Nearly a year after a state-funded cleanup cleared large homeless encampments from the Santa Maria Riverbed, residents say the area remains a daily challenge.
Santa Maria resident Samuel Aguilera, who has run along the river trail for years, said he no longer feels as comfortable using the path.
“I feel unsafe running sometimes just because of … I don’t know, the people there or the state of them,” Aguilera said. “I have noticed a downgrade from the quality and the environment of it due to the homelessness and encampment.”…