Detroiters petition to halt I-375 design until concerns are addressed

Detroiters living near I-375 are organizing in an attempt to halt the highway reconstruction project while state planners incorporate public input into a controversial raised boulevard design.

Residents in lower east side neighborhoods have consistently expressed concerns in meetings during the last year about the Michigan Department of Transportation’s proposal to convert the shortest interstate highway in America into a street-level boulevard. A petition campaign being circulated by residents under the banner of the “ReThink I-375 Coalition” represents a more formal effort to create visibility around issues that they say have not been taken seriously by state and local officials. 

RELATED:

• A freeway ripped the heart out of Black life in Detroit. Now Michigan wants to tear it down.
• Some Detroiters say I-375 design ignored them, call for a restart
• Subscribe to Malachi’s City Council Notebook

“We are united in believing the plan proposed by MDOT would actively disconnect our community and threaten decades of our neighborhood’s stability,” the letter reads. “We are opposed to the current project as presented by MDOT and the city of Detroit. We urge you to insist that MDOT’s work immediately halt so that a more legitimate process can be developed.” 

The letter campaign comes as MDOT released a new design concept that reduces the number of lanes from nine to six. The proposal was based on a review of traffic data that found peak volumes on I-375 dropped 20% since the previous study in 2017. 

MDOT officials said the design is only 30% complete, and residents will have the ability to suggest changes into 2026. It will remain a boulevard, however. Some construction is expected to begin in fall 2025, but the final design won’t be completed until the following year.

“Exactly how that boulevard is laid out will be refined through the design, as it just was by going through a major iteration in terms of the number of lanes needed,” said MDOT Senior Project Manager Jon Loree. “We continue to look at that. What are some of those intersection treatments and what exactly is the urban feel to the corridor? Those are all completely blank slates at this point.”

Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, raised similar issues with safety, Black Bottom engagement, business impacts and public feedback in her own letter to MDOT last December. 

“I agree with many of the concerns,” Chang said in an interview. “I don’t necessarily know if it’s possible that the project can be put on hold. I want to ensure that the community still has a chance to give input.

“Because there’s so much uncertainty on what’s going to happen with the excess land, there are a lot of folks feeling very concerned.”

Carl Bentley, who has lived in Hyde Park townhomes near the Dequindre Cut for two decades, hopes the letter will bring attention to a community that has been “pretty much ignored.” 

“Hopefully it drives a conversation for future projects of this nature to incorporate in-depth community involvement,” he said. 

“…ultimately (we) want to ensure we are addressing the needs of the many and not necessarily the loud few.”

Antoine Bryant, Detroit Planning Director

Detroit Planning Director Antoine Bryant suggested that the petition represents a small segment of the community, but argued that the city and MDOT have made changes based on concerns of residents.

“In many of our public processes, we have a select, concerned few that are very vocal,” Bryant said. “We appreciate that and are looking for ways to make sure we’re engaging and ultimately want to ensure we are addressing the needs of the many and not necessarily the loud few.”

Many of the concerns in the letter have been addressed in the last couple of months, he said.

“It’s my hope that residents will continue to feel like they are part of the process,” Bryant added.

Olga Stella, a Lafayette Park resident who is gathering signatures for the petition, said the coalition is broad but declined to say how many signatures have been collected. She said supporters live in McDougall-Hunt and other neighborhoods that aren’t immediately adjacent to the freeway. 

“What we found was an overall feeling that there’s no vision behind this project and it hasn’t been clear what the larger impact of this project will be,” Stella said. “People don’t feel like when they’ve raised concerns that they have been acknowledged as valid. That’s been motivating folks to come together.

“I don’t think anyone wants to be oppositional.” 

Chang, a former Lafayette Park resident who now lives roughly a mile away from I-375 in Rivertown, said the petition campaign represents a large segment of the surrounding community. 

“It’s a pretty diverse group of people from across the neighborhoods,” Chang said. “There are folks coming together from different segments from Hyde Park, Lafayette Park, Elmwood Park –  like all of these different places. The voices that are out there on this issue are actually pretty representative of what the community thinks.” 

The estimated construction cost of the project is $300 million, which is funded from federal and state sources. It would replace the freeway with a new interchange with I-75 near Montcalm Avenue, extending to Jefferson Avenue. 

‘I want to hear from people‘

The petition asks MDOT to pause its design process until the city completes a framework plan for roughly 30 acres of land that will become available when the highway is filled in. A stretch of real estate between Gratiot and Jefferson was previously valued at nearly $50 million. 

MDOT agrees.

“We want (the plans) to work together,” Loree said. “The framework will be complete before the design of the boulevard, such that we can take into account the land use plan and understand how that impacts the boulevard design itself.”

The city of Detroit is hosting online meetings on May 2 and May 8 to update residents on a $350,000 land use study that will guide zoning and land use policies. Bryant said a team of consultants are on board and could get to work in June.

Recommendations for the city’s framework plan are expected to be completed by February 2025.

“The re-design of I-375 is another stealth practice of destroying and dividing the community once again.”

Janet Jones, east side resident

How officials will recognize the impact I-375’s construction had on Black Bottom and Paradise Valley is a highly anticipated part of the plan. Roughly 100,000 residents were displaced when those areas were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to make way for new housing and the highway.

“There’s been extensive discourse on what would be the best idea,” Bryant said. “We have all the time in the world to make that determination. I want to hear from people. One of the realities is it’s a bit premature for us to offer determinations about something that we have no authority over. Over the next four years we will have ample opportunity to further define where it can go.”

MDOT has acknowledged that the construction of I-375 and condemnation of lands to build the freeway resulted in disproportionate impacts to minority and low-income residents. Federal funding supporting the project is part of a national initiative to reconnect communities split by highway projects. 

Some residents have been highly skeptical about government officials invoking Black Bottom for a road project. 

“The re-design of I-375 is another stealth practice of destroying and dividing the community once again,” east side resident Janet Jones told BridgeDetroit in an email. “This roadway, while historically a mistake, is not a way to restore or repair what was done. To even announce that another road project will in some way repair the past is an insult to the memory of families and current residents that inhabit the adjacent neighborhoods.” 

J. Gregory Love said his aunt was a nurse in Black Bottom and at the time the neighborhood was being considered for demolition, residents were disconnected from decision-makers. MDOT needs to know that’s not the case for residents today, he said. 

Current residents argue descendants of Black Bottom residents and business owners should be given preference to acquire what’s considered prime real estate. 

“I’m appreciative of the lanes being cut down, but what do you do with that green space?,” Bentley said. “Let’s understand how that will be utilized to do that transformational project (MDOT) says it is, to restore some semblance of Black Bottom (after that) fiasco.”

Loree said MDOT will recognize Black Bottom through design elements that have yet to be determined but could include historic markers. Loree said the city’s framework process will explore opportunities for affordable housing, art and cultural amenities and incubators for Black-owned businesses.

Land will be transferred to the city of Detroit but other partner organizations and entities could also obtain excess land. The city’s framework plan will play a role in that as well, Loree said. 

“We’d like to know what those desired land uses are and tailor the transfer of that land to support whatever the community desires,” said MDOT Deputy Project Manager Divya Iyer.

City documents show the framework plan is meant to create future development consistent with the surrounding community and activate key street intersections. Specific focus will be placed on bridging Lafayette Park with the Central Business District and Eastern Market.

“We have a very engaged populace and this is a process, for better or for worse, that is run by the Michigan Department of Transportation,” Bryant said. “This is a transportation initiative that runs through the city of Detroit but authority over the road is by MDOT. We are in consistent communication, we are a willing and strong partner, but we also have to recognize how much authority we have in this context.” 

Bentley argues the city has dragged its feet in creating a plan for property surrounding the highway, especially if it will impact MDOT’s design. 

“Don’t you think that’s shameful?” Bentley said. “We’re a decade into this project and we’re just now doing the framework plan.” 

Prioritizing safety

Love, a former fire commissioner, has lived in a condominium in the Gold Coast area for 30 years and has many unanswered questions about the project.  

Will dust pollution from construction be allowed to migrate off site and cause health issues? How will businesses be protected from disruptions caused by the construction? How will the new roadway affect deployment of emergency responders? 

Love chiefly worries that the redesign will slow down ambulances traveling between the Detroit Medical Center and senior housing complexes along the riverfront. Loree said MDOT aims to create multiple routes to DMC.

“With a heart attack and stroke, every second counts for survival,” Love said. 

“It’s critical that that letter does not fall on deaf ears and individuals get an opportunity to make their concerns known to the powers that be.”

Residents said the new reduced-lane design is an improvement but still doesn’t guarantee safety for pedestrians and cyclists. MDOT officials said they’re working to ensure safety for non-motorized users. 

Twenty-foot wide sidewalks are planned along the west side of the boulevard. A separated cycling path and 10-foot-wide sidewalks will run alongside the east side. Vehicles won’t be allowed to turn during a red light, which will limit interactions with pedestrians and cyclists. 

“It’s really about ensuring our design allows for dedicated spaces and times for non-motorized users to feel safe,” Iyer said. “It’s about minimizing conflict points with motorized vehicles and providing those separations and dedicated spaces so it doesn’t impact your ability to access all the fun things that will come out of the framework and line the sides of the boulevard.” 

MDOT officials stressed in an interview with BridgeDetroit that the design is far from finished. MDOT is implementing a new progressive design process used for the first time for highway upgrades near an electric vehicle battery plant across the state in Marshall. This allows for changes even after initial construction begins next fall. 

MDOT is hiring a consultant to develop strategic messaging, stakeholder engagement and media communication through 2028. The state is also in the process of hiring a historian and urban planner to support the project’s aesthetic and community enhancement goals.

The state is also hosting meetings with Detroit businesses that will seek contracts for construction and other work associated with the project. Love said MDOT is helping to certify businesses through the state’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. 

Plans for other road projects are also in early stages. A $2 million grant was provided to the Downtown Detroit Partnership by the U.S. Department of Transportation to study how covering I-75 could improve access to downtown. Detroit also received a $1.9 million federal grant to support the overbuild project that would cover the highway. 

“If MDOT would go back and take a hard look at how they’re communicating with the citizens in this area about what’s needed and what they’re doing, it would make a tremendous difference.”

Carl Bentley, east side resident

Chief Infrastructure Officer Zach Kolodin said the concept is still in early stages. A coalition of developers led by the Stephen Ross’ development firm Related Cos., which is a partner on the downtown District Detroit project, is studying the feasibility, Kolodin said.

“It’s really about creating a tunnel asset through downtown Detroit that allows folks to walk across I-75,” Kolodin said. “Those kinds of projects can be transformative and wonderful.” 

The I-375 project design phase kicked off in September 2022. A Local Advisory Committee made up of residents and community representatives was formed at the end of 2022. 

MDOT hosted several open house meetings last year and smaller meetings with stakeholder organizations like neighborhood associations, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Black Bottom Archives and Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School. 

DDP is also engaging stakeholders, businesses, local organizations and residents about MDOT’s design through a $1.9 million planning grant provided by the Kresge Foundation. A spokesperson for the foundation is organizing roundtable discussions to explore how best to honor Black Bottom history.

Through it all, Love said community engagement has not been effective. He’s missed out on informational meetings that were open to select groups and said online communications are missing seniors who aren’t technology savvy. 

“Many people still don’t know about the project,” he said. 

Bentley said asking residents to get engaged in the project isn’t good enough when they feel their involvement won’t change much.

“If MDOT would go back and take a hard look at how they’re communicating with the citizens in this area about what’s needed and what they’re doing, it would make a tremendous difference,” Bentley said. 

Leslie Love, assistant deputy director for MDOT’s metro region, said she’s heard residents are appreciative of the engagement but also understands that some folks are upset. She said it’s unfair to suggest people working on the project have not taken public opinion into consideration. 

“This is Detroit, that’s what we do,” she said. “We’re also talking to those same people who are considering or working on that petition. We’re not shying away from any conversation.”