Crosstown neighbors demand action over construction woes
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Crosstown neighborhood on the near-east side is sandwiched between two big construction projects: a bridge replacement to the north and Citizens Energy Group’s sewer project to the south.
A lot of construction traffic has moved through the neighborhood in the past couple of months, and neighbors are tired of the detours, the construction debris and all of the equipment left behind.
Mike Lee told I-Team 8 on Monday, “Our property tax … where is our property tax money going?”
Lee says the streets have been torn up by construction traffic. Many of the north-south streets — including Sutherland, Guilford and Winthrop — are closed to through traffic for construction. Detours signs are regularly ignored. More than a few drivers have created their own roads right through yards and empty lots.
Lee said, while standing on one street, “This is where we literally had to put up a blockade in order to stop them from using this as a short cut.”
Drivers use the alleys as if they’re regular streets, neighbors say. Lee managed to get a few speed bumps installed to slow down the traffic, but drivers still find a way around those.
“So they cut through here, here, down there. I mean, this was a zoo. I mean an absolute zoo. They got into fights, arguments. They hit the pole right there,” Lee says.
Many of the detour signs were either in the wrong place, or were hit or moved. He has complained to the Department of Public Works, Citizens Energy Group, and the mayor’s office.
Lee said, “Myself and about 15 other people that live over here that own homes, we called the Mayor’s Action Line, and no action has been taken.”
Lee says he also has been demanding action to be taken on the neighborhood’s vacant buildings. He says one yellow-brick building was ordered to come down five years ago. He says rodents and raccoons are now its primary residents.
“They don’t care. They just don’t give a crap,” Lee said.
The Crosstown neighborhood and others in the city are seeing some revitalization. As a result, some people in the neighborhood are seeing their property taxes go up almost three times what they were a year and half ago. They just want the services they are paying for.
“The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services is aware of the illegal dumping and trash issues surrounding the area of 30th and Guilford. Since January, BNS has responded to investigate a half dozen complaints of trash and illegal dumping from the Mayor’s Action Center.
“BNS intends to reschedule a community cleanup in the neighborhood, which was postponed due to the CEG project. BNS will continue to respond to individual complaints of trash and illegal dumping.”
Office of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett