DENVER — On a stretch of 22nd Street in Five Points, between Stout and Champa streets, fencing has become a problem.
"[It's] in the way. Very dangerous," Larhonda said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Denver7 witnessed pedestrians squeezing through it, even stepping onto the street to walk around it.
"A couple of times, I almost ... fell in the street," said Ron, who uses a wheelchair.
The problem? On both sides of the street, fencing blocks access to the sidewalk, preventing people from getting by.
While grabbing video for this story, Denver7 photojournalist Colin Riley had to step in front of the lens to help Larhonda and Ron.
"I was actually telling [Ron], 'Where are you going? You can't go through there,'" Larhonda said.
"We [couldn't] get out until you guys helped me get through, and I say thank you. Appreciate it," Ron added. "It's got to be some way they can ... clear it for people in wheelchairs and walkers because it's unnecessary."
Denver7 looked for signage around the fencing to find out who put it there and why it was blocking people's access to the public sidewalks. We found nothing, so we contacted the City of Denver.
A spokesperson confirmed the city put the fencing there to help its encampment cleanup efforts, but it should have never blocked the sidewalks.
In a response, the spokesperson said, "Somehow it got moved. We are unsure how or when the fencing was moved, but we’re working to get the fence moved back immediately to ensure sidewalk access."
Within 10 minutes of receiving that response from the city, a contractor arrived and removed the fencing from the sidewalks, allowing people again to have access to them.
"Unfortunately, you have to go to the news people to get stuff to move on, you know, so you can get around and be safe," Larhonda said.
Denver7 learned about this problem after seeing social media posts from people expressing their concerns. But if you see something that's not right, like in this case, the city is urging you to call 311 so the appropriate city department is made aware.