SHREVEPORT, La. - A fence owned by the City of Shreveport has been broken for months, and residents along East Southfield Road are looking for answers on when it will be fixed.
A car crash took out a section of a fence surrounding a drainage ditch in September leaving a 20-foot gap. Residents say the fence has not been touched since the day of the accident.Â
Held up by a single piece of caution tape, the broken fence pieces rest along the sidewalk.Â
Suzanne Sims said she thought the caution tape would be a temporary fix, she didn't expect it to stay for six months.
Sims said, "We have a problem at the corner of East Southfield and Horton of people running the stop sign, and so there are accidents that cause cars to hit the fence. What they did is they took the piece of fencing that it knocked out, and tied it to the remaining fence. They then put up yellow caution tape."
A gap where these parts once stood is now only protected by six more pieces of caution tape.Â
East Southfield resident Carmen Jordan says the gap in the fence is a blaring safety issue.Â
Jordan said, "It's a 20-foot opening with yellow caution tape 'blocking' entrance to the ditch. Not only is it an eyesore, but it's a safety issue for kids and when we get a heavy rain when there's lots of water in the ditch."
KTBS 3 News has reached out to Shreveport's Streets and Drainage Department and can confirm a work order has been placed for the fence. The delay was supposedly due to the city's Risk Management Department trying to hold the driver who crashed into the fence accountable for damages.Â
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Roberson said now that they have the work order, a contractor should be dispatched as early as next week to fix the fence.Â
