DEARBORN — In June, The Arab American News (TAAN) published a story titled “Dix: Home to culture, economic growth, pollution and neglect,” which described the City’s south end community, along with some of the struggles the area continues to battle.  At the center of this story was the industrial zone that surrounds this area and has plagued it with air pollution and debris for years.

The story generated a variety of responses from readers, some of whom thanked TAAN for shedding light on a side of town that could easily be ignored. Other readers, however, were dismayed with the article. Although it was not the intention, some perceived it as an attack on Dix’s heavily populated Yemeni American community. 

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly expressed his concern over the report and took time to provide TAAN with a personal tour of the south end, so as to share with the paper a few City-initiated efforts that have been launched in recent years to help improve the area.

Some of those initiatives include the complete remodeling of the intersection of Dix Ave. and Vernor Hwy, so as to provide easier accessibility for residents to travel to the American Moslem Society; the area’s primary mosque. In previous years, the design of the intersection had made it difficult for drivers to safely make their way through, especially during days of service at the mosque. With the addition of a brand new road, part of the intersection has now been re-directed and transformed into a parking lot for the mosque.

“We’ve done more in the south end in the last four years than what has been done in the last twenty years. We have really engaged down there with residents, through a series of meetings at the mosque, and received plenty of input. It was a great example of government effectively working with local people in solving problems and issues they identify. I pay close attention to the area, because it’s an important artery to the City,” O’Reilly stated.

Other improvements that O’Reilly pointed out included a recent effort to re-direct trucking routes, so that semi-trucks could remain at a distance from the area’s neighborhoods and so that it would be safer for children to cross the street at Salina School. The City has also equipped the area with brand new sewer systems and brand new lighting; in addition to adding a small playground in a neighborhood at the south tail end of the City.

The City has also partnered with ACCESS, which is headquartered in the south end, on several projects, including the building of a gymnasium for local residents. New electric trains have also helped reduce air pollution in the area. O’Reilly says that the County also continues to monitor air quality in that region, with censors, on a regular basis.

Several businesses, along Dix Ave., have also acknowledged the mayor’s recent efforts, which have helped build stronger communication between the City and residents. Nada Khalas, an office manager at Haidara Tax and Immigration Services, says that the mayor has reached out to several businesses in the area and appeared at that particular office’s grand opening in 2009. She says the City’s involvement in the south end continues to be a work in progress. 

“I think they have been very active. They might not cooperate very easily, but after a while we were able to see some results. They’ve actually made some recent improvements with the sidewalks and lights, so I think it’s been pretty fine,” Khalas says.

Another business owner, located just a few stores away, appears to be disgruntled with the City. Ronnie Berry, owner of Ronnie Berry’s Halal Butcher Shop on Dix Ave., says that there is a lack of police enforcement, in comparison to west Dearborn.

“They don’t come down here for nothing. They don’t care about parking…If this was west Dearborn, people would be getting tickets daily,” says Berry. “When the mayor got elected, he did fix the alley for me, but we haven’t seen him since. They’ve done some little improvements with the streets and stuff, and they’ve been involved with the mosque, but they should be going to individual business owners and addressing them,” he adds. 

Berry says that a one-hour parking sign is displayed in front of his business, but locals tend to avoid it and park in the space for hours at a time, on a daily basis, yet they are never ticketed. His customers have to park down the street, or around the corner, when frequenting his shop. He says that he would like to see Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad step up enforcement in the area.  

Mohamed Saleh, who has lived in the south end since the 1960’s, also says that it’s very rare to see police in the south end. He says that he has called upon both the police department and the mayor’s office to enforce stronger police presence in the area, because erratic driving continues in some places.

“Every weekend, weddings can keep going for hours. Drivers are constantly honking their horns, setting off fire crackers on the streets, running through red lights and burning rubber at the park every day. There are no traffic regulations here; people just do as they please. We always contact the police, and they continue to ignore it,” Saleh says. 

According to Saleh, at Lapeer Park, often times, teens and young men start spinning their cars in the parking lot and, sometimes, they even drive up to the top of the hill that is situated in the park. 

“They have got to put a stop to this, or someone is going to get hurt,” Saleh adds.

Saleh acknowledged the City’s efforts in cleaning up the streets and sidewalks. He says that in previous years, trash would pile up for months at a time, but now, the City has taken greater strides to maintain the cleanliness of some areas.

Based on the outpour of reactions that TAAN received, after publishing its original article, along with the mayor’s efforts to share some of the City’s recent initiatives in the area, it is evident that people remain passionate about the south end; and with good reason. Entrenched in history and enriched with heritage, Dix remains a part of the foundation of the City that so many are familiar with today.