The new gas lines that went in on Stanford Street near Hyde Park were rough on the sidewalks and residents say the repairs were not being done.
The sidewalks in this part of town have been in bad shape for a long time, but when CenterPoint put in new gas lines, residents say the sidewalks went from bad to worse, and they said not a lot was being done to fix the problem. So they called Eyewitness News.
"People were falling in it, getting hurt, trying to blame us, our business," said neighbor Walter Pollpeter.
Pollpeter says when CenterPoint replaced gas lines along a section of Stanford Street, the sidewalks were left in worse shape than before. And that's saying something.
Pollpeter says the contractor in charge of the project initially fixed a small section of the sidewalk, but left major portions unfinished, so he called CenterPoint.
"They said we were going to look at it, look at it, look at it and take care of it," Pollpeter said. "All of a sudden, I never heard from them again."
Pollpeter tells us CenterPoint fixed a small portion of the sidewalk and then said their work was done.
"That's when I contacted you," he explained.
So we called CenterPoint and the company agreed to take another look at the sidewalk situation on Stanford Street.
CenterPoint spokesperson Alicia Dixon said, "Once we saw the photo, we agreed with the claimant. The contractor did not leave the area the way that he should have, it was not, it was actually worse."
Dixon says after seeing pictures of the area, the company agreed that more needed to be done.
"The sidewalks were not left in the proper condition so we are having the contractor go redo the work," Dixon said.
While the work still needs to be finished, Pollpeter says he looks forward to the day when he can walk down the sidewalk without the fear of twisting an ankle.
He said, "At night it is dark out here. People walk down the street and, bang, right into it they go."
CenterPoint plans to get the contractor back out here to finish the repairs, and officials with the company tell me if anyone sees this kind of problem left behind by a contractor, you can call CenterPoint and ask to speak to the claims department. If you have pictures, that works even better.
