Name: Dream Cruise cities vote to cancel 2020 event because of coronavirus concerns
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Dream Cruise cities vote to cancel 2020 event because of coronavirus concerns

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Detroit Free Press It sounds impossible —&nbsp;canceling the world's biggest one-day car event.But canceling it is what the cities on&nbsp;America’s signature cruising highway hope to do.On Monday, Birmingham’s leaders voted 7-0 for a resolution asking to cancel the Woodward Dream Cruise, set for Aug. 15.&nbsp;On Tuesday night, Huntington Woods followed suit, 5-0. Ferndale City Council? Expect a&nbsp;vote next week.All nine of the cities involved are weighing in against allowing any official activities in the annual car craziness that draws fans from Australia, Europe and across the U.S. and Canada.It wasn't an easy decision,&nbsp;said Michael Lary, events manager for the city of Ferndale. He's also&nbsp;unpaid president of the nonprofit board that stages the Dream Cruise."There are enormous fans of this event. They're passionate about their cars. Believe me, I'm not happy," Lary said."We're making a decision&nbsp;for hundreds of thousands of people. But we're doing it for the right reason" — that is, to protect public health, he said.But speaking of public, Woodward is a public highway. The Dream Cruise has always been free —&nbsp;to drive in it or watch it. That means, cancelation or no, people will come to cruise."We get that," Lary said, adding that no one will be&nbsp;ticketed just for showing up in&nbsp;a cool car.&nbsp;More:More:"In some ways, you could say we're going retro. All we'll have is cars on Woodward, and people will be social distancing."&nbsp;For some, this is good news, and nothing to do with health. For years, up and down Woodward Avenue, residents have complained about the noise and pollution of cruisers, not just on Dream Cruise day but all summer long.During Monday's Royal Oak City Commission meeting, elected officials heard a recorded comment from longtime resident and perennial Dream Cruise hater Alex Krentzin, whose manicured backyard is just a stone's throw from Woodward."The noise level of the cars on Woodward last weekend … was just unbelievable. All I can take from that is that traffic laws don't apply on Woodward," Krentzin griped.&nbsp;He'd like to cancel the entire summer of car cruising.And many business owners will be quietly delighted with canceling the cruise. Although bars, restaurants and some retailers welcome the crowds of car buffs&nbsp;and their admirers, other business owners — from dentists to dry cleaners — complain bitterly of the Dream Cruise gobbling&nbsp;not just one day's worth but nearly a week of patronage. For them, anything that shrinks the event's profile is welcome.Still, the die-hard&nbsp;cruisers and their fans are sure&nbsp;to appear.&nbsp;Officials admit they can’t stop cruisers from cruising. But they want to start sending a&nbsp;message that's a hairpin turn from the past. Simply put, “to tell people from outside Detroit and Michigan not to come,” Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine said, at Monday's&nbsp;city commission meeting.After all, there will be no special-event permits issued, no tents allowed on curbsides, no special parking&nbsp;for cruisers, no special concession stands for cruise merchandise and no city-blessed car shows, Valentine said.Ferndale won't have its legendary Mustang Alley with hundreds of pony cars. Berkley won't have the annual Cruisefest parade on the night before the big cruise. Royal Oak won't hold its early morning "Cruisin' Shoes" fun run fundraiser at Shrine High School. Pontiac won't return with three stages of live music and acres of classic Pontiacs, with hoods up to show off hulking 455-cubic-inch V-8s.At Monday's meeting, Birmingham Police&nbsp;Chief Mark Clemence told commissioners:&nbsp;“There’s not a single police chief along the Dream Cruise route that wants this to take place.”&nbsp;Officials said they’re concerned that, with the usual Dream Cruise attendance of about 1 million spectators and 30,000 classic cars, the extravaganza for auto transmissions could lead to an epidemic of COVID-19 transmissions.Huntington Woods Mayor Bob Paul said he was disappointed that he can't show off his 1962 MGA, a&nbsp;vintage&nbsp;British two-seat convertible that his dad just spent six years restoring. "It will sit in the garage," Paul said ruefully.After a May 11 meeting, the nonprofit governing board of the big cruise — Woodward Dream Cruise Inc. — sent a letter to each of the nine participating communities in Oakland County, "asking what different ways there might be for holding the event this year," Paul said."We were completely opposed to that," he said. There should be nothing more than people in cars —&nbsp;if that, he said. Seeing the cruise board's letter, Paul led his city to back this wording:&nbsp;"Resolved, the City of Huntington Woods in conjunction with neighboring communities advocates W.D.C. Inc. regretfully cancel the 2020 Woodward Dream Cruise event (and)&nbsp;promote this cancellation to the public."Berkley isn't planning to pass the resolution, but City Manager Matt Baumgarten said he expressed the city council's wishes in a letter to the Dream Cruise board, "asking that they not hold any in-person activities."&nbsp;Yet, it’s one thing telling people, in the chill of March, to shelter in place; quite another to declare, on warm summer days and nights, that they can’t come to America’s signature cruising highway and watch the annual parade of gleaming cars.Trying to cancel the Woodward Dream Cruise could be like trying to turn off the moon.Police still need to be out in force, police chiefs said.Already this spring, cruisers have flocked&nbsp;to Woodward, racing their engines and squealing their tires. That&nbsp;led Birmingham police to issue more than 120 tickets on the first two weekends of May. The city has added patrol cars on weekend afternoons and evenings, and it asked for assistance from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.More:More:But who can blame the car buffs? That's what&nbsp;Birmingham&nbsp;resident David Bloom asked elected officials, during the public comment segment of Monday's virtual meeting, held via the internet.“We have a car culture here. You can’t go to a movie theater, you can’t go bowling, you can’t go to a bar or restaurant, you can’t go to a baseball game,” Bloom said. He said he stood on Woodward’s curbside Saturday night to film the metal in motion.“People weren’t speeding, but we had five patrol cars out and they were all busy ticketing people,” he told the Free Press. To city leaders, Bloom appealed for "tolerance and understanding about the noise." He later added, "I'm not criticizing our police."With the threat of costly tickets, and with no car shows, no&nbsp;official logo on shirts and hats, and no promotion, what’s to bring the crowds? Plenty. The annual tradition is embedded in cruisers’ DNA. It's also alive and well online.The event's official website, , gives not a hint that anything is amiss. Multiple references cite "Aug. 15, 2020."&nbsp;Click on Birmingham and there's a map of activities splayed across the city’s downtown for Dream Cruise 2020. The site looks just like it does&nbsp;every year, seeking to entice gearheads from far and near. It's produced by an&nbsp;advertising agency hired by the operating board.That's supposed to change. The website is soon to stop promoting and start un-promoting, to paraphrase a spokesman for the Dream Cruise board.As&nbsp;if this event needs a website. In its very first year, 1995, without any formal promotion or even a name —&nbsp;just shout-outs over the oldies radio station WOMC (104.3 FM) — the idea of gathering to cruise on Woodward&nbsp;planted by a Ferndale plumber (the late Nelson House)&nbsp;drew an estimated crowd of 250,000.Since then, the third Saturday in August has been inviolable for hot rodders, classic car buffs, vintage sports car lovers and just anyone with a yen for zany automobilia. You don’t have to build it. Woodward Avenue is there, admission is free, the street is public … and they will come.Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com

Detroit Free Press It sounds impossible —&nbsp;canceling the world's biggest one-day car event.But canceling it is what the cities on&nbsp;America’s signature cruising highway hope to do.On Monday, Birmingham’s leaders voted 7-0 for a resolution asking to cancel the Woodward Dream Cruise, set for Aug. 15.&nbsp;On Tuesday night, Huntington Woods followed suit, 5-0. Ferndale City Council? Expect a&nbsp;vote next week.All nine of the cities involved are weighing in against allowing any official activities in the annual car craziness that draws fans from Australia, Europe and across the U.S....

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Bill Laitner

The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primarily serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties.  The Free Press is also the largest city newspaper owned by Gannett, which also publishes USA Today. The Free Press has received ten Pulitzer Prizes and four Emmy Awards. Its motto is "On Guard for 189 Years".

Dream Cruise cities vote to cancel 2020 event because of coronavirus concerns

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