East End residents upset over utility poles in middle of sidewalks

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A lot of residents in Houston's East End are upset right now. Millions of dollars were spent to improve sidewalks but now neighbors say they can't walk on one without running right into a utility pole.

The community improved the sidewalks while trying to make the most out of light rail construction, but then came the utility poles. Now the complaints are coming in from folks who live and work along Harrisburg Boulevard and the new East End light rail line.

The sidewalk in front of her family business is almost useful, Sandra Mayorquin says, except for the utility pole right in the middle.

"I don't like it. It's in the middle of the street, especially for people who are handicapped. How are thing going to go through the street," said Mayorquin.

It's a problem up and down Harrisburg Blvd. as poles are popping up like weeds in the middle of new sidewalks.

"We got 24 percent of our people handicapped, so we regularly see people in wheelchairs and scooters," said Diane Schenke, who runs the Greater East End Management District.

The district built the new sidewalks when METRO began constructing a new light rail line. Everyone was supposed to work together so the new Harrisburg can be a gateway to Houston's East End.

"We worked very closely with the Greater East End Management District and the community through our community advisory board, all the neighborhood folks, so a lot of the things you see out there are the product of that collaboration. But when it comes to the location of those poles, you've got to talk to CenterPoint about why they're there," said METRO CEO George Greanias.

We contacted CenterPoint Energy about the wayward poles. Late Wednesday afternoon, CenterPoint released a statement saying, "As developments take place, adjustments need to be made."

Schenke says CenterPoint told her the poles are legal because they give at least 32 inches of clearance on one side. But she points out just because it's legal, doesn't mean it makes sense.

"There may be a 32-inch clearance, but literally it's in the middle of the sidewalk," said

Even if the poles are in compliance, the people who live and work in this neighborhood say it's not making the area walkable and they would like more cooperation with those involved.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Fifth Ward residents upset about illegal dumping

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some neighbors in the Fifth Ward are complaining about illegal dumping and it's not just all the trash they're concerned about. It's also the fact that they say the city of Houston was doing nothing about it.

Neighbors say they're tired of it. We found out the city has been monitoring this site for some time. But the big problem is that as soon as crews clean up the mess, the illegal dumpers are back in action.

In the 3000 block of Amboy, neighbors like Earline Goffney say the mess is the eyesore they've been stuck dealing with for weeks.

"Now they just dumped this stuff out here. I don't know where this come from," Goffney said. "Next thing you know, it's a pile out there."

It's a huge pile of illegally dumped old furniture, dead tree limbs and other smelly garbage that's spilling into the street in front of an old abandoned and neglected house.

"You see over there, over there, over there. I don't know," said neighbor Manuel Trevino.

Frustrated neighbors say they don't know who's behind all of this dumping.

"The city can come out here and clean up the lot, by the time they are through with the lot, it'd be a truck come by from out of nowhere and be dumping it," Goffney said.

One neighbor claims he's called the city several times to report this nasty nuisance problem. When Eyewitness News checked, we found out the most recent complaint to 311 came in last Thursday.

After our calls Monday, a neighborhood protection inspector was sent out to look at the mess. A few minutes later, a solid waste inspector also showed up.

We've learned the city's inspections and public service division is scheduled to handle the weeds on this lot. And we're told the contractors will also handle the illegal dumping at that time.

Now homeowners like Goffney say they're just glad this garbage will soon be gone.

The inspectors took photos of the mess here and told us the site is under legal review. Solid waste workers showed up Monday afternoon and started removing the trash pile.

We heard from neighbors about a similar situation on Houston's south side back in February.

They told us they were fed up with people using their neighborhood as a dumping ground. They told us the trash had been piling up for months, and their calls to 3-1-1 had been ignored. We started asking questions and by the end of the day, the city was out cleaning up the trash.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Residents upset with Houston's renovation to area pool

  CRYSTAL KOBZAHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Out of the 38 public swimming pools in the city of Houston, there is one brand new one on Houston's southeast side. The city spent $1.5 million rebuilding the facility, but some resident who live the area tell us they're not happy about the upgrades.

And with Houston's swimming pools opening Tuesday, they say they want their old pool back.

Hot summer days in Houston have arrived and just about everyone looks for a way to stay cool.

But some Houston residents say their new and improved neighborhood pool in the Glenbrook area is less than impressive.

"When we showed up, they had so many people trying to get into it, they had reached there maximum capacity of 60 people -- six-zero," resident Darlene Kirk said.

She says she was one of those who stood in line, waiting in the heat. But that wasn't the only problem she had.

Kirk says the replacement pool didn't even compare to the Olympic-sized pool that was once part of the neighborhood. It has since been filled in with dirt.

"As I've been speaking with people, they are stunned when they find out what they did to Glenbrook pool," Kirk said.

"I think the old one was better, because it was bigger. There's too many kids in the neighborhood. It's just getting more and more kids," resident Steve Rangel said.

Mark Ross with city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department tells us there was just no way to save the pool at this point; it was too old and outdated.

"It was just in a condition where we could no longer operate it. It just had to be shut down and filled," Ross said.

Ross says the new and improved Glenbrook pool is the direction the city is headed in when it comes to rebuilding any public pools in the future.

The new design is more family friendly with a shaded area, even a beach-style entrance.

"This is the new model, this is the recreational aquatic that we're building now. The old days of the big Olympic pools, that's just over for us," Ross said.

Right now, out of the 38 public swimming pools, the city currently still operates three Olympic-size pools.

Ross says so far no additional pools are in need of demolition but funding would be required for any replacement pools in the future.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Three Houston Schools in Trouble - Public Upset Over Possible Closings

Neighbors upset over poorly maintained former golf course

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- They used to live next to a golf course, neatly maintained with a quaint little pond. But after the city purchased the land, neighbors say things went downhill fast.

Now they're even worried about their safety. And when they couldn't get any answers, they turned to Eyewitness News for help.

The good news is, the part of the old golf course in question was being mowed before the end of the day. The bad news is, it took neighbors months of complaining and finally talking to Channel 13 before anyone would fix it.

If you look on Google maps, the neighbors in the 7700 block of Antoine used to border a well-manicured golf course. These days, not so much.

"The weeds here, they're quite high," said neighbor Josefina Valague. "We can't walk through here, there's snakes."

The city of Houston bought the old Inwood Forest Country Club last summer. The Near Northwest Management District signed a lease with the city, agreeing to mow the course "not less than nine times a year." They told Eyewitness News in a statement "it is being allowed to return to a more natural state to become a green space and wildlife habitat."

But the neighbors here say it's a little too green and wild.

Neighbor Mildred Foster said, "I'm tired of it and they won't do nothing about it."

Valague says her daughter has complained for months about the problem.

"They refuse to talk to her," she said.

Eyewitness News tried to find out why no one's mowed back here. The president of the Near Northwest Management District emailed us, saying it's a pond that's to blame. It's tough to get a mowing tractor between the pond and the neighbors' properties.

"It was maintained before," Valague asserted.

That's changing, after Eyewitness News asked about it. In that same email from the management district we were told they "expect the mowing to be completed by the end of the day." Around 5pm we spotted a tractor out on the former course doing just that.

Eventually the plans for the old golf course call for a bike path and the Harris County Flood Control District says the property will help with flood control. In the meantime, the neighbors say they just want the part of the course bordering their properties kept up.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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