By Sara Beth Williams–
The city plans to remove some of the rusty-brown fencing installed in the median on a portion of Greenback Lane following the approval of an $11-$12M drainage and accessibility project by the Citrus Heights City Council in October.
The work involves removing some of the existing brown fence along Greenback Lane, from approximately 100 feet west of Merlindale Drive to the Birdcage Street intersection, the city said via email Friday.
The project does not include adding a new median, the city explained, adding that post holes will be filled with concrete to match the surrounding median. A summary of the scope of the project states that portions of the median could be reconstructed.
The fencing in the wider sections of the median will remain, along with the existing mature landscaping and heritage signs.
The brown fencing has long been an eyesore that pedestrians have complained about since its installation in 2010.
In an interview in 2017, the Citrus Heights Police Department said that, installed fencing, along with a pedestrian crosswalk, has proved to be effective in reducing pedestrian-related accidents—although some residents, both in local online groups and publicly offline, have criticized the aesthetics of the fence.
As previously reported by The Sentinel, former Councilmember Bret Daniels called the existing fence on Greenback “ugly” in 2017 due to its rusty-brown appearance.
Currently there are multiple gaps in the median where fencing is completely missing in spaces and other sections where fencing appears broken.
Along with fence removal, the project encompasses adding hundreds of accessibility-compliant ramps and repairing sidewalk and storm drainpipes. The city also plans to add a pedestrian crosswalk and signal phase on the west leg of the intersection of Greenback Lane and Birdcage Street.
The city did not elaborate on when the fencing removal portion of the overall drainage and accessibility project would take place.
