Local police pledge early cruiser crackdown
Springtime means hot rods on Woodward Ave.
Spring brings with it warm weather and the end of hibernation for those who enjoy cruising Woodward.
But for nearby residents the early cruisers create much unwanted noise and for some local businesses, littered parking lots. The city of Royal Oak has started to pay close attention to the problem areas along Woodward to help find a more suitable cruising volume.
Assistant Chief of Police, Mike Frazier, explained enforcement will be picked up now that spring and warmer weather has arrived.
“We start dealing with Dream Cruisers every year about March,” Frazier said. “As a police department we are more responding the pleas of our residents and our businesses. There’s a high volume on Woodward of cars racing, squealing tires, extremely loud mufflers or congregating in private business parking lots. We’re taking strict enforcement on vehicles being driven in unsafe manners on Woodward.”
Private business parking lots will be patrolled with cars ticketed and moving people along who are there illegally.
“We’re not doing anything different than we normally would,” Frazier said. “Every year the calls increase from our residents along that area. The Dream Cruise is in August but its Dream Cruise out
there every night and they can’t sleep with their windows open because every 10 minutes cars are drag racing by. When they turn into parking lots, they rev their engines and turn their car stereos up loud. A lot of those houses are just 50 feet off of Woodward.”
The Facebook post on the Royal Oak City Hall page had 190 comments and 34 shares. They both supported and criticized the police stepped up efforts.
“I disagree with the blanket statement that ‘summertime ‘cruising’ on Woodward has been an ongoing issue over the past several years,” Aaron Minerath posted. “And I live less than a block off of Woodward. This car culture is one of the many things that makes Royal Oak special for residents and visitors alike. Illegal activity should be corrected but let’s champion what makes our city special.”
Tori
“Good.
Teddy It’s time posted: for that cruising nonsense to stop so people who live and work in that area can enjoy Royal Oak.”
A solution was offered by Paul Harding.
“Part of the problem is they have nowhere to congregate which takes them to the streets, Royal Oak could use this car culture and take advantage of it bringing business to the city instead of making it a negative thing,” Harding posted. “Have designated parking areas with trash cans and have a patrol car there to keep people under control. Plenty of other city’s embrace the car culture and utilize it instead of trying to chase it away, which you’ll never accomplish if you haven’t already realized that.”
The Royal Oak Police Department’s press release summed up with, “Summertime ‘cruising’ on Woodward has been an ongoing issue over the past several years. We will continue to evaluate these efforts and explore solutions to ensure Royal Oak is always a great place to live, work, and play.”
For further information contact the Royal Oak Police, Deputy Chief Frazier at 248-246-3510.