The city of San Diego's new sidewalk project is causing headaches for South Park families who say the work is encroaching onto their property.
Street crews have been installing ADA-compliant curbs, designed to be accessible to people with disabilities, but some residents along Petra Drive say the work is taking up parts of their front yards.
One resident, homeowner Christian Reiss, is so angry he’s planned a protest to block further development. On Tuesday, he parked his silver SUV in the center of the dig happening in front of his house.
“I come home Friday and my front yard is covered in dirt," Reiss said. "I come home today and they have dug out 10 feet onto my main walkway."
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“That’s my car. I’m not moving it till I have some freakin understanding of what’s going on here."
It appears, based on other construction in the neighborhood, the city is installing ADA-compliant ramps and sidewalks. The project is causing a considerable loss to some small front yards.
Reiss and his neighbors aren’t against ADA rules but they aren’t happy with being left in the dark about the intrusive construction.
Reis neighbor Alex Flores says he was about to remodel. He planned to add a concrete pad to his side yard to park an extra vehicle. Because of the new sidewalks, he says he can’t safely access it.
Reiss also believes street crews intend to build a sidewalk and ramp in front of his property, which would cause him to lose two street parking spaces in front of his house.
“This is unfair. The problem is, I voted for them,“ Reiss said.
Down the street, two such sidewalk modifications were made in front of Chris Von Der Ahe’s home.
“I’ve been here 51 years. I’ve never seen anyone in a wheelchair or a motorized wheelchair. I don’t even see people on crutches going down the hill,” Von Der Ahe said.
Von Der Ahe says crews came and went without warning or explanation.
“There has been marks on the pavement but nobody ever discussed what they were doing,“ Von DerAhe said.
In part of an emailed response, a City of San Diego Spokesperson told NBC 7 the city needs more time before responding to our questions.
To Reiss, time is at a premium. He expects crews to return Wednesday to pour concrete.
“This is ridiculous. I don’t know what the solution is but that can’t be the solution in front of my house," Reiss said.
Reiss says he’ll be sitting in his SUV before crews arrive. He intends to stay there, blocking further progress until he gets some straight answers from the city.
