John and Becky Jones are ready to build a steel-reinforced wall in front of their new home.
By day's end Monday, a truck and one car had skated off an ice sheet on the road, jumped the curb and stalled in their front yard. Both would have hit any children that were walking there.The Joneses say the poorly designed road lets water sheet across a curve and freeze, creating a large rink of black ice in front of their home. "Cars traveling even 5 mph lose control," John Jones said.
They want city officials to fix the problem before somebody gets hurt.
But the city engineer says his department can't do anything until spring and that dozens of other spots in the city have similar problems. And he says the road met all the city's engineering requirements when it was built.
"We try to fix 10 or so of these every year. We can't budget for much more than that," said Jack Balling, city engineer. "There are places all over where water sheets across the road and freezes . . . that's part of living with winter."
However, Jones and his eight neighbors, who live in the new subdivision at about 200 East and 1350 North, think the city could have fixed the problem last year.
Lot owner Canyon Anderson noticed the sheeting and called Balling in October 1992 before any homes were built in the area. "He told me that he didn't think anyone would get hurt and that it would be too expensive to fix. He said I didn't need to tell him how to do his job."
Balling said Wednesday the city could fix the drainage problem by moving a storm drain further south but that it would cost at least $20,000. "We don't have money in the budget to do that this year."
The developer of the subdivision wasn't required to install the storm drain farther south because where it needs to be placed is off his property, Balling said.
And, he said, he was defensive with Anderson because Anderson was "hostile towards me."
Residents of the subdivision aren't the only ones concerned about spending a winter with the problem. The principal of a nearby elementary school is also worried.
"I know there are several of our students who use that walk to get to school. If one gets hurt, that's one too many," said Kenneth Bullock, principal of Tolman Elementary.