Sinkholes across Philadelphia raising safety concerns for residents
A growing sinkhole on Dreer Street in the Kensington section of Philadelphia has neighbors worried about safety as similar cave-ins continue to appear across the city, creating hazards for pedestrians and drivers.
Residents along the block say the hole has expanded over time. A barricade was initially placed at the site, but neighbors say it was swallowed as the sinkhole grew. Now, a single traffic cone marks the spot.
#sinkhole #philadelphia #foryou https://6abc.com/post/sinkholes-philadelphia-raising-safety-concerns-residents/18669855/
AI GeneratedMay contain errors
From nuisances to hazards throughout the region, roads and streets are caving in, creating
problems and dangerous conditions for drivers.
Actionary reporter Leland Pender is at the Water Department in Center City to explain.
We're here outside the Water Department.
Of course, these sinkholes popping up all over the city right now.
People in Kensington say a hole there, they hope to see it addressed sooner rather than
later before it's too late and someone gets hurt.
A growing sinkhole on Dreer Street in Kensington has neighbors worried.
I think it's a big hazard.
It's a lot of foot traffic, animal traffic, somebody could fall in.
Neighbors say a barricade was first placed here but the hole expanded and swallowed it.
Now a single traffic cone marks the spot.
Are they only going to react when someone gets hurt or are they going to think proactively
and actually fix it before that?
Blake Callum hopes the city will step in, but Philadelphia Water says the sinkhole was
caused by a collapsed homeowner's sewer, not city infrastructure.
However, a spokesperson said today, we are making the area safe now and have ordered
an inspection ASAP.
We tried but couldn't reach the homeowner where the issue possibly originates.
As you can see, it's pretty significantly deep.
Sinkholes have been popping up across Philadelphia in recent weeks.
Our cameras spotted this one in Nicetown on North 17th Street with a trash can inside.
Another continues to grow on Ridge Avenue and Spring Garden and nearby on Hamilton Street,
a cave-in appears to have trapped this car.
My partner, we looked at it too and I was like, man, that car, she was like, yo, try
to get in that car out.
Philadelphia Water says crews have been making repairs across the city all winter.
Some longtime Kensington residents believe the hole reflects a larger issue.
When the boom of all these new holes, construction, this, now is when Fishtown is starting to
see something that never happened.
And the Water Department tells me a leak in that same block of Dreer Street in December
was also caused by a private plumbing issue.
Here in Center City, Leland Pender, Channel 6 Action News.