BILLINGS — A Billings homeowner is disgruntled after numerous occasions of drivers driving into his front yard due to an irregular sidewalk.
Sam Ouzts discovered fresh tire tracks through his front yard on the corner of Rehberg Lane and Colton Boulevard Tuesday morning, marking the latest incident in an ongoing problem that has plagued his property for years.
Click here to see why:
"My first reaction was just frustration," Ouzts said. "It's just frustrating that it happens as often as it does."
The tracks in the frost indicated the incident had happened recently, adding to Ouzts' safety concerns about the busy neighborhood with two schools in the area.
"Through the fresh frost on the ground, it had just happened not too long ago," Ouzts said. "It's disappointing that people don't think before they do things. That early in the morning, we have two schools in the neighborhood and there's always kids walking up and down this sidewalk."
Ouzts said that the problem has happened about six times in the last five years and blamed a mistake in the sidewalk constructed outside of his house along Rehberg Lane, where it appears that an approach to a driveway was added instead of a normal sidewalk with a curb.
"Our house was built in 1984, and I'm assuming when the land was developed and the curbs and sidewalks were put in, that initially this was supposed to be an approach for a garage," Ouzts said.
Instead, the garage and driveway were put on the opposite side of the home. Billings City Council member and engineer Scott Aspenlieder confirmed the unusual nature of the construction.
"It's a unique outlier of a situation, but it's a situation nonetheless," Aspenlieder said. "In the two years I've been on council and the 15 years I've been doing engineering work in this city, this is the most unique one that I've seen. It even struck me as really odd."
While Aspenlieder, who represents this exact area of the city, sympathizes with Ouzts' situation, he explained that fixing the sidewalk would be the homeowner's financial responsibility.
"The sidewalks, per the Billings city ordinance, are the responsibility of the lot owner and the homeowner," Aspenlieder said.
Due to the cost of sidewalk reconstruction, Ouzts is exploring more affordable alternatives to deter drivers.
"I've got grass cut out here because I want to put in a hedge kind of as a deterrent," Ouzts said.
Aspenlieder supports Ouzts' landscaping solution and suggested he reach out to Public Works to make sure he's up to code. Aspenlieder also cautioned that no physical barrier can completely prevent reckless driving.
"The best of engineering still does not defeat bad driving," Aspenlieder said. "People are still going to be careless."
