DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Police Department is cracking down on reckless and speeding drivers on Gratiot Avenue following multiple deadly crashes in recent weeks.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's and Ryan Marshall's video report:
Gratiot Avenue, a main corridor for Detroit, has been the site of several fatal crashes, with the most recent occurring just last weekend.
DPD conducted a targeted enforcement operation Tuesday, catching numerous speeding drivers along the problematic stretch of road.
"Last week in the city of Detroit, we had three accidents that would be classified as fatal or critical. Two of those incidents took place on Gratiot," Capt. Sedrick Dunbar of the Detroit Police Department Metropolitan Division said. “It is a very hot spot in the city of Detroit for accidents.”
Hear more from Capt. Sedrick Dunbar in the video player below:
Two weeks ago, two officers were injured and two sisters, ages 8 and 16, were killed on Gratiot in separate car crashes less than 24 hours apart.
Previous coverage: Two crashes on Detroit's Gratiot Avenue raise safety concerns after two children die
Then this past weekend, the newly opened Avenue Grill Restaurant was damaged after a car struck their building.
Previous coverage: 1 dead, 1 injured after car crashes into Detroit restaurant
According to city officials and police records, there have been 34 fatalities on Gratiot since 2021, and seven this year alone.
"Reckless — very. They do drive ridiculously too fast," said Sharron Crawford, a business owner on Gratiot.
Business owners like Melinda and Sharron Crawford, who have operated their shop, SLZ’S Essence of Hair & Nails, together on Gratiot for over 20 years, have had enough. Their frustration led them to spray paint a message on the front of their business: "COMMUNITY SAFETY IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY".
"The community needs to take a collective responsibility for safety because this is our community, these are our lives, this is where we shop, eat, live at, children are around, going to school, pedestrians, we all need to own safety," Melinda Crawford said.
During Tuesday's enforcement operation, 7 News Detroit followed DPD officers as they stopped multiple drivers exceeding the speed limit.
Some drivers, like Wanda Culden, weren't upset about receiving the ticket but instead expressed appreciation for the increased enforcement.
"I've seen people ride the yellow lane, speeding, get around you," she said.
City officials acknowledge that the problem isn't just with drivers but also with outdated road design.
"So you look at Gratiot, it’s very, very wide, so you would never think the speed limit is 30 or 35 miles and hour," said Sam Krassenstein, deputy director of public works for the city of Detroit.
The city has acquired approximately $60 million in federal funding that will go toward improving Detroit's most dangerous streets, including Gratiot.
Design work is expected to begin at the start of next year.
“Some of that is going to be technology, some of that might be putting delineators to start to narrow the lanes and create safer crossing points and some of that might just be putting up more speed limit signs and the radar feedback so people know, 'oh, I didn’t realize I was going going 55'," Krassenstein said.
Construction on the plan is expected to begin in 2027. More information can be found on the city website.
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