By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE — The agenda packet for last week’s Southgate City Council meeting included a proposed resolution that questioned whether the 12th Annual Cruisin’ Downriver was practical, given the ongoing construction along Fort Street.
No worries, said Mayor Joseph Kuspa, and classic cars will still spend June 30 revving up and down Fort through Lincoln Park, Southgate Wyandotte and Riverview.
“There was no attempt to cancel or not support the cruise,” Kuspa said. “We just want it to be as safe as possible.”
More than 50,000 participants and spectators are expected to gather, with a variety of events bringing family fun and new friends to town. This year’s route will be something of an obstacle course, with repaving and other projects limiting passage along Fort Street.
Kuspa said that the council held a work-study session and discussed last week whether to approve a resolution recommending canceling the event to sponsoring organization the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce that a cancellation of the cruise.
“The council asked the administration to basically inform the Chamber of our concerns,” Kuspa said. “It was mostly a communication of concerns.”
The council received a letter from Sandy Mull, president of the Wayne County Regional Chamber, which shared the council’s issues about safety. The cruise will be held, Kuspa said, with additional cautions taken on behalf of participants and spectators.
“Every efort must be taken to make sure it’s safe for all involved,” Kuspa said. The council was told that a kep member of the cruise board is from the Michigan Department of Transportation, who assured local officials that communication and safety will be a priority for the event.
“That put to rest a lot of concerns,” Kuspa said.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)