Wonderful cultural tradition.
Posted on 05/25/2025 10:14:42 AM PDT by Drew68
A battle is brewing over an Oakland neighborhood's do-it-yourself solution to stopping speeders and sideshows.
Residents said they were fed up and fought back with their own speed bumps, but the city said that fix won't fly.
Earlier this week, the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) tore up the homemade speed bumps at East 21st Street and 19th Avenue.
Residents installed them out of desperation eight months ago after claiming they pled with the city for four years to address dangerous sideshows in the area and nothing was done.
"We've had peace for the past eight months, a hard peace," resident Michael Andemeskel said. "We paid for that peace with our labor and money, and then the city overnight took it away without excuse and without notice."
Andemeskel and his neighbors spent $3,000 installing the speed bumps. Andemeskel said the city’s DOT director verbally approved the DIY project last year.
"He said they were going to be replaced in eight years when the street is repaved, right?" Andemeskel said. "So we're like, "OK, we can work with that.' Within eight years, we can figure out a solution that makes everyone happy, right?"
Oakland residents took matters into their own hands and installed speed bumps after they pleaded with the city to address sideshows and speeding in a neighborhood. The city caught wind of the effort and tore up what neighbors installed. NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai spoke with Michael Andemeskel, one of the residents who helped install the traffic thresholds, to understand the effort.
The city told the group the speed bumps were removed because they created a hazard. A day later, the sideshows returned, Andemeskel said.
"I just don't understand how that is less of a hazard than having speed bumps, rubber speed bumps in the intersection," Andemeskel said. "There's got to be a middle ground."
Councilmember Charlene Wang took over representing the district the day after the removal. The new councilmember expressed frustration over residents and her staff not being warned before the city scrapped the speed bumps.
"It is exactly these kind of quick build, cheap, easy street treatments that I ran on, especially in face of a budget deficit, of being smart, being resourceful," Wang said. "The fact that the residents did that, I think that's pretty remarkable."
Wang said she is working with city leaders to install a city-approved option to stop sideshows, but explained she still has questions for the city.
"I have not gotten clarity from the director as to why that decision was made," she said. "Yeah, I think there's concerns. He has concerns around liability, but there's also the liability of already sideshows have returned."
The city claimed it was looking into the issue but was unable to immediately comment on the removal or how it plans to address street safety in the area.
Residents said they're prepared to bring their speed bumps back if the city doesn’t act soon.
This is Oakland! You will enjoy the sideshows!
Wonderful cultural tradition.
What kind of sideshows?
a city with as many or more potholes than anywhere in America
can’t manage to repair its potholes but CAN and does manage to remove its residents’ speed bumps
Oakland’s problem isn’t so much financial as it is the mis-priorities of its communistic city politicians
I understand the frustration of these residents, but anyone who installs something like this on a public street is a moron. The liability you take on by doing this could be catastrophic.
Sideshows are car racing on streets often put on by Latinos. Of course putting a stop to it is racist.
SERVE the people's needs or "GET OUT!"
Thanks. Does this also include low rider displays?
A couple of well placed shots into the vehicle carrying the city workers that for some reason could not install safety features for 8 years but could remove the work of others in a heartbeat might have been effective. Rinse & repeat — at the least, you got cop cars at either end of the block and the show cars might decide to go elsewhere.
Sounds like Oakland wants a war with the residents.
They’ll lose.
I predict those speed bumps will be back before this Labor Day. I don’t blame the residents a bit. Nameless, faceless ‘officials’ have decided these citizens can be safely ignored and not cause any damage to their ‘official’ paychecks. So, that’s just what they do.
Most large urban areas have certain particular localities that are always deficient in maintenance, and no one seems to know who’s responsible, or which budget should be paying for all of it.
Insurrection in Oakland! Worse than 911 and Civil War.
I would love to have a couple on our 25mph (more like 60-70) but city and county keep telling us there isn’t an issue. Even with video and monitoring and back and forth for 4 years. Oh well....... At least no ‘side shows’ on our street.
Recently the nearest main road a block away got 5 speed bumps. Better than motorcycle racing.
You hate to see it, but citizens ruled by corrupt government sometimes have to make a display of who the boss.
Thanks. That was posted while I was writing my question.
Surprised someone didn’t invest in a byrna ball gun or a paint ball gun dents and paint smears to clean up may have an effect?.
You will respect my autority.wheres Cartman?
That’s an expensive ticket price for front yard seats to sideshows.
Maybe they should open up the Coliseum to this activity since the previous billionaire owned millionaire sideshows in there fled to Sacramento and Vegas..
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