freeways, is home to the Ambassador Bridge, soon-to-open Gordie Howe International Bridge and has multiple rail lines crossing through it.

Industrial facilities interspersed throughout residential areas in Southwest Detroit generate heavy truck traffic that passes by homes, schools, and parks, according to the report. The Ambassador Bridge accounts for the most total heavy truck trips per day (1,013).

Subscribe to Malachi's Notebook

The study identified issue routes where heavy truck traffic should be diverted. It includes streets like Lonyo, Central, Junction, Dragoon, Livernois, Clark and Scotten.

What page are we on?

BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett in front of a brick building in Detroit.

I’m Malachi Barrett. Thanks for reading. Credit: Malachi Barrett, BridgeDetroit

Today’s notebook covers the July 22 session. Council Member Scott Benson was absent.

Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.

Did a friend forward you this? Sign up to catch the next one for free.

Our election tracker provides regular updates on campaign happenings. Keep checking this page for news.

Looking for more coverage of 2025 elections? All of our interviews with mayoral candidates are online.

Stay on top of upcoming election forums and debates with this Google calendar. Don’t see an event listed? Email me here to get it added.

More details on curfew crackdown

The City Council is preparing a public hearing next week to discuss raising fines on parents whose children violate an evening curfew, a change in policy requested by Mayor Mike Duggan and Police Chief Todd Bettison.

Duggan announced a crackdown on enforcing the existing curfew for minors in response to shootings over Independence Day weekend. The curfew takes effect at 10 p.m. for kids under 15 and 11 p.m. for minors who are 16 or 17.

A proposed ordinance introduced by Council Member Coleman Young II seeks to raise fines on parents from $75 to $250 for a first offense and from $100 to $500 for subsequent offenses. Parents also would be sentenced to probation on the condition of completing a court-ordered parenting skills program.

Bettison asked the council to authorize the change next week before taking its annual summer recess. He feels an “extreme sense of urgency” to prevent violent incidents and said there are fewer unaccompanied children out at night since the crackdown was announced.

“I’ve been stopped over and over in the streets where individuals are saying ‘thank you chief for stepping up when it comes to curfew enforcement,'” Bettison said.

Deputy Chief Todd BettisonDetroit Police Chief Todd Bettison.

Young agreed, saying the council should take action as soon as possible. A public hearing was set for June 28 in the council’s Public Safety Committee.

“The reason why we’re doing this is to be able to protect children,” Young said. “I want to move as swiftly as possible.”

Council President Pro Tem James Tate sought additional clarity on what programs would qualify for probation sentencing. Hassan Beydoun, group executive of Economic Development, said 36th District Court judges have broad discretion to choose the program.

Waters said she’s concerned that struggling single parents who work night shift jobs will be financially crushed by the increased fines. She suggested lowering the fine for the first offense to $50 before hiking the second offense to $250.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Graham Anderson said parents are fined if their actions contribute toward a delinquent act by their child. That means parents who didn’t know their child snuck out “are not going to be on the hook for this.” Anderson said the court also has flexible payment plans.

Young, Waters and other council members supported keeping recreation centers open later so children have something positive to do. Sheffield issued a memo to the General Services Department seeking the cost of extending recreation center hours to 11 p.m. in the summer.

Santiago-Romero said the city needs to provide opportunities for young people and show they are cared for.

Housing hotline extended

The City Council had a lengthy discussion before approving a two-year contract to extend access to a housing resource hotline.

Council members grilled Housing Director Julie Schneider for an hour about the contract with Motor City Mitten Mission, a nonprofit based in Saint Clair Shores. Waters and Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway voted against the $767,000 contract, arguing that the city should perform these services in-house.

Schneider said it would take months to implement a 24-hour call center run by the city, plus a reallocation of budget resources that would mean cutting from other housing services.

“It would be considerably more expensive for us to take it in-house,” Schneider said. “Just the call center services alone is $500,000 more to the existing contract. That doesn’t include outreach services. The other options we have are more expensive, they’re also not available immediately. Those options can be explored in the longer term.”

Schneider said the contract ensures Motor City Mitten Mission will continue after-hours outreach and shelter referral services it started in March after two unhoused children died from carbon monoxide inside a vehicle parked at a casino garage. There were 904 calls made between Feb. 28 and June 30.

The Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine can be reached at 866-313-2520 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The contract allows Motor City Mitten Mission to pick up the hotline from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and 24 hours on weekends.

“The concern was there are people out on the streets in the winter and if they can’t reach the service at night when temperatures start to drop and things get extremely critical, then having all of the beds and drop-in centers can only be so effective,” Schneider said.

Earlier in the meeting, Detroit housing activist Tahira Ahmad blamed Sheffield for the children’s deaths. Ahmad said Sheffiled should have taken a more active role in affordable housing and homeless task forces Sheffield leads.

The council president said Ahmad shouldn’t “politicize that tragedy in any way to indicate that was my responsibility.” Sheffield, who is running for mayor, said the city continues to seek solutions on housing issues.

Overheard in CAYMC

Council Member Mary Waters submitted a memorandum seeking an analysis of the fiscal impact on Detroit of what was dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill. The tax and spending cut bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump in July.

Dozens of union janitors raised concerns with how proposed renovations to the Renaissance Center will affect their jobs. Christian Gary, an organizing coordinator for SEIU Local 1, said janitors are deeply concerned over “growing uncertainty” about the future of the iconic riverfront complex. Council President Mary Sheffield thanked the group for attending and said she would advocate them as plans move forward.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan awarded Detroit with $275,000 to upgrade Brewer Park. Funding will be used to install a new playground and other amenities like access walk, benches, trees and trash cans.

Before you go...

We believe that news about our community should be free and accessible to everyone. But we need your help. Your donation to BridgeDetroit supports our team in reporting stories that matter to you and our city. If you value our reporting, will you make a contribution today?

DONATE

Woodward Coney Island, my favorite post-council stop, is up on its licensing. A renewal isn't needed until next May.

Licensing will be easier for Detroit businesses under new rules

July 9, 2025 5:45 am

Notebook: Arena workers unite, fireworks curfew, cell towers on schools

May 24, 2023 6:30 am

Detroit’s truck route ordinance: Will it finally bring relief to Southwest?

April 12, 2025 8:00 am

Avatar photo

Malachi Barrett

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Malachi Barrett is a mission-oriented reporter working to liberate information for Detroiters. Barrett previously worked at MLive newspapers in Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Detroit. He was named... More by Malachi Barrett

Can residential neighborhoods be spared commercial truck traffic

Corktown Links