Exciting things are happening in Ecorse!

By Bethany Newton

Although Ecorse has steadily been improving the community, such as their infrastructure and technology for years, a brand new vision is making this small town of around 9,000 residents a major player on implementing some cutting-edge changes, thanks to state grants.

Ecorse City Administrator, Richard Marsh, who was recently appointed to the position in November of last year, said he is very excited to see these plans come to fruition.

Among some of the new plans soon to take place is a change to infrastructure, such as new decorative street lighting on Jefferson Avenue, along with a $3 million road upgrade project. Additionally, Ecorse has also welcomed a brand-new restaurant called the Grand Port Cafe that recently opened on Jefferson.

The mayor of Ecorse, Lamar Tidwell, is especially thrilled about the new cafe.

“I was so excited to see [the cafe open] because that’s right on the water and in the Dingell Park area,” Mayor Tidwell said.

Smart City Initiative

Technology is important to Ecorse, and they are working hard to leverage it citywide by implementing what they call a “Smart City Initiative.” With this initiative comes free wifi in the park and an app called “SeeClickFix.” With this app, residents can stay in touch with the community and even alert city officials to issues that need addressing.

“We have this mobile app that [citizens] can download on their computer or on their smartphones. They can send a picture of a problem they see in the community, and they can send that to the administration office, and then we pass it on to the right department head,” Marsh said.

Marsh said that any citizen who sends in a problem will be responded to within 48 hours, and there’s also a feature on the app that allows the user to track the progress of their complaint.

Another technological update includes the new lighting, previously mentioned, on Jefferson Avenue. The new lights won’t just look nice, but they will also feature sensors in each pole.

Not only will it be great for deterring crime and for public safety, but Marsh mentioned that the sensors will also be able to read water meters.

It seems that anywhere you turn in Ecorse, you’ll be running into a new project or initiative. The City is in preliminary discussions to potentially develop 24 acres of waterfront property for new condo housing. It makes for an exciting future that Mayor Tidwell thinks will delight both residents and visitors.

When asked how he would describe Ecorse, Mayor Tidwell responded that Ecorse is a “great location” and “moving forward!”

Discover Downriver applauds and congratulates the City of Ecorse and their administration for these exciting new changes which will benefit not only their city, but is sure to impact to the surrounding communities.