Mobile City Council approves to bring back gate closure on Claridge Road South

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — Earlier this week, the Mobile City Council approved bringing back a gate that would separate the Yester Oaks apartments from the neighboring homes in Llanfair.

The road is commonly used as a cut-through road that many Mobile drivers use as a shortcut to Dauphin Street daily to avoid Airport Boulevard traffic.

Llanfair South Yester Oaks resident Hope Herrell spoke at the city council meeting with concerns about road usage.

“We live in the neighborhood that was voted the most kid friendly neighborhood in Mobile, but we have a very serious safety concern for our children and the residents of our neighborhood because our neighborhood has become a service road,” Herrell said.

Years ago, a gate blocked off the area to Claridge Road South to avoid that traffic. The gate was eventually taken down.

More than 1,000 residents throughout the Llanfair neighborhood, signed a petition asking for the gate to be reinstalled. District 5 Mobile City Councilman Joel Daves agreed that the gate should be put back up.

“This is a matter which has been an issue for a long, long time for the folks of Llanfair South Yester Oaks,” Davis said. “It’s that as I said last week that arrangement should never have been approved by the City of Mobile to begin with. It’s been an open sore for a long time.”

There is no word yet from the Mobile City Council on when construction will begin.

According to the Resolution, only emergency vehicles will have access to pass through the gate.

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