Fort Street in Southwest Detroit could be bound for a “road diet,” according to District 6 Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero.
The street is “terrible,” she told BridgeDetroit during a recent one-on-one interview, and the project – although long-term – would be something exciting for residents in the 48217 ZIP code.
“This is going to be a huge, massive neighborhood change,” she said of a Fort Street transformation. “We don’t know what it looks like just yet.”
Santiago-Romero said the Michigan Department of Transportation would oversee the project. The need, she said, is dire and evidenced in part by the tragic August 2025 death of a little girl.
“It’s something that we’ve been pushing for a really, really long time,” she added.
Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution drafted at Santiago-Romero’s request that urges MDOT to complete a road diet on Fort Street from Schaefer Highway to Outer Drive and to work with the city to design a solution that meets the needs of the community.
A road diet typically converts roadways by removing lanes in favor of increasing access for pedestrians and other modes of transportation, like bicycles.
The effort is the latest in recent years from the council member to advance the potential project. In 2024, Santiago-Romero asked MDOT to study whether the road diet project on Fort Street would be feasible.
Diane Cross, a spokesperson for MDOT, confirmed in a Tuesday email that MDOT “is doing a feasibility study of Fort St. north of Outer Drive.” Cross said she’s unable to provide other information about the study or any potential project at this time.
The council resolution notes that the project would improve safety, reduce vehicle speeds and the distance pedestrians must travel across lanes of traffic. Currently, that stretch of Fort Street is six lanes, and residents have long shared concerns over drivers speeding, running red lights and frequent accidents.
The span of Fort Street touches the city’s Boynton community, which is home to seniors and families with children as well as the Kemeny Recreation Center, Mark Twain School for Scholars and local businesses.
In Michigan and across the country, road diets have become an increasingly popular strategy to reduce collisions and improve safety and quality of life.
