DETROIT (WXYZ) — Residents across Detroit are calling on the city to expand truck traffic restrictions citywide and strengthen enforcement of existing rules, saying heavy trucks are damaging roads and polluting the air in their neighborhoods.
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KT Morelli has lived in Poletown on Detroit's east side since 2007. She says heavy truck traffic rolling through her neighborhood damages roads and kicks up dust carrying particulate matter.
"Which are tiny particles you can't even see, but they get stuck in your lungs and get into your blood," Morelli said.
Morelli pointed to a 2025 air quality study conducted near her home by the Trucks Off Our Streets Coalition, a citywide alliance working to reduce truck traffic and pollution. The study found an average of 27 trucks rolled through the area every single day.
"They determined the particulate matter that was picked up, it was only okay for me to be outside 50% of the time in good air quality. The rest of the time, it was dangerous for me to be outside, or it was dangerous for people who have asthma or young people like my son.
"You can get dust kicked up in your eye when you're out walking with your kids or on your bike. It gets a little dangerous," Morelli said.
Jeff Jones is the executive director of Hope Village Revitalization, which represents a 107-block area on the near west side of Detroit. His daughter has asthma, and he says air quality is a major concern for families living near heavily trafficked roads.
"We deal with the vibration, the noise, the dust. My daughter has asthma, and I live right off of West Davison, so air quality is a major concern for me," Jones said.
Jones pushed back on the idea that truck traffic is only a problem in isolated parts of the city.
"We think that it's only a couple of areas of the city that are impacted by truck traffic, and I'm here to tell you nothing could be further from the truth. Neighborhoods like Hope Village, Grandmont Rosedale, they're impacted by truck traffic just as severely," Jones said.
The city has already rolled out strict truck traffic rules in southwest Detroit, but residents like Morelli and Jones say the same protections need to be applied citywide — and that laws already on the books need stronger enforcement.
Sam Krassenstein with Detroit's Department of Public Works says the city is not waiting for a new ordinance to act.
"So there may or may not be ordinance action that city council takes, but that's not stopping us from setting up truck routes and doing our job today," Krassenstein said.
Krassenstein says the department is already meeting with major truck generators to ensure compliance, and that starting this summer, Detroit police will be stepping up enforcement.
The city has also launched an online portal where residents can submit truck complaints directly to the Department of Public Works.
"We have also opened up a portal on the city website that any resident can go on and submit complaints. So right now people can go on our website DetroitMI.gov/DPW and they can submit truck complaints today, and our office takes a look at those case by case," Krassenstein said.
For Morelli, the issue goes beyond road damage.
"We need to prioritize trucks as part of our public safety and part of public health and part of our rerouting," Morelli said.
