A broad range of residents and business owners at the Michigan Department of Transportation's I-375 meeting voiced skepticism about the proposed conversion of parts of the freeway to an at-grade boulevard, pressing officials on displacement, emergency access and local economic opportunities.

Beverly Kendall Walker, who said she was born in Black Bottom, argued the project risks repeating past urban-renewal harms and questioned reliance on federal dollars that she said may be "yanked" by the current administration. "We have not been really included in the plans," she said, urging MDOT to reconsider whether conversion is appropriate for Motor City travel needs.

Local business owner Jim Jenkins (office on East Jefferson) challenged the project's purpose and said a boulevard would slow traffic and increase costs for his employees and subcontractors. Jenkins also asked whether local firms would be able to participate; MDOT said the project is a progressive design-build with AECOM as designer and that the contractor has worked on small-business outreach and local subcontracting, and that a representative from the contractor was present.

Residents asked specific operational and safety questions. Neil MacCachren (Lafayette Park) asked how ambulances and first responders would reach the Detroit Medical Center during construction; MDOT staff said they have conducted modeling, hold regular meetings with first responders and expect Saint Aubin and other routes could serve as alternatives while staging and routing plans are finalized.

Several attendees sought clarity about the stormwater component. Shakila asked whether sewage currently reaches the Detroit River; project staff confirmed that legacy combined-sewer overflow systems can discharge to the river during heavy storms and said the project's separation work and hydrodynamic separators will reduce such overflows.

Other public feedback included requests for clearer schedules and bar charts to understand timing, and skepticism about whether the project will deliver the promised riverfront reconnection and community-led enhancements. MDOT and partners repeated an invitation to review roll plots, 3D visualizations and to leave sticky-note comments or sign up for updates.