SAN DIEGO — A road improvement project in Mira Mesa has left one resident fuming.
He says the City of San Diego tore out part of his lawn to improve sidewalks without any notice. Making matters worse, he says they broke his sprinklers as well.
Mike Downing lives on a corner, so the sidewalk is a bit wider to make it accessible for people with disabilities. He also walks with a cane.
He showed CBS 8 where the city took out a piece of the lawn when crews installed a curb ramp that was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“My yard was about here, which is about three feet that they took away,” said Downing.
He used a tape measure to show that the ramp is eight feet wide. Across the street, it is five feet wide.
“I don't understand what they are thinking, well they are not thinking,” said Downing.
Downing says this started on Monday when crews started tearing up concrete and he saw a line spray painted about three feet into his lawn. He says he got no notice.
“I questioned what the line meant and they said, ‘Well we are cutting back to the line’ and I was like ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, what to do you mean?’” said Downing.
He says he got on the phone with an administrator who came out to see Downing. He says they had a compromise. But crews continued their work and tore up his lawn and damaged his sprinklers.
“I told him he was a bold face liar which he was because he told me he wouldn't go the eight feet, it would be seven feet or less,” said Downing.
CBS 8 reached out to the city for a response, a spokesperson e-mailed a statement:
The corner at this location lists eight feet of City Right Of Way for the installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, which provide safer, easier mobility for people in the community of all abilities. This work is being done as part of an asphalt overlay resurfacing project that will greatly improve road conditions and safety on Covina Street. The City has communicated with the homeowner and has since repaired the sprinklers that were slightly damaged during the installation of the ADA curb ramp.
“Glad I don't have an easement running through my living room who knows what they would put there,” said Downing.
The city says the reason the ramp wasn’t as wide across the street is because of how the right of way was allocated during the neighborhood’s development and that is what is reflected in their civic maps.
Since CBS 8 contacted the City, Downing says the City reached out to him and will be there tomorrow.
Crews also were on the scene to repair the sprinklers.
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WATCH RELATED: Mira Mesa ranked #1 in most potholes; Rancho Santa Fe ranked the least (July 2023).
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