FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — For the past few days, neighbors in northwest Fresno said a roadwork detour turned their quiet street into a dangerous shortcut, bringing speeding drivers, traffic jams and close calls near homes where children walk to school.
Neighbors said they were caught off guard when a road-working project pushed cars off a main road and onto their neighborhood street.
They said they received no notice their road would be used as a detour and that, for the first few days, no signs were put out to inform drivers to slow down.
“These guys fly through here all the time,” Chris Darling, a neighbor, said.
Darling, who has lived in northwest Fresno for almost 15 years, said speeding became a constant concern.
He said the situation felt especially risky for children and families in the area.
“Kids trying to walk out, going to school, going to roading school and stuff like that. It was dangerous,” Darling said. “It really was dangerous.”
Darling said neighbors were frustrated with the city over the lack of communication and safety measures.
“It’s a total lack of consideration for the people that live on this street,” he said.
He also described what he said was a delay in placing cones and speed limit signs.
Even after cones were added, Darling said there were still no signs warning drivers about the dead end.
“Pretty close to 17 or 18 cars almost got T-boned,” Darling said.
Darling brought his concerns to Fresno city leaders.
Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea, who represents district one, said she is grateful neighbors brought this issue to her attention.
“We are working with Public Works to make sure that we can do everything possible to mitigate this from happening again,” Perea said.
Darling said he felt a responsibility to act before someone gets hurt.
“How would I feel if I didn’t do something?,” Perea said. “No. I couldn’t live with myself.”
City officials said the detour is now over and thanked neighbors for their patience.
In response to questions about why traffic was diverted through the neighborhood, a City of Fresno spokesperson said: “The overall project is the repaving of Shields Avenue between Weber and West Avenue. Today’s scope of work involved the repaving of the Shields/West intersection. To minimize the duration of the work, our Street Maintenance team implemented a one-day road closure which resulted in traffic on the local neighborhood street. This was an unfortunate short-term inconvenience for a long-term gain of the improved roadway for the community. The work on Shields that resulted in the closure has been completed and we thank residents for their patience today.”