'Our street matters too'; Cleveland homeowners concerned about sinkhole

Since the middle of August, a sinkhole on Utica Ave. between E. 55th and E. 65th streets in Cleveland has caused concerns for homeowners and drivers. It measures about 3 feet wide, 6 feet long and 8 feet deep.

"I thought I heard something cracking, but I thought it was my car. I backed my car up, and then the hole fell in," said Nina Mack, who was visiting her mom about ten days ago and saw the road cave in

"I literally almost lost the front end of my vehicle," Mack said. "It's just stayed like that. No one's come back," Mack said.

A road closed sign now sits near the corner of Utica Ave. and E. 55th St. Closer to the sinkhole, orange cones and caution tape serve as a makeshift barricade.

Mack's mother, Ella Redeemer, has lived on Utica Ave. since the late 1960s.

"I came from Mississippi," Redeemer said. "I wanted to give my kids a better life."

Redeemer said she's called the city more than once but has yet to get a response as to when the sinkhole will be fixed.

"Just no answers," I asked Redeemer.

She said, "No. I haven't got any. No one. No one called me back. No one. Please come and fix this. Our street matters too. We matter too."

I asked Mack what she thought the hold-up could be.

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"This is a little small street. It's predominantly moderate to low income, and we're not a priority… like this is not a priority for the city," Mack said.

She said because it's a one-way street, drivers must go the wrong way to get where they need to go.

Melvin Landers has noticed it too. Landers lives on the block, and so does his grandmother.

"Cant nobody go through. They got to turn around and go back this way (and) go back this way," Landers said, pointing to both ends of Utica Ave.

And there are other concerns.

"There's no other access to this street," Mack said. "And my mother is older. (A) majority of older people are here. If an ambulance comes down, they cannot maneuver in any way, shape or form."

Landers said that before cones and caution tape went up, he put large branches in the sinkhole as a warning.

"Ain't no problem. Hey- I love my neighborhood ya know," Landers said. "I do what I can in the neighborhood."

But he's also frustrated not knowing when the street will be made whole.

"It's they problem. It's not mine," Landers said.

Monday morning I contacted the city asking when the sinkhole would be repaired, if it's known what caused it, and if there were any hangups with getting repairs finished promptly.

A city spokesperson said they were working to get details.

Monday afternoon, I saw a City of Cleveland truck arrive at the scene. A worker got out of the vehicle to look at the sinkhole.

Later, a Cleveland Water Pollution Control vehicle showed up, and several workers went out to look.

Mack is looking forward to having the street back to normal.

"It (repairs) wouldn't even take a full… whole day," Mack said.

I will update this story when the City of Cleveland provides more details.

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