STOCKTON, Calif. — Several people were living in tents and on couches along both sides of Stockton's Smith Canal Friday, despite a notice left behind by the city of Stockton, warning of a cleanup in the area days ago. It was the second city-commissioned cleanup in the area so far since January.
"They just clean, they wait for a little while and they come back," said Salomon Gomez who lives near the encampment underneath Interstate 5, along Shimizu Drive. "It's a big problem."
Gomez sees the problem almost every day, walking his daughter to school or to the grocery store across the canal.
The store is where he expects to see plenty of shopping carts. Instead, they're littered all along the way. Several of them are submerged on the canal's banks along with trash.
"You never know if someone is going to walk behind you and I walk with my little one, I have to watch my little one," said Gomez. "It's always a risk that something is going to happen. It's not too safe."
The issues with the encampment aren't just on the ground and in the water. A busy stretch of Interstate 5, used by thousands of commuters each day, runs right above the canal and encampment. The concrete on the undercrossing in the area is completely blackened by char marks from fires. Some people like Gomez wonder if the busy interstate is safe.
"Actually, it's not," said Gomez speculating on the safety of the freeway undercrossing. "The roads are really messed up."
ABC10 brought those concerns to the California Highway Patrol, which said it was aware of the encampment and damage to the interstate in the area as a result. They forwarded us to Caltrans for more information. Caltrans did not respond to a request for an interview Friday.
"We just want a safe city," said Gomez. "It's kind of hard but if we all work together we can do that, you know."
Gomez and his neighbors hope that work can start soon.
"I hope and I wish that people that work in city hall, the mayor or whoever is in charge of the city, do a little bit better job," said Gomez. "For the safety of everybody."
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Watch more from ABC10: 'Very frustrated': Neighbors, city officials call for clean up at north Stockton homeless encampment
