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LINCOLN PARK WON’T
BLOCK SIDE STREETS THIS YEAR
LINCOLN PARK — It’ll be a lot easier to get around the city this year
during Cruisin’ Downriver as hardly any side streets will be blocked off
as was done in years past.
“What we’re looking for is a way for the cruise to not be as costly for
us,” Police Chief Thomas Karnes said.
“It
cost about $15,000 to $20,000 in overtime to put up barricades last
year. Putting 400 barrels at cross streets and turnarounds was a lot of
work done by our (Department of Public Services employees.)
“They did a good job, but it was costly. You got to put them all up and
you got to take them all down. It was an expensive proposition. Everyone
is having some money struggles nowadays. This is one way we thought we
could lessen our costs.”
For
years, city officials have struggled with ways to convince motorists to
drive the entire route of the cruise, which extends to Outer Drive. A
lot of people tend to turn around at Southfield.
With
the side streets not being blocked off this year, Karnes said, it will
be interesting to see how far motorists decide to trek down Fort Street.
“I don’t know if (the barricades) really
had an effect on keeping the traffic here or keeping the traffic moving
farther down,” he said.
“What we’re going to try to do is to
leave everything open. That may slow everyone down a little bit, but get
them to come a farther bit down. It may be that we get more vehicles
down there because of all the open access. We’ll see. It’s an
experiment.”
The
fun will kick off Friday evening inside Memorial Park, on Fort Street,
between London and Merrill, with a free precruise concert, bicycle show
and movie.
The New Exodus, a Christian coffeehouse
with a biker theme, is bringing in Edikt Groove, a band that mixes soul
and hip-hop music to a gospel theme.
The
group will take the stage at 6 p.m. and play until 9 p.m. in conjunction
with a low-rider and custom bike show being put on by Al Petri & Sons
Bicycle Center.
Bike
owners can show up with their creations anytime after 6 p.m. Awards will
be handed out at 9 p.m.
“All
cool bikes will be accepted,” organizers said.
An
all-age-appropriate movie, “Ice Age,” will be shown on a big screen at
dusk. Viewers are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets
to make themselves more comfortable.
Free
entertainment will continue on cruise day inside Memorial Park.
Classic rock band “The Back Beats” will perform throughout the day.
A
mixture of other sounds also will be heard that afternoon as the city’s
second annual “Battle of the Bands” takes place.
A
number of bands have signed up this year and will play throughout the
day. Their musical content was narrowed to exclude any references to
drugs, sex or violence to ensure that the tunes are appropriate for all
ages.
Judges will select the winners, who will
receive their honors at an upcoming City Council meeting.
The New Exodus, 3306 Fort St., also is
sponsoring nine bands to perform outside its building, which is
kitty-corner to Memorial Park. Each will take the stage on the hour
beginning at noon.
Performers, in order of appearance, are
Looking Up, Tim Murphy, Conviction, Sticks and Stones, William Reynolds
Band, Blinding Faith, Hallowvax, Celestial Blues Band, Crossfire and
Looking Up.
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