DEARBORN – As school is officially out for summer break this week, the season kicks into full swing with children enjoying daily outdoor activities.

But a growing concern has been looming over the local Arab American community’s children – they have turned the city’s neighborhood streets into their very own playground.

With east Dearborn already having it’s fair share of reckless drivers, adding unchaperoned children playing carelessly in the streets raises a red flag.

One can drive down any neighborhood street to witness this themselves.

A local resident contacted The Arab American News to discuss how in recent days neighborhood kids have been setting up basketball hoops in the middle of her street and have been participating in matches in between on-coming traffic. 

The Arab American News went to Berri Street, where the woman lived, and witnessed it as well.

Approximately 10 children, no older than 12 and as young as 7, were playing basketball in the middle of the street.  They play the game until an on-coming vehicle interrupts them.

The children then resume with the game once traffic has passed. Sometimes two or three vehicles are backed up, waiting for the children to get off the street. 

Another resident in east Dearborn, Samira Faraj, said that when she sits on her front porch on Coleman Street, she witnesses drivers nearly colliding with children on a daily basis. 

“These children need to play in the back yard or at a park, not on the street corner,” Faraj said. “I don’t understand how their parents allow them to be in the streets like this for hours at a time. Something needs to be done before someone is hurt or killed.” 

In the last couple of weeks, there have already been several cases involving teens and children who were hit by an on-coming vehicle while they were in the street.

The issue may only intensify once Ramadan gets rolling. With families traditionally staying up into the early hours to consume meals before sunrise, teens and children will tend to play outdoors in the late evening hours. 

Last year the city of Dearborn had to enforce a noise ordinance, prohibiting sports activities after 10 p.m, following an influx of complaints from residents during Ramadan.

Failure to abide by the ordinance will result in a $100 civil infraction ticket. Any further offenses would then result in a $500 misdemeanor charge. 

City Council President Susan Dabaja said she’s also heard both concerns and complaints regarding children playing in the neighborhood streets.

“School’s out for summer and kids are enjoying their playtime,” said Dabaja. “I urge drivers and parents alike to share the responsibility of keeping themselves and their children  safe. Please make sure young children are supervised outdoors. Streets are never a safe place to play.”

With the Fourth of July approaching, many children will also take advantage of the season by discharging dangerous fireworks in the streets, often without their parents’ knowledge.

Since the state allowed the selling of consumer fireworks in 2012, usage has drastically increased in Dearborn, particularly among minors. Residents may often hear fireworks being discharged at all times of the day and night, despite it being illegal to do so.

This year, the city will maintain a strict enforcement of a policy that restricts firework usage to the day before, day of, or day after national holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Memorial Day. The ordinance also states that no use is allowed between the hours of midnight and 8 a.m., with the exception of New Year’s Day, when the use is extended to 1 a.m. 

Failure to abide by the ordinance will result in a $100 civil infraction ticket. Any further offenses would then result in a $500 misdemeanor charge.