Neighbors Worry Carmichael Curb A Danger In The Making

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — A curb in Carmichael is causing some major concern in the area.

It's been at the center of too many accidents to count over the years, as drivers attempt to enter a left turn lane but end up plowing over the barricade instead.

The Sacramento County Department of Transportation has made some changes to better alert drivers of the curb, but people living nearby say more needs to be done.

Carmichael resident Ashleigh Erickson said, "We've seen about 40 accidents where cars hit the median."

Those accidents have happened in just over a year. That's how long Erickson has lived in her Carmichael home at the corner of Bourbon Drive and Manzanita Avenue, which also came with an unlikely alarm clock.

'It sounds like a bad car accident. A lot of times it will happen at two or three in the morning."

She lives just across from a two-way left turn lane on Manzanita Avenue. Drivers often attempting to turn don't see these concrete curbs and end on top of them. Erickson says it's happened five times just this week alone.

"People do it frequently, we respond frequently," said North Sacramento California Highway Patrol Officer Chad Hertzell.

Hertzell can't say exactly how many times officers have responded because he says the drivers who are unhurt decline to file a report. Though no injuries, Erickson says many drivers have damaged cars, including cracked oil pans and flat tires.

"At a certain point, it's happened so many times, there's something wrong with the street not with the driver," said Erickson.

She and other neighbors have contacted Sacramento County's 311 line to report the issues, and the county has installed reflective posts at least three times. But with each new crash, those posts are wiped out.

SACDOT tells CBS13 it plans to add more reflective posts and will soon paint the curbs bright yellow, in hopes that drivers won't miss them.

"I think it would be a tremendous help," said Erickson.

Work was delayed because of the rain, but SACDOT plans to complete the improvements in the next few weeks.