The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) was awarded a $2 million grant from the federal Reconnecting Communities program to explore freeway capping options within the I-75 right-of-way owned by the MDOT. DDP is co-leading this planning initiative with the City of Detroit and MDOT. The freeway-capping options are from 3rd Avenue to Brush Street within the MDOT-owned I-75 right-of-way. A robust and meaningful community engagement process will inform the vision and identification of a preferred alternative for the project, the first of which took place on Thursday, June 27, 2024, led by Downtown Detroit Partnership, City of Detroit, and Michigan Department of Transportation.
Community input is critical early in these processes for exploring and ultimately achieving this project’s vision and success. After a warm welcome from Virginia Kleist, Dean, Mike Ilitch School of Business and Professor of Technology, Information, Information Systems and Analytics. James Fidler with the DDP Planning and Innovation team encouraged attendees to visit four different stations set up around the room.
- Station 1 laid the groundwork of the I-75 Study and showed other urban capping projects and how they relate to I-75.
- Station 2 discussed which neighborhood spaces and places would benefit from a cap.
- Station 3 asked what types of opportunities should we explore? Options included things like green spaces and parks, children’s programs, and bike paths.
- Station 4 was the final piece of the program which included a survey to help crystalize the thoughts and perspectives of attendees.
The program was cross-promoted via a targeted mailer, media and social media announcements, partners and community groups.
Additional sessions focusing on sharing what we heard, and presenting options based on what we heard will take place in August and September.
If you were unable to attend the first session, please fill out the survey to ensure your perspective is included: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/8287de782b9f4077aa271de3ddeed4f5
