Farmington Hills resident had to cancel her Thanksgiving due to city barricade

FARMINGTON HILLS. Farmington Hills resident Linda Solomon told 7 Action News that she had to cancel a Thanksgiving family gathering because of a cement barricade the city government erected in front of her home.

“You can see it’s about four feet wide, you can’t step over it safely,” Solomon said.

Solomon says there was construction work on their street recently, but on Tuesday afternoon, she first heard that there would be a barricade when the city engineer knocked on her door to let her know.

She says she replied, “How do we get in and out?! It’s Thanksgiving!”

Less than 24 hours later on Wednesday, the barricade was set up.

Solomon lives in her house with her husband and 94-year-old mother, who she says will definitely not be able to get through the barricade.

“The city is not responding to emails or phone calls,” Solomon said. “I called everyone on Wednesday morning… I emailed the mayor.”

Since the Solomon Islands had no way to come and go, neighbors began showing up at the family home on Thanksgiving to check on them.

One of the neighbors, who did not want to be named, told 7 Action News that he was considering suing the city of Farmington Hills.

Another upset neighbor, TriDeep Aggrawal, told 7 that he had received an email about the upcoming construction on November 4, but that it was misleading.

An excerpt from an email shared with 7 Action News states: “Removal of the road is expected to begin on Monday, November 7, 2022, weather permitting. Please be aware that there may be additional traffic delays and restricted access. The contractor will clean up the road. in sections starting at a dead end and moving north. This may require us to close access to your driveway for several hours. If this happens, we will ask you to park nearby and we will have a golf course. a trolley is available to take you to your homes. Please keep traffic on the road to a minimum.”

Looking at Solomon’s driveway, Aggrawal said, “You can’t get in or out of your house at all, that’s ridiculous.”
7 Action News contacted the Farmington Hills City Manager’s office and public relations department but received no response.

“Why would they do this to their family on Thanksgiving? Knowing that they cannot work today, we do not expect them to work on the holiday,” Solomon said.

Solomon posted a message about the barricade on the NextDoor app, which received 84 responses, many of whom offered to come and remove the barricade for her.

“So this is the true meaning of Thanksgiving. A stranger offers to help,” Solomon said.
This holiday season, neighbors say they just want to be listened to.

“It looks like someone is making these decisions without any communication or without regard to what will happen to the residents,” Aggrawal said.

“Of course it’s disappointing,” Solomon said. “You want to celebrate this important holiday with those you love to say thank you, but we can’t.”