SACRAMENTO, Calif. — South Sacramento neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief after Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday night to extend the closure of some alleyways and streets in the area.
They say they've seen it all in alleyways right behind their homes.
"There was a person who set the alleyway on fire a couple of different times. We had some prostitution going on, drug use, even people running around naked in the back there," said John Flores, a South Sacramento resident.
Neighbors say they've noticed a world of difference since the Alley Abatement Program started. The program is a citywide effort to reduce criminal activity by gating off alleys and streets.
"Before the gates got put up, we had a lot of problems with drug use, prostitution, stuff like that, and since the gates have gone up, we've seen a much better, big improvement. We feel more secure with the gates being here because our backyard backs up to the gate," said Scott Solgas, who grew up in south Sacramento and still lives there.
On Tuesday, City Council voted to extend the program an additional 18 months.
A resident who didn't want her face on camera for fear of retaliation says she's all for it after seeing fights and drug use at a homeless encampment.
"Our main concern right now is that fire trucks have access to that alley, because we've had several fires back there, huge fires. If fire trucks can't get back there and there's another fire back there, that puts everybody whose house backs up to the alley in danger," said the woman.
The woman and others are now hoping the City will permanently keep the gates, and they're using this scenario as an example of how bad it could be if they were removed.
"As a homeowner, we did not choose to live this way, and our everyday lives should not be impacted in this fashion," said the South Sacramento woman.
Most of the neighborhood ABC10 spoke with are grateful for the gates.
"I think it's case by case. If your neighborhood alleyways are problematic, you should definitely talk to your council members about getting gates put on it. It's been beneficial to us. It's definitely kept the issues down that we were having when we first moved in," added Flores.
However, they say they'd also like to see more money or programs going toward helping some of the homeless people who are living in the area.
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