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LEHI -- Residents of a Lehi community are considering filing a lawsuit against the city and the Utah Department of Transportation for installing barbed-wire fencing in their subdivision. They say their children are unsafe because of it.
It's our property. We're going to go by what our standards are, not necessarily what the city or the homeowner standards are.
–Scott Thompson
The subdivision backs right up against the new Pioneer Crossing corridor in Utah County. UDOT officials say the department put up the barbed-wire fences to protect the neighborhood, but residents aren't convinced.
"The fences in the community are vinyl or wrought iron and stone and certainly not barbed wire," says resident Emily Norris.
UDOT owns land in the neighborhood where a water retention pond sits. The department is required to put up some type of barrier to keep others out. It decided on the low-cost barbed wire, even though city code states fences "must be constructed of materials consistent with the neighborhood."
- Pioneer Crossing, a new, five-lane urban arterial from Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs to 300 East in Lehi.
- Seven lanes of Pioneer Crossing from 300 East in Lehi to American Fork Main Street.
- A new diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at I-15 and American Fork Main Street, which will replace the existing diamond interchange.
- I-15 widened to six lanes (5 plus one Express Lane) in each direction through the interchange (to tie in to the upcoming I-15 widening project).
- A new 60-inch water main from Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs to 300 East in Lehi.
"It's our property. We're going to go by what our standards are, not necessarily what the city or the homeowner standards are," says UDOT spokesman Scott Thompson. "We have our minimum standards we're going to apply to."
Residents say not only is it an aesthetics problem, but a safety one too. They don't want their children accidentally falling into the wire. Neighbors would also like to see their privacy wall continue throughout their subdivision instead of the barbed-wire fence.
They say the current fence will not protect them from what will soon become a busy street.
Anyone can stop there and while parents aren't watching, jump over a barbed-wire fence and snatch our children.
–Emily Norris
"Anyone can stop there and while parents aren't watching, jump over a barbed-wire fence and snatch our children," Norris says.
The privacy wall stops where the homes stop. The wire is strung along five empty lots. Thompson says UDOT will not install a wall on undeveloped property.
"We're only going to use taxpayer money where it's really going to benefit people," he says. "It's not going to benefit anybody on a undeveloped lot."
UDOT expects to open Pioneer Crossing on Aug. 23. Before then, the department needs to resolve the retention pond issue.
Officials say they're offering some alternative metal fences that don't use barbed wire. Residents say that's not good enough -- they want vinyl, wrought iron or stone.
The community plans to voice their concerns with Lehi city officials. Residents say they just want the city to enforce its own codes, even when it comes to UDOT projects.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
