CenterPoint Energy utility poles impacting sidewalk safety and accessibility in Montrose
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For months, ABC13 has reported on massive utility poles being erected in neighborhoods, creating eye sores. But now, these poles are impacting people's ability to safely get down the sidewalk in Montrose.
A couple of weeks ago, CenterPoint Energy put a massive utility pole in the center of a sidewalk along Dunlavy Street, making ABC13 wonder if this was impacting the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.
For a sidewalk to be ADA accessible, it has to be at minimum three feet wide. The sidewalk was originally well over five feet, but now, with the pole in the middle, the most narrow part is just one foot wide.
"It's not safe. She loses balance that way," Montrose resident Marvin Krasner said.
Krasner's wife has been using a walking aid for four years, so obstacles like this can end dinner plans, shopping plans, or her chances of just going on a walk.
"I would think it would be a challenge. Obviously, she would have to adjust her walker to move through that," Krasner said.
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ABC13 reached out to CenterPoint Energy about this. In a statement, they said, "CenterPoint Energy is conducting an electric system enhancement project in Montrose, which includes upgrading our transmission structures to enhance resiliency. In order to conduct this work, we acquired the necessary Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mobility permit to temporarily close the sidewalk. We are currently in the process of rerouting the sidewalk to comply with ADA requirements and apologize for any inconvenience."
They did not have a timeline on when the sidewalks would be fixed or how they planned to make them accessible again.
A block away, a second pole is obstructing the road. Isaac Fergus' son lives right next to it and isn't hopeful a fix will happen soon.
"Daily, I have to take my garbage cans into the busy street to take it to the corner to get picked up, and my grandmother, who is elderly, she'll park over there, and we have to walk her again in a busy street just to come to the front door," Fergus said.
ABC13 also watched dozens of people approach the obstruction and be forced to step down into the road to get around it.
"It's not ideal," pedestrian Alex Tanton said as he held his young daughter in his arms.
"It shouldn't be this hard to navigate as a pedestrian around here," Tanton said.
RELATED: CenterPoint changes policy after Montrose neighbors turned to Action 13 about giant utility poles
Tanton also pointed out that someone with a stroller or in a wheelchair would be forced to run back and find an alternate route.
"For someone who has a little less mobility or is dealing with a stroller, it's going to be very difficult," Tanton said.
ABC13 also spoke to Ana Urena, a disability advocate with the Coalition for Barrier Free Living.
"ADA is what empowers people with disabilities to go out there and be a part of this world," Urena said.
Urena said when people have barriers that impact getting to work, school, and moving freely through the community, it can have major impacts on their overall health and well-being.
"There's a various amount of impact that barriers create for a person with disabilities. This could create stress, depression - because they don't feel like they belong, and we need to get rid of those perceptions because we are in a community for the people, and it's important to have every type of person participate," Urena said.
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