Tulsa Family Hopes New Barriers Prevent Drivers Taking Shortcuts On Lawn

A Tulsa family who lives near the Gathering Place construction is relieved new barriers are in place to keep drivers from cutting through their lawn.

To get to the other side of the neighborhood, cars and motorcycles have been driving on sidewalks; but Monday, the City and its contractors fixed the problem.

Paula Farris couldn't believe it when cars and motorcycles cut through her lawn after fences went up for the Gathering Place construction.

The Farris family pleaded with the City to find some way to stop people from cheating the detours at 35th and Riverside, and Monday morning they woke up to workers installing concrete barriers.

10/9/2015 Related Story: Drivers Going Through Neighbor's Lawn Near Gathering Place Construction

"Last night I wasn't out here ten minutes. It was about 7:00...a motorcycle come flying right in front of me, almost hit my dog," Paula Farris said.

She and her husband, Claude, live six blocks north of the 41st Street closure on Riverside, but still have drivers cutting through.

They've used an old campaign sign and even stood guard, trying to stop drivers from jumping the curb.

"I mean, as long as the bikes can still go through, the people with their dogs can still go through and not get hurt. That's my concern," Paula said.

The City of Tulsa heard the Farris' complaints and put in a stronger barrier next to the fence.

"We were having cars that were, basically face-to-face with construction vehicles, so we had to put a fence up to prevent that, so we did that. We had cars that were going around the fence driving on a yard, so the only solution was to put up a concrete barricade on the yard to keep them from doing that," Brook Caviness said.

Paula said, "It's awesome. It's awesome. And I don't think we would've gotten it had it not been for you guys coming out here and doing a story because I've tried everything else."

She hopes the new barriers will finally put an end to the cut-throughs.

"Try it again. You're going to hit something pretty hard," she said.

It's going to get more difficult to get through the area in the coming weeks as the City awarded bids to start tearing up and replacing the road on Riverside between 35th and 41st.

If you have a complaint, the City said you can use their customer care hotline by calling 918-596-2100.