FOX 2 - The city of Royal Oak is rethinking how it will handle the crowds that come along with the Dream Cruise in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Stay at Home Order expires at the end of May, concerns over the spread of the virus will likely stick around well into the summer and beyond.
"If we decide not to allow any of the special events that go along with the dream cruise then how do we deal with the people that are going to gather and watch the cars as they're going by on Woodward?" said David Gillam.
Gillam, the Royal Oak interim city manager, says that will burden will fall on police. He says they haven't had much trouble with people violating the social distancing and stay at home orders intended to limit the spread of COVID-19.
"I think the idea of issuing tickets is probably going to be a last resort," Gillam said. "I think from the perspective of dealing with everything that goes along with the cruise, the easiest thing would be if there wasn't a cruise.
"But I think that regardless, there are going to be people out there."
"I've already seen a lot of people out on Woodward in their cars on the weekends, especially in good weather," said Attorney Jim Rasor.
Rasor, the co-owner of Hotel Royal Oak, says out-of-towners have already been booked for the Dream Cruise weekend and the hotel has instituted changes to make sure they are safe.
"We have touchless check in, our rooms are sealed, we use CDC approved products," Rasor said. "We haven't had any cancellations for that weekend. I can tell you from knowing these guests because they always stay with us, that most likely they would come and stay with us and cruise on Woodward. They are not the type of people to go to the big events."
Some residents have long had issues with the dream cruise, the crowds it attracts and noise they cannot escape.
Gillam says for some the COVID-19 crisis amplifies their concerns.
"We are hearing from people who think some of the events should be cancelled, some of them would like to see us hold the events if we can," he said. "Other people are saying even if you hold the events, we're not going to be going out anyways."
Gillam said that within the next month the city will have to decide what special events will be cancelled for the Dream Cruise weekend.