By Amber Jurgensen | Staff Writer
Damage along Silvermoon Drive in Walden Lake caused city officials to close part of the road to traffic last week, forcing several residents to park down the block from their homes.
Resident Phalen Redmond first noticed soggy and cracked asphalt along the road. She called the city to investigate and then left to run an errand. By the time she returned, the road to her home was blocked.
“All I got was a notice on the door,” Redmond said. “I didn’t even have time to move my other car out of the driveway. I parked a block down and had all these groceries and didn’t know what to do.”
Because of structural concerns stemming from the wash out of the storm drain, the road was blocked off Aug. 23, said City Manager Greg Horwedel. The problems were not related directly to Tropical Storm Isaac, but rather may be effects of the rain from Tropical Storm Debby in June.
After the rain showers from Isaac pass, city officials will inspect the problem area, which is a small section on Silvermoon Drive in front of house numbers 4118 and 4117.
The roadblock isolates four homes in a cul-de-sac. Those residents now are parking along the street. At times, as many 16 cars can be lined up on both sides of the road, Redmond said.
“There’s only so many spots for parking,” said Terry Redmond, Phalen’s husband. “The road is really narrow, and people are parking on both sides of the road, blocking in each other.”
Many of the neighborhood kids gather in the cul-de-sac to play, which concerns mother and teacher Denise Rodriguez.
“There’s kids non-stop,” Rodriguez said. “We all have kids. It’s a big safety issue.”
Horwedel said he plans to have his crews examine the road as soon as possible.
“I realize it’s an inconvenience for folks,” he said.
However, with rain in the forecast every day this week, residents are wondering how they will make it to their front doors dry.
“I think we should be patient, but if it exceeds a month, they should give us a solution,” resident Richard Hollon said. “I was wondering if maybe they could put in some steel plates.”
Redmond and Hollon both wish communication between the city and residents was better.
“Sometimes, communication is a secret, but if they could give us some updates — whether that is a phone call or paper — that would help the situation,” Hollon said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.