Wenatchee Takes First Step To Build Fence Around Troubled Overpass
The City of Wenatchee took its first steps to erect a fence around the area of the State Route 285 overpass at the west end of the Sen. George Sellar Bridge on Thursday.
Crews from the City's Parks, Public Works, and Police Departments worked to prep and clean the grass-covered knolls and pedestrian accesses at the location and escorted several homeless people from the property.
City Administrator, Laura Gloria, says some of the efforts were nothing new.
"We have been actively cleaning that location every week at the same time for the past year. Our parks department goes and they haul away the trash and hose down the sidewalks and the pavement, and they're down there on a weekly basis, so that was not anything unusual."
Gloria says the fence is going up to help curtail a variety of ongoing problems that are being caused largely by homeless individuals who use the property for shelter.
"We have had lots of issues with folks tampering with the lighting that's underneath the bridge and getting into the service entrances that lead to the bridge's interior and storing things in there. We've also had lots of problems with people graffitiing and vandalizing at that location."
Gloria says the City is installing approximately 80 to 100 feet of tamper-resistant chain-link fencing at a height of roughly ten feet from the sidewalk area under the overpass to the bridge's western approach.
The estimated cost of the project is $40,000 with funding being provided through the Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance agreement with the City.
With the weather turning colder, Gloria says the City hopes to have the fencing in place by sometime within the next three to four weeks.
Gloria adds that the City's new arrangement with the DOT to enforce its overnight camping ordinance will allow for the permanent removal of numerous homeless people who have been using the area for ongoing shelter.
When those people are moved along, Gloria says the City's new Homeless Response Administrator will assist them with housing placement and other essential services.
Gloria is further encouraging concerned citizens to review the Wenatchee City Council's work sessions on the homelessness issue, which are available to view online by clicking here, and wants to remind everyone in the community that Wenatchee is striving its best to tackle the issue with both compassion and accountability.