Residents disapprove of road improvements

Several streets in El Paso’s Lower Valley are getting a makeover but some homeowners say the upgrades are causing more harm than good.

Residents living off of Alameda Avenue and Manor Place spoke with the city council Tuesday afternoon saying they weren’t told about certain changes to their roads.

In the past, neighbors say they’ve had several issues with the road.

“We had ponding water,” said Manor Place resident, Catalina Garcia.

“There was drainage problems,” said Pete Medrano

“There is speeding,” continued Garcia.

The city decided to address their concerns in 2014. A rendering of what the upgraded road was supposed to look like pictured a straight road with trees along the sidewalk but once crews began work, residents noticed something that wasn’t in the plans.

“The chokers are a big problem,” said a Manor Place resident.

Chokers narrow points in the road that help reduce speed.

“Everybody was complaining. All the neighbors were complaining,” said Garcia.

Garcia and other residents say the chokers could be unsafe for drivers.

“Especially at night if you don’t know the area or coming from a party you know there could be a bad accident there,” said Garcia.

Pete Medrano tells ABC-7 there’s a simpler solution.

“They could put speed humps,” said Medrano.

Residents are also concerned with the narrow entrance to the street. With businesses in the area, they feel it will be unsafe getting in and out of the area.

They are also worried about sinking streets and are disappointed with how the city has handled the situation.

“If they would’ve of done what they were supposed to do from the very beginning we wouldn’t have to go through this,” said Garcia.

On Tuesday the city said it will remove the chokers and study the sinking roads. It also promised to be more transparent when making future changes.