JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Safety concerns and what’s going to happen next are on the minds of people who live on dirt roads in Jacksonville.
Some residents on roads like Pemberton Street and Grasse Street said the constant rain has turned their street into a hazardous area.
“It’s been like the past few weeks from hell,” Linda Hayes, a resident who lives on Grasse Street said.
Hayes has lived on the street since the late 1980s and said this is the worst flooding she’s ever seen.
She said it’s so bad that she hasn’t driven her car off her driveway in over a week, meaning she’s had to call out of work.
“This is my only vehicle, Hayes said. “I can’t afford to not be in work. And I don’t want to ruin my car. I’m a retired person doing a little part-time job just to make ends meet.”
On Friday, a dump truck was stuck in the middle of the dirt road on Pemberton Street. Hayes said it was hours before it was removed.
Hayes said it’s not the first time this has happened, and why some of the trash is overflowing out of neighbors’ bins.
She and others said they believe the water is unsafe and want something done.
“I would like proper drainage and help paying for it,” Deirdre Laski, a resident in the area said.
Laski said she would also want a retention pond in the area to help alleviate some of the flooding in the future.
Their concerns are not going unheard. Will Lahnen District 3 council member sent an email to some residents Friday.
It read in part: “I want to set up a meeting with concerned Sans Pareil residents, the city’s public works department, Mayor’s office, legal, and any other department to talk about possible options in the future.”
News4JAX sent him an email asking when he hopes this meeting will be. He replied in part: “Short answer hopefully in next few weeks.”