CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Shawna Harbaugh lives off of South Staples Street. She frequently walks south on the street towards Lipes Boulevard, encountering an issue walking along the sidewalk by Gateway Drive where the sidewalk is overgrown with grass and part of the sidewalk is broken.
“I’m in the middle of it, trying not to fall,” said Harbaugh in a video she took herself while walking along the sidewalk.
Harbaugh has lived in the area for around 10 years, and said the spot by Gateway Drive has been an issue for a while.
“This one sidewalk is totally screwed up, and the manhole is also messed up," she said. "The city has done nothing about it."
Not only is Harbaugh worried about getting hurt herself, but she’s also concerned for other pedestrians.
“I’m worried about pedestrians coming off the city bus, and other people use this sidewalk, especially with moms and babies in the strollers,” she said.
Rolando Mata, the city's assistant director of public works, said the high volume of rain the city received this month saturated the grounds and prevented crews from mowing. All of this made the grass grow quickly.
“With all the rain we’ve gotten, we just ask patience," Mata said. “As we’re coming across, the city will be taking care of a lot of these unmowed areas.”
Mata also said it may be the responsibility of the property owner of the house that borders the sidewalk who is responsible for mowing the ground.
“Through the code, it says it’s the homeowner’s responsibility, but sometimes we know that we have to assist the homeowners, and try to maintain their area," Mata said. "But, we’re going to notify them after we mow it."
Mata said crews will be out to mow the grass before the end of the week, and there will also be a crew out to check out the sidewalk to see when it could be fixed. But he did not have a timetable as to when that could be accomplished.
The city is asking for the help of residents to notify them of issues regarding overgrown grass, broken sidewalks and potholes. The number to call is 361-826-CITY.
