GREENWOOD, Wash. — Greenwood residents are navigating big changes on Thursday as city officials blocked off multiple streets with concrete barriers.
This comes after neighbors say the violent crime in the area has been out of control for years.
The streets with new barriers are on N 96th St, N 98th St, N 100th St, and N 102nd St. The city said the barriers are temporary as a test measure through the summer.
The barriers being installed are in addition to the ones already up on 101st, 107th, and 97th streets.
City officials say these barriers are to prevent criminal activity from bleeding into the neighborhoods.
Peter Orr has lived in the Greenwood area just off Aurora Avenue for 16 years. He said the crime has gotten significantly worse since he moved there.
“Yeah, as a parent, you never want to be picking up bullet casings in your yard,” Orr said. “The other night, there was a lot of prostitution activity on 109th and we checked the cameras to find there was only one police car the whole night.”
We also spoke with neighbors who live a little further from Aurora Avenue. Don Hoflack said his area is quieter, but they still hear the shootings.
“They sometimes can be every week, then we hear nothing for a while, it comes in series,” Hoflack said.
Now that the barriers are in place, Orr is hopeful the method will work.
“It feels like the city has been listening to us with one ear. I don’t know what they’re doing with the other ear, but we’ll see,” Orr said.
He said even with the danger, they would rather fight for change rather than move away.
“We love the neighborhood too much for it. Who wants to let the pimps win?” Orr said.
Neighbors say they hope SPD will increase patrols in this area to send the message that any violence here is not OK.
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