Why do so many people in Detroit walk in the street?

[mkhopper]

I'm not going to get into the middle of the whole, whether or not it's technically legal to walk in the street or not, but here is my view. Feel free to brand me as you'd like.

In my years, I've always seen walking in the street as "street". It seems to be just another aspect of glorified thug life. I grew up in Redford and while I've moved, I'm still in the area almost daily. The majority of younger folks walking in the street all exhibit "street" attitude [[black or white), completely oblivious to any cars that are trying to drive there. Right behind them however, you'll see a group not taken up in that thug attitude [[again, black or white), walking on the sidewalk. I should get a photo next time I see it because the contrast is pretty apparent.

At the moment, my primary residence is in a decent Northville neighborhood.
Sidewalks on every street and everyone uses them. White, black, purple, pick a skin color. Except.... Except for the only two black kids in the area who look like extras in any random gangsta rap video, walking right down the middle of the street. They'll move out of the way for a car only very begrudgingly and on the whole, they couldn't possibly look more out of place.

Again, hang a tag on me if you must, but I'm only calling 'em as I see 'em.

[iheartthed]

I'm not going to get into the middle of the whole, whether or not it's technically legal to walk in the street or not, but here is my view. Feel free to brand me as you'd like.

In my years, I've always seen walking in the street as "street". It seems to be just another aspect of glorified thug life. I grew up in Redford and while I've moved, I'm still in the area almost daily. The majority of younger folks walking in the street all exhibit "street" attitude [[black or white), completely oblivious to any cars that are trying to drive there. Right behind them however, you'll see a group not taken up in that thug attitude [[again, black or white), walking on the sidewalk. I should get a photo next time I see it because the contrast is pretty apparent.

At the moment, my primary residence is in a decent Northville neighborhood.
Sidewalks on every street and everyone uses them. White, black, purple, pick a skin color. Except.... Except for the only two black kids in the area who look like extras in any random gangsta rap video, walking right down the middle of the street. They'll move out of the way for a car only very begrudgingly and on the whole, they couldn't possibly look more out of place.

Again, hang a tag on me if you must, but I'm only calling 'em as I see 'em.

I walk in the street all the time and I assure you that I'm far from a thug. I am often doing to to avoid bumping into oblivious white people from the Midwest who block the tend to block the sidewalks and impede the flow of foot traffic.

[Scottathew]

I don't understand it either. Sometimes folks will be just 20 feet from a crosswalk and yet they choose not to use it.

I've had to cross busy streets before like 10 Mile where I live, but I always wait until I can cross completely across the street.

Some folks in Detroit will just walk across Woodward one lane at a time in rush hour.

Another thing is the angle of the walk. When I have to cross a busy street I go directly across it, perpendicular to traffic flow, resulting in the shortest possible line across the road. But in Detroit, many folks will walk on a 45 degree angle, taking the shortest line to their destination instead of the shortest line across the street.

The last factor that I see is speed. When crossing a busy road I'll run if it means that I'll be safer. In Detroit many folks will walk as slowly as possible.

The observations I've seen aren't just limited to one race, and it seems to happen mostly with Detroit. I've never seen this in New York, Chicago, Boston, or Toronto anywhere near at the rate I see it in Detroit.

[jerrytimes]

Yes, it is.

In Eastpointe is started to happen more and more and the police started ticketing people.

[artds]

I am often doing to to avoid bumping into oblivious white people

lol had to go and make walking in the street a racial issue, eh? that's one train that's never late on this forum!

[Detroitnerd]

"You see? You see? HE had to turn this into a RACIAL issue!"

[iheartthed]

lol had to go and make walking in the street a racial issue, eh? that's one train that's never late on this forum!

Yeah, I made it into a racial issue. Not the person I was responding to who noted that the only people he ever sees walking in the street around his neighborhood are two black kids.

[jj84]

From my friend who is an attorney in Detroit when I asked this question. He says some people also view it as a Jackpot when they get hit and his firm is starting to represent more and more of them. They sue the person that hits them and get a nice insurance settlement. He also said he thinks there are cases where people jump infront of slow moving cars or cars stopped at lights in Detroit faking being hit.

I'm sure it is a very small percentage but when you have an I don't care attitude and see it as a pay day why not.

[casscorridor]

So much speculation [[and disturbingly racialized speculation) about a simple question with a simple answer... people walk in the street because the streets are empty.

Secondary reasons are lack of safe crossings, and lack of safe/maintained sidewalks. These also relate to lack of people... without people, there is no tax dollars to maintain and upgrade streets, sidewalks, crossings, and streetlights, and it generates a generally unsafe feeling with there being no one around. In other words, people feel safer on the street.

[Zacha341]

Walking amid moving cars? I keep wondering why people in wheelchairs and motorized scooters of varied conditions toodle along in the street along with cars and buses going in and out around parked cars, 6 miles an hour - feet away from perfectly ramped wheel chair accessible sidewalks!

I see them on Woodward, 8 Mile, Grand River, daylight and pitch dark, wearing dark clothing... Someone please explain this Russian roulette activity to me?

[Al Publican]

Part of it strikes me as passive aggression, a key component of behavior among poor people. Another part seems to be about survival, maintaining distance from unknown parties, especially on sidewalks where shit can go down quickly with a funny look or a brush of the body.

Then there is the joke, if it has been dropped her yet: Black folks don't walk on sidewalk cuz they're white. BTW, that's black humor.

[RickBeall]

Why do so many people in Detroit walk in the street?

Because Midtown is a cesspool.

[Chinman]

i have had a few peeps test me and jump out of my way when i come up upon them.
pedestrians have the right of way only when they follow road rules.

[Django]

The sidewalks are jacked, walking next to alleys is scary. If Im outside the main strips like Woodward Grand Rive or Gratiot I walk the streets because its better lit and your less likely to get jumped.

I walk in the street when it safer for me.

[Jaybiz]

Really u think that's why? Haha. I don't have the answer and I'm far from a racist but a lot of the time it's young black youth and believe me it's not just in Detroit, I know kids who grew up their whole lives in burbs like EastPoint & Mt Clemens where those dangers don't exist yet walking in the street is the norm. I'm not a kid but I know these guys and get along with them well, I'll tease them about using the sidewalk when I'm driving down a street they are walking in the middle of and they'll just laugh. I've even asked and have never been given me any reason why they don't use sidewalks. My aunt lives way up in Macomb twp, there is actually many african americans moving there, she is stuck in her ways to put it politely and she was complaining about "the black kids blocking the whole street" while she is trying to drive into her subdivision. It doesn't bother me though, I think it's kinda funny, it's been going on forever, I grew up on the east side and I was heavily involved in the local hip-hop secne when I was young and I think it's really just about swag & attitude nothing more, which is fine becuase you rarely find a 40 year old who has his shit together walking in the middle of the street. I hope I'm not misunderstood as bigoted because I'm not.

[Jaybiz]

That last post was a reply to people who believe its because the lurking dangers, tall weeds, snow etc. I assume they can't possably be native detroiters.

[marshamusic]

I hope I'm not misunderstood as bigoted because I'm not.

I don't take it that way, at all. I hear you.

[Shollin]

Ok my parents live in Eastpointe and live down the street from a school so there is a lot of foot traffic and we have never seen anyone walking in the street. I don't know why Eastpointe keeps getting mentioned.

[marshamusic]

Ok my parents live in Eastpointe and live down the street from a school so there is a lot of foot traffic and we have never seen anyone walking in the street. I don't know why Eastpointe keeps getting mentioned.

Because there's streetwalking there. I remember a few years ago - visiting my mom who lived there - when I began to see young black kids walking in the middle of the street.

...that moment when you say - there goes the neighborhood.

then,

.....that moment when you think, wait - all the neighbors are looking at you, saying the same thing.

[Shollin]

In the 10 years my parents have lived in Eastpointe I have never seen anyone walking in the street. In all my years living in Harper Woods I never seen anyone walking in the street.

[marshamusic]

In the 10 years my parents have lived in Eastpointe I have never seen anyone walking in the street. In all my years living in Harper Woods I never seen anyone walking in the street.

What can I say....?

I'm surely not saying that I've seen it a lot in Eastpointe, not like in Detroit, but yes, I've seen it.

[jaytheory]

Really u think that's why? Haha. I don't have the answer and I'm far from a racist but a lot of the time it's young black youth and believe me it's not just in Detroit, I know kids who grew up their whole lives in burbs like EastPoint & Mt Clemens where those dangers don't exist yet walking in the street is the norm. I'm not a kid but I know these guys and get along with them well, I'll tease them about using the sidewalk when I'm driving down a street they are walking in the middle of and they'll just laugh. I've even asked and have never been given me any reason why they don't use sidewalks. My aunt lives way up in Macomb twp, there is actually many african americans moving there, she is stuck in her ways to put it politely and she was complaining about "the black kids blocking the whole street" while she is trying to drive into her subdivision. It doesn't bother me though, I think it's kinda funny, it's been going on forever, I grew up on the east side and I was heavily involved in the local hip-hop scene when I was young and I think it's really just about swag & attitude nothing more, which is fine because you rarely find a 40 year old who has his shit together walking in the middle of the street. I hope I'm not misunderstood as bigoted because I'm not.

I grew up Fenkell/Shaefer area, we did it as kids to look tough and be defiant. Now that I live near downtown, I find the folks doing this are older middle aged, and dont look as if they are trying t be tough..

For instance while driving east on MLK crossing the lodge there was a woman walking against traffic near the the curb in the street, no one was on the side walk. I live in woodbridge, and many people who walk down my street are indeed in the street, mostly kids but adults too.

My Favorite is the rascal in the street as if its traffic.

[Django]

Ive been jumped a couple of times, usually by kids lookin to have some fun with the white dude. Id rather be jumped in the middle of the street than on a sidewalk. I was jumped at Forest X Chene by about seven kids, the thing that stopped them was a dude driving by in his truck and saw what was happening, he slammed on his brakes making a huge noise and the kids ran off. If I were gettin my ass kicked on the sidewalk Im not sure if anyone would have noticed.
Good thing they all had tennis shoes on while they were kickin me in the head, the worst I lost was my unopened 40 ozer. I rode on to the Miami and they bought me a beer.

[detroit12]

lmao there is no particular reason, people just do

[MidTownMs]

Because it's easier to jack a car from the street than from the sidewalk.