After voting last week to shut down the Spirit Plaza — reopening the foot of Woodward Avenue to traffic — the Detroit City Council revisited the topic Tuesday and voted 5-4 in favor of making the plaza a permanent park.
Following the vote, council approved a resolution that will allocate nearly $800,000 in bond funds toward sprucing up the park with tables, chairs and planter boxes.
The 20,000-square-foot Spirit Plaza was officially unveiled in June 2017, and even then city officials conceded that they were trying to make the space a permanent fixture.
Maurice Cox, planning and development director, said at the time he hoped the plaza would help bring a robust downtown scene closer to the riverfront area.
Those in opposition to the permanent park voiced concerns about the plaza's effect on traffic, public safety and the ability for police or fire to respond in case of an emergency.
Erica Hill, who manages special events and programming in Detroit, responded that prior to last year's extension of the park, the city had conversations with both public safety departments and identified a fire lane. She also said traffic congestion had decreased since the park's opening.
"I urge my colleagues to move beyond a scarcity mindset and fear to envision a city we’d like to see," said council member Raquel Castañeda-López, who voted in favor of the permanent park along with James Tate, Gabe Leland, Andre Spivey and Scott Benson, who had filed a motion with the City Clerk's Office last week to return the measure to the formal session agenda. Spivey was absent last week.