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Detroit officials work to make city streets safer after increase in deadly crashes

Posted at 6:49 AM, Sep 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-29 06:49:27-04

Dangerous and deadly streets in the City of Detroit are catching the eye of city officials and for good reason.

Last year, 123 people died in crashes on Detroit streets, and it was even worse in 2020 when 150 people died. That was a 21% jump from 94 deadly crashes in 2019.

In the past, I've done stories on the Cities Streets for the People initiative to get feedback from the public on Detroit streets.

Now, the city has taken it a step further, creating a map of the most dangerous roads for drivers in Detroit.

Detroit releases list of most dangerous intersections, roads with safety plan to address them

Detroit has identified 7 Mile as a long, continuous corridor where car crashes happen frequently, including a section between Evergreen and Wyoming.

"I mean, people drive crazy here," Leonard Campbell said. He lives in the area of 7 Mile and Evergreen.

"If you grew up in Detroit you know 7 Mile is pretty busy," Shenika Austin added.

It's not just 7 Mile. Other dangerous roads identified include Grand River Ave.

Sedricka Bradley said she got into a crash three years ago at Grand River and Greenfield.

"A suburban smacked me so, I almost lost my life, right here in this area three years ago," she said.

"What was that experience like for you?" I asked.

"Devastating because I had never been in a car accident in my life, so it took me a minute to get behind the steering wheel again," she responded.

It's a scary reality that Detroiters are well aware of.

Streets for People: Detroit... by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit

"Nobody really cares. They, you see people running red lights all the time," Tom VanHorn said.

Other streets listed as dangerous by the city include a long stretch of Gratiot, shorter stretches of McNichols, and shorter stretches of Wyoming and Livernois.

Residents we spoke to said the city isn't doing enough.

Recently, Detroit launched a safety action plan to try and bring the number of crashes down. it includes a city-wide safety campaign to promote safe driving and design streets with lower speeds.

Four years ago, the city started installing speed humps in residential areas to slow speeders down. In 2023, the city plans on installing their 10,000th speed hump.