Fireworks closures spark public access debate
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Residents line up outside Hart Plaza before gates open at 2pm. Some said they arrived Monday morning for a good spot close to the riverfront hours before the 10pm start time. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios
Criticism of riverfront park closures during the annual Ford Fireworks show has prompted City Council President Mary Sheffield to demand answers from the police department.
Why it matters: Lack of access to the area and its nearby parks during the event led some residents to wonder who the annual celebration is really for.
- For those without an invite to a private rooftop party, getting a good view of the fireworks has meant camping out for hours at one of the three official viewing sites.
- Sweaty residents lined up outside Hart Plaza on Monday, eight hours before the show began, to claim a spot as close to the river as possible.
Driving the news: Following criticism of the closures from residents on social media, Sheffield wrote a memo to the city's General Services Department and police chief James White, asking for an explanation and whether the department could keep parks open in the future.
Catch up quick: The department annually blocks the riverfront off for the event, which the DPD says is an effective crowd control strategy.
- "Decisions regarding open viewing areas are made in the interest of the safety of the hundreds of thousands of attendees, by limiting congestion of areas to Hart Plaza, Spirit Plaza and Belle Isle," police said in a Monday statement.
Yes, but: "[B]eing shut out of our parks on the night of the year we'd most like to be there is one of the many quiet sacrifices Detroiters so often make," wrote Free Press opinion editor Khalil AlHajal, who captured police guarding Riverside Park before the fireworks began.
Between the lines: The City Council approves special events permits like the one submitted by The Parade Company for the fireworks show.
- There was no discussion regarding the safety plan when the event permit passed the council unanimously earlier this year.
