New Federal Grant Rules Could Kill Detroit Road Diets

Changes to federal funding could discourage Detroit’s efforts to improve traffic safety through road diets, reports Malachi Barrett in Bridge Detroit. 

“The Trump administration’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program makes it more difficult to receive funding for projects that reduce lane capacity for vehicles, according to a funding notice issued last year.” Now, the city may have to make changes to a project funded by a $12.5 million federal grant that would redesign Gratiot Avenue, one of the city’s most dangerous corridors.

According to Barrett, “The change in federal policy comes as Detroit moves forward with various planning efforts to address unsafe streets, affecting several grant-funded projects.” These include a Safe Routes to School program and an update to its 2006 non-motorized plan and its 2022 Streets for People Safety Action Plan. “The city urges residents to paint murals on crosswalks and residential streets to encourage vehicles to slow down” — a program that could face backlash from federal authorities, who have required cities to remove decorative crosswalks.