WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – It's a change that's been a long time coming. Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park have been discussing the change for the better part of a year and a half.
The intersection of Kercheval Avenue at Wayburn Road has been closed, creating a barrier between the two communities.
Helen Denys calls the Grosse Pointe Park business district home. Her store, Best Way, sits in the heart of Grosse Pointe Park. She's open for business five days a week.
“I do shipping. I do UPS, Fed Ex,” Denys said.
She does it all, and has seen it all as well. The one thing in her view is a roundabout that borders the city of Grosse Pointe Park and Detroit.
“It’s confusing. It would be nice if it just went away,” Denys said.
“Kercheval Avenue and Alter Road will have a two-way street opening now. There was a barricade that we didn’t like before put up,” Councilman Andre Spivey said.
On Tuesday, the Detroit City Council agreed to remove the barricade.
Spivey said it’s been something both cities have been talking about for a while.
“We’ve been dealing with this for, like, three to four years now. We all woke up to barns being put up, to block the Gross Point entrance. The barns came down. There were large pots put up there, so now all of those things are coming down,” Spivey said.
Residents and city leaders said the borders all started with large farmers market barns. Then the huge flowerpots replaced them. Recently the removed both of those items were removed and a roundabout was formed.
Residents said the border was viewed as a racial divide at times. Both Grosse Pointe Park and Detroit said it’s time to break down those barriers.
“We know a lot is going on across the country. We don’t need that in our area here,” Spivey said.