Detroit - Removal of I-375

[Terry Shea]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

[Flint1979]

Are the plans on what they'll do with the new space finalized or are they still being worked on? Because I'm not the biggest fan of this trend where a freeway is removed and a supersized median is kept with tons of green space. I mean don't get me wrong I love parks and green space but don't overdo it. It's important to allow development to generate income and activity for the city.

Total waste of money!  Tiger Stadium was razed because supposedly the space was needed for development, and then they did absolutely nothing with it.  It's Detroit.  There's all kinds of space to build and absolutely no demand to build anything, other than the artificial demand dreamed up by governmental tyrants!

Tiger Stadium has been developed. It's not an empty lot.

I mean this right here is the corner of Michigan and Trumbull facing the old Tiger Stadium site.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3314182,-83.0669711,3a,75y,304.16h,90.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr-mdhjR_2UwBWEBue74hxA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

That's news to me.  Last I knew the field was still there and being used by high school teams.  At any rate, it stood dormant for years and there was no reason to raze it.  The development here could have happened almost anywhere else.

What do you mean there was no reason to raze it? It was sitting empty and rotting and was never going to be used again. There was no reason to keep it standing.

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

[Henry]

Are the plans on what they'll do with the new space finalized or are they still being worked on? Because I'm not the biggest fan of this trend where a freeway is removed and a supersized median is kept with tons of green space. I mean don't get me wrong I love parks and green space but don't overdo it. It's important to allow development to generate income and activity for the city.

Total waste of money!  Tiger Stadium was razed because supposedly the space was needed for development, and then they did absolutely nothing with it.  It's Detroit.  There's all kinds of space to build and absolutely no demand to build anything, other than the artificial demand dreamed up by governmental tyrants!

Tiger Stadium has been developed. It's not an empty lot.

I mean this right here is the corner of Michigan and Trumbull facing the old Tiger Stadium site.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3314182,-83.0669711,3a,75y,304.16h,90.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr-mdhjR_2UwBWEBue74hxA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

That's news to me.  Last I knew the field was still there and being used by high school teams.  At any rate, it stood dormant for years and there was no reason to raze it.  The development here could have happened almost anywhere else.

At least they did preserve the diamond, which is kind of a hard thing to do. Is there a plaque or any kind of marker that denotes the former location at all? And while we're on the subject of old Detroit sports venues, what about Pontiac and Auburn Hills?

[Ryctor2018]

Are the plans on what they'll do with the new space finalized or are they still being worked on? Because I'm not the biggest fan of this trend where a freeway is removed and a supersized median is kept with tons of green space. I mean don't get me wrong I love parks and green space but don't overdo it. It's important to allow development to generate income and activity for the city.

Total waste of money!  Tiger Stadium was razed because supposedly the space was needed for development, and then they did absolutely nothing with it.  It's Detroit.  There's all kinds of space to build and absolutely no demand to build anything, other than the artificial demand dreamed up by governmental tyrants!

Tiger Stadium has been developed. It's not an empty lot.

I mean this right here is the corner of Michigan and Trumbull facing the old Tiger Stadium site.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3314182,-83.0669711,3a,75y,304.16h,90.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr-mdhjR_2UwBWEBue74hxA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

That's news to me.  Last I knew the field was still there and being used by high school teams.  At any rate, it stood dormant for years and there was no reason to raze it.  The development here could have happened almost anywhere else.

At least they did preserve the diamond, which is kind of a hard thing to do. Is there a plaque or any kind of marker that denotes the former location at all? And while we're on the subject of old Detroit sports venues, what about Pontiac and Auburn Hills?

The Silverdome was torn down years ago. The Palace was demolished before the pandemic. Both teams, the Lions & the Pistons returned to the City of Detroit. On Woodward Ave in Lower Midtown & the Central Business District.

[Plutonic Panda]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

To you maybe. Not to everyone. I love freeways I think a lot of them are beautiful pieces of engineering.

[triplemultiplex]

The location of the Silverdome is now an Amazon distribution warehouse.

[Flint1979]

Are the plans on what they'll do with the new space finalized or are they still being worked on? Because I'm not the biggest fan of this trend where a freeway is removed and a supersized median is kept with tons of green space. I mean don't get me wrong I love parks and green space but don't overdo it. It's important to allow development to generate income and activity for the city.

Total waste of money!  Tiger Stadium was razed because supposedly the space was needed for development, and then they did absolutely nothing with it.  It's Detroit.  There's all kinds of space to build and absolutely no demand to build anything, other than the artificial demand dreamed up by governmental tyrants!

Tiger Stadium has been developed. It's not an empty lot.

I mean this right here is the corner of Michigan and Trumbull facing the old Tiger Stadium site.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3314182,-83.0669711,3a,75y,304.16h,90.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr-mdhjR_2UwBWEBue74hxA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

That's news to me.  Last I knew the field was still there and being used by high school teams.  At any rate, it stood dormant for years and there was no reason to raze it.  The development here could have happened almost anywhere else.

At least they did preserve the diamond, which is kind of a hard thing to do. Is there a plaque or any kind of marker that denotes the former location at all? And while we're on the subject of old Detroit sports venues, what about Pontiac and Auburn Hills?

There might be but I haven't spent enough time around that part of Detroit lately to know. No there isn't any marker in Pontiac or Auburn Hills or Joe Louis, there is at the old Olympia though I do believe. Pontiac the site is now Amazon and Auburn Hills the site is an empty lot. All of Detroit's former sporting venues have been demolished.

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

To you maybe. Not to everyone. I love freeways I think a lot of them are beautiful pieces of engineering.

No it's not just to me it's to a lot of people. There is nothing good about a freeway cutting through neighborhoods of a major city. The only time they are good is when you want to get somewhere otherwise I'd rather take my time and go down an old US highway instead.

[Plutonic Panda]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

To you maybe. Not to everyone. I love freeways I think a lot of them are beautiful pieces of engineering.

No it's not just to me it's to a lot of people. There is nothing good about a freeway cutting through neighborhoods of a major city. The only time they are good is when you want to get somewhere otherwise I'd rather take my time and go down an old US highway instead.

There's also a lot of people that disagree with your premise as well.

[skluth]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

To you maybe. Not to everyone. I love freeways I think a lot of them are beautiful pieces of engineering.

No it's not just to me it's to a lot of people. There is nothing good about a freeway cutting through neighborhoods of a major city. The only time they are good is when you want to get somewhere otherwise I'd rather take my time and go down an old US highway instead.

There's also a lot of people that disagree with your premise as well.

They don't live in those neighborhoods

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

To you maybe. Not to everyone. I love freeways I think a lot of them are beautiful pieces of engineering.

No it's not just to me it's to a lot of people. There is nothing good about a freeway cutting through neighborhoods of a major city. The only time they are good is when you want to get somewhere otherwise I'd rather take my time and go down an old US highway instead.

There's also a lot of people that disagree with your premise as well.

Actually you'll find people that agree with it.

[Flint1979]

I'll give one example here and it's not far from I-375 at all only about a mile or so. That would be I-75 between I-96 and the Gratiot/I-375 exit. I-75 destroyed the North Corktown neighborhood, the section of land north of the old Tiger Stadium. Corktown is a pretty densely populated neighborhood with row houses in the blocks south of the old stadium. When I-75 was built it sliced right through Corktown and North Corktown separating the two neighborhoods. Vernor Highway is the street that was replaced in that part of town. There are plenty more examples and Detroit is a city where freeway revolts have taken place as well such as the Mound Road Freeway and the extension of the Davison Freeway. You will notice that the Davison Freeway doesn't go to the Jeffries Freeway as originally planned and doesn't go any  further east to connect to the canceled Mound Road Freeway as well. All these freeways ruin cities slicing through them. Look at Boston with the Big Dig and the former Central Artery slicing downtown Boston in half, now the Big Dig is finally complete and the former Central Artery is now a greenway I believe but that is an example of what freeways do to major cities.

[Terry Shea]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.  

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

[mgk920]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

[Rothman]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

[Rothman]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

[Flint1979]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

The riots were a major part of why people bolted from Detroit.

[Rothman]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

The riots were a major part of why people bolted from Detroit.

Meh.  Show me a better multivariate analysis on this claim.

[mgk920]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

The riots were a major part of why people bolted from Detroit.

Meh.  Show me a better multivariate analysis on this claim.

There were a LOT of factors in the mid-late 20th century declines of Detroit and many other cities in Michigan.  The 'legacy' (pre=WWII) city was heavily developed as detached single family residential away from the commercial and industrial parts, with precious little multi family (Did this pre-WWII development pattern have a racial motive?) mixed in.  the market for detached 1f residential in the city collapsed after that.  shortly after WWII ended, the Michigan legislature passed/governor signed the  Charter Townships Act' pretty much slamming the annexation door on cities statewide (the Cities of Iron Mountain and Marquette, MI are surrounded by charter townships, for God's sake...). Also in the 1960s, federal judges ordering cross-town school busing for desegregation drove uncounted additional numbers of families from the city into its suburbs, etc.

Detroit was the eye of a 'perfect storm' of all of the worst that the 20th century wrecked upon USA cities. not just in Michigan, but nationwide.

Mike.

[tolbs17]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

The riots were a major part of why people bolted from Detroit.

Meh.  Show me a better multivariate analysis on this claim.

There were a LOT of factors in the mid-late 20th century declines of Detroit and many other cities in Michigan.  The 'legacy' (pre=WWII) city was heavily developed as detached single family residential away from the commercial and industrial parts, with precious little multi family (Did this pre-WWII development pattern have a racial motive?) mixed in.  the market for detached 1f residential in the city collapsed after that.  shortly after WWII ended, the Michigan legislature passed/governor signed the  Charter Townships Act' pretty much slamming the annexation door on cities statewide (the Cities of Iron Mountain and Marquette, MI are surrounded by charter townships, for God's sake...). Also in the 1960s, federal judges ordering cross-town school busing for desegregation drove uncounted additional numbers of families from the city into its suburbs, etc.

Detroit was the eye of a 'perfect storm' of all of the worst that the 20th century wrecked upon USA cities. not just in Michigan, but nationwide.

Mike.

After it tore through a black neighborhood the mayor ordered NO MORE HIGHWAY PROJECTS FOR DETROIT!

[Rothman]

They say it's a barrier separating development downtown from growth in Lafayette Park. Lafayette Park is set back from where I-375 is and the part of downtown that borders I-375 isn't really as developed as one might think. I'm not saying that I'm against this though I'm in favor of getting rid of I-375 it's an eyesore and doesn't really serve that much traffic that it needs to be a freeway.

What is such an eyesore about it?  It certainly isn't any more of an eyesore than the other Detroit Freeways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5GhjBi9N4

All freeways are eyesores. They do wonders to break up development and neighborhoods.

Seriously?  99% of Detroit is an eyesore!  But it is more attractive than Flint, so I guess I can see where you're coming from.

The freeways are part of what made it an eyesore, that and the 1967 riots. Where I-375 is at though would be much less of an eyesore if it was removed. I really never saw the need for I-375 south of the Lafayette exit it seems like almost everyone that uses it gets off at Madison or Lafayette, some traffic of course goes all the way to Jefferson but I bet the VPD count drops south of Lafayette. It does break up the city though.

The 1960s era riots are not even a memory to all but a very few much older people who are still alive.  That is a big reason why central Detroit is becoming a *HOT* development area for today's younger crowd.  Central Detroit has an incredible amount of close-in developable land, too.  Some legacy freeways (like I-375) don't make a lot of sense to today's crowds and traffic patterns and they should be addressed for re-engineering for maximum utility all around.  If it is best re-engineered into a major surface street, so be it.

Mike

The 1967 riots most certainly are a memory to a lot of people still around the Detroit area. Detroit has never recovered from the 67 riots and had been declining even before that which brings us to the fact that the vast freeway system did wonders to destroy the city, the 67 riots were the icing on the cake and white flight was rampant in the 70's and 80's but the suburbs kept growing that was mainly people moving from the city to the suburbs but also new people moving into the area as well. Detroit lost 25% of it's population between 2000 and 2010 which is pretty recent. There were still 1.6 million people living in Detroit in 1970, by 1990 it was just over a million. Right now Detroit is at about half of it's 1980 population. It is not a city that is growing, the decline might become more stable but the decline is still present. Downtown development has been a thing since Dennis Archer was the mayor, then Kwame Kilpatrick screwed the city up after Archer left office and now you have Mike Duggan who is a good guy and a good mayor for the city as the mayor and the last 10 years things have improved downtown but the rest of the city is still a mess. I have covered every single corner of the city of Detroit over the course of my lifetime. I have been for removing I-375 and for every freeway within the Grand Boulevard loop except for the mainline Interstate's (I-75, 94 and 96).

Psst...1967 was 55 years ago.  Those that lived through it are dying off.

Just between me and my kids, you're seeing events becoming history taught rather than remembered.  You're talking about riots that occurred when my parents were teenagers.

So, the idea that a lot if people remember the riots is becoming less true, if not false altogether.

As we age, we think of events 20 years ago as more recent than they are.  55 is two generations away...

The whole point is that Detroit has never recovered from riots that happened 55 years ago. All Detroit has been doing my entire life is becoming less and less populated. It's also one of the most crime ridden cities in America. This is a city of 139 square miles and there are about 136 of those 139 square miles that nobody wants to hang out in. It is not false that Detroit is still suffering from the riots.

I don't think the riots were why industry bolted from Detroit.

The riots were a major part of why people bolted from Detroit.

Meh.  Show me a better multivariate analysis on this claim.

There were a LOT of factors in the mid-late 20th century declines of Detroit and many other cities in Michigan.  The 'legacy' (pre=WWII) city was heavily developed as detached single family residential away from the commercial and industrial parts, with precious little multi family (Did this pre-WWII development pattern have a racial motive?) mixed in.  the market for detached 1f residential in the city collapsed after that.  shortly after WWII ended, the Michigan legislature passed/governor signed the  Charter Townships Act' pretty much slamming the annexation door on cities statewide (the Cities of Iron Mountain and Marquette, MI are surrounded by charter townships, for God's sake...). Also in the 1960s, federal judges ordering cross-town school busing for desegregation drove uncounted additional numbers of families from the city into its suburbs, etc.

Detroit was the eye of a 'perfect storm' of all of the worst that the 20th century wrecked upon USA cities. not just in Michigan, but nationwide.

Mike.

Desegregation was bad?