New trucking restrictions in Southwest Detroit neighborhoods go into effect Monday to help address the health and safety hazards facing residents surrounded by persistent truck traffic.
Why it matters: The restrictions will prohibit or limit trucks on several key Southwest roads — including Livernois Avenue, Dragoon Street, Clark Avenue and Scotten Street — where residents have dealt with noise, dust, vibrations and high asthma rates.
Between the lines: The city is effectively prohibiting trucks from using any of the streets between Vernor and Interstate 75 as a cut-through to the highway, officials said Wednesday.
- Southwest is particularly hard-hit by truck traffic because it’s surrounded by highways, railroads, logistical and trucking facilities, the Ambassador Bridge, and the soon-to-open Gordie Howe Bridge.
What they’re saying: Residents and community leaders are jubilant and relieved to finally have some sort of solution.
- “I feel the rumbles of trucks when they drive down our streets. I fear walking alongside them on our sidewalk,” Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero, whose district includes Southwest, said Wednesday at a press conference.
- “Residents have organized and advocated for the city to take action for decades.”
State of play: In addition to banning trucks on certain streets, the city will limit truck access for local deliveries along the West Vernor and Springwells corridors…