8 MILE TEAMUP
Ferndale, Detroit asking for input on how to improve Woodward underpass
Ferndale is joining with Detroit and asking residents in both cities who live near the underpass at Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue to join them in a virtual meeting Thursday on efforts to improve the intersection.
“One of the most common issues is the darkness and poor lighting in the underpass,” said Ferndale Mayor Melanie Piana. “We want residents to feel safe walking, biking and driving through the underpass.”
The virtual meeting is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom and there is a link on Ferndale’s city website to take part, also accessible online at bit. ly/3OU49Lp.
The gloomy underpass is regularly strewn with litter and debris, and is often a sheltering spot for homeless people and panhandlers, many of whom face mental health and addiction problems.
Two men were there Tuesday, amid a collection of milk crates, a barbecue grill, propane canister, foam mattress, chairs and shopping carts filled with miscellaneous items.
“This is really about quality of life and having a compassionate response,” Piana said. “Police have built relationships with individuals residing there and we’ve gotten involved with the South Oakland Shelter and other nonprofits to address their social needs, but others there have rejected any help.”
Piana and Detroit City Councilman Roy McAllister have worked together and joined to get residents in both cities involved to improve the underpass area.
“We want feedback from residents in both cities on a design concept to improve lighting and add art” in the underpass, Piana said.
The nonprofit Eight Mile Boulevard Association is another partner in the effort.
Ferndale’s community and economic development director, Jordan Twardy, chairs the board of directors for the boulevard association and said
there are moves underway to improve the underpass and make it inviting.
“We want to make it safe and inviting for everybody,” he said. “This is not to drive the homeless away. We are in the process of finalizing funding by the end of the year” for improvements.
Detroit would contribute about $75,000, and Ferndale is set to kick in $50,000.
The effort began as a pilot project a couple of years ago. But cleanup and social service referrals have thus far achieved no more than short-term cleanups.
They have been unsuccessful in addressing issues of persistent homelessness and panhandling.
“We are working now with the nonprofit community that knows how to do this kind of work,” Twardy said. “We are not going to do this to the homeless, we are going to do it with them.”
Feedback from neighbors on the Ferndale and Detroit sides of Eight Mile Road at Woodward show they all want to improve the underpass without losing sight of the human services aspect necessary to help the people sheltering there.
“If all goes well, we’ll formalize (design and lighting upgrades) by the end of the year,” Twardy said. “And we’ll deploy a plan with human services.”