NORTHVILLE, Mich. – What started as a wish to help Northville’s restaurants survive COVID has now turned into a lawsuit against the city.
When the pandemic hit, the city shut down Main Street to traffic, making it a pedestrian-only zone.
That continued post-pandemic until angry residents banded together, asking the city to re-open downtown to traffic earlier this year.
Neighbors who live near Main Street say the increase in traffic volumes on their streets has been a nightmare. They raised enough fuss that in April, the city council voted on what it considered a compromise, which was to open the streets up to traffic starting in November but then shut them down again in May.
So, six months open and six months closed.
Some neighbors don’t see a compromise and have now filed suit in Wayne County Circuit Court, alleging the council overstepped its authority with the closure.
“To us, a compromise is I sit down, and you sit down, and I give a little, and you give a little, and we meet somewhere in the middle,” said Mary Elwart-Keys, who heads the Let’s Open Northville non-profit. “A compromise is not I’m going to give you this, and you’re gonna like it.”
The city manager did not immediately detail if he had an opportunity to look at the lawsuit.
Read: Hundreds gather in person, online to give their two cents in battle to reopen Downtown Northville
More: Residents push to reopen Downtown Northville after city closed off traffic during height of pandemic