RALEIGH, N.C. — Several residents Thursday evening near Glenwood South are requesting help from City Council to stop people from vandalizing their properties.
“It’s tough. It’s really tough,” said Hillary Burgdorf, resident.
Locals like Burhdorf have encountered people wandering from bars at night, damaging their properties by tossing street signs, urinating in public, and stealing from porches.
Burhdorf told WRAL the vandalism has worsened since she and her husband, Paul, moved to the area about a year ago.
“We knew there would be some noise,” said Burhdorf. “There would be some occasional foot traffic but this is beyond anything we would have ever expected.”
The couple wrote a letter to City Council asking for specific changes and they want the city to revisit the rideshare pick-up policy and secure parking signs.
The Burgdorfs say Council prevented Ubers and Lyfts from picking up within the social district and now, those rides are spilling into residential neighborhoods.
“Drunk people in unmonitored, unlit areas where people do whatever they want,” said Paul Burgdorfs. “It makes no sense.”
A recent report by Glenwood south neighborhood collaborative claims the district brings in one-point-six billion dollars annually but Tm Niles, with Livable Raleigh, says it comes with a cost.
“It’s an issue that seems to be difficult to handle,” said Niles.
He blogs about his concerns with Glenwood South, particularly the increase in crime.
Earlier this month, three men were shot near the district in the early morning hours.
“The City Council seemed to prioritize the needs of the revelers rather than the needs of the residents,” said Niles.
City councilor Jane Harrison told the Burgdorfs she’d proposed a safety study for the area.
“It’s part of a larger problem. We’re not trying to fix everything at this point,” said Harrison.
Raleigh recently decided to increase parking fines in Glenwood South starting Saturday and neighbors hope that’ll help prevent more people from being in the area and ultimately reduce crime.
