CARMEL, Ind. -- The City of Carmel is slapping citations on Duke Energy after they say the company posed a threat to public safety last week when it blocked a busy street without getting permission from the city.
The city claims Duke Energy illegally blocked the roadway on May 9 when they were performing utility pole replacement on 126th Street between Kinzer Avenue and Ash Drive.
“We take safety very seriously as a company and we will look into these complaints,” said Duke Energy Spokeswoman Angeline Protoger.
Carmel officials say the utility skipped the city’s approval process to close the road. First responders were never notified of the roadblock which can delay response times during potential emergencies.
Residents say the roadblock lasted most of the day and caused school buses to have to detour.
“We went ahead and replaced overhead polls because they were identified as a safety concern, “ said Protoger. “We consider our cities and towns partners. We believe we are good neighbors and we will look into this.”
A strongly worded statement issued by the city, Mayor Jim Brainard said: “There was no consideration given to the local community with regard to the danger to public safety this illegal road block could have caused.”
The city says it plans to take its complaints against Duke Energy to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
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