Construction causes a lot of traffic headaches but for one neighborhood it’s causing a lot of damage.
People living near Riverside and 49th Street say with Peoria Avenue shutdown at I-44 their neighborhood streets are being used as shortcuts.
They believe that’s leading to more crime.
FOX23’s Abbie Alford reports the effect this is having on neighbors.
One neighbor says a woman moved out and put her house up for sale because the thieves ripped her off three times.
The neighbors are alert but crooks are still lurking in their homes.
"Breaking into people's houses in broad daylight," says Chell.
The Brookside mother doesn’t want to reveal her identity because she says she’s home alone when the bad guys strike.
Chell says she’s been watching for people who don’t belong.
"They were coming down the street and got out of the truck. They let two people out in the back of a truck and they were going and knocking on doors and looking in cars that were parked along the side of the street," says Chell.
Chell says she immediatly reported it to police. It’s no secret she and her neighbor’s have their eyes peeled. Alerting one another with flyers and phone trees, the thieves are throwing rocks at French doors and stealing flat-screen TV’s and tools from work trailers.
So Chell says she contacted FOX23 News.
"I think everybody in this neighborhood needs to be made aware that 8am to 1pm is kicking in doors," says Chell.
Kevin Gabel blames nearby construction that shut down Peoria for the rise in crime. His street is now the shortcut for Riverside.
"If people are breaking in especially in the middle of the day. With all the traffic we get and all the new cars frequently you never know who's parked here in the neighborhood," says Gabel.
The traffic isn’t expected to go away until after Christmas so until then neighbors will do what it takes to protect themselves.
"Most of the time in the daytime I am here by myself. Honestly I would hate to have to shoot somebody," says Chell.
FOX23 did spot an Alert Neighbor sign in the area but the Crime Commission says to be alert you have to be active.
So Chell and other neighbors are working together to jumpstart its Alert Neighbor program.
While FOX23 was out in the neighborhood it also spotted three TPD cruisers patroling the area.
The Crime Commission is facing a real challenge, it had $15,000 budget cut from the Tulsa Police Department and has just two people running the organization.
