Residents of Corktown are opposing a new project that aims to alter what they see as the neighborhood’s fabric and is being undertaken by the Michigan and Detroit departments of transportation.
The US-12 Detroit Mobility and Innovation Corridor — Corktown project is the name of the project. At initially, it was meant to have the first inductive road in the world, able to charge electric cars both when they are moving and when they are still.
However, the project on 14th Street, next to the $950 million reconstructed Michigan Central Station, was finished last November.
“One lane of traffic into town. One lane out of town. Losing 63 parking spaces. No left-hand turns at intersections. No left-hand turns off feeder streets,” Bob Roberts, president of the Corktown Business Association stated. “And that’s not the tradeoff we were expecting.”
According to Roberts, the initiative intends to demolish Corktown’s famed historic brick-lined streets. Something, he claimed, that no one desired but that they were prepared to accept in return for leading the charge to transform the car industry.
“Now that we’re not receiving tradeoffs and it’s just proposed to be a dedicated transit lane, there are too many consequences that are negative to both businesses and the neighborhood,” Roberts stated.
With a petition, locals and business owners are retaliating. They claim to still feel stuck despite having meetings with DDOT and MDOT representatives. The existing plans still call for removing the ancient bricks, altering Corktown’s traffic patterns, and removing a number of parking spots.
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According to Roberts, this might have a negative, long-lasting effect on small companies who operate in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood.
“I want to stay in business. I want to stay being an employer, and I want to keep employing 27 Detroiters. And the plan as it was presented, I just don’t know how that’s going to be feasible,” Roberts stated.
Residents of Corktown will meet with officials in a few weeks, according to Roberts.
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