Key Takeaways:
- Wayne County cleared an unhoused encampment near Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road in Westland that sat on county-owned property along the Rouge River.
- Residents displaced from the encampment have reportedly relocated to a nearby area near Venoy Dorsey Park — in the middle of a planned multi-million-dollar park project.
- While the site is now cleared, neighbors and county officials acknowledge a permanent solution has yet to be determined, raising concerns the encampment will return.
WESTLAND, Mich. — Where tents once stood near Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road in Westland, there’s now just a dirt patch and leftover trash.
Wayne County cleared the encampment — which sat on county-owned property along the Rouge River — but neighbors who have watched the cycle play out before aren’t convinced it’s over.
“Honestly, given the past, I feel like it’s just going to recur,” said Rachel James, who lives in the area.
Will the tents come back?
For years, the pattern has repeated itself. The encampment gets cleared, and before long, the tents return. Nearby resident David McPherson has seen it enough times that he’s already putting a timeline on it…