The Antioch Boat Launch has been a popular destination for sideshows in the city. But the city will be adding a new deterrent at the parking lot entrance, to make sure that’s no longer the case.
A sideshow incident at the location last year prompted the city to add concrete barriers to prevent cars from entering the area from an adjacent parking lot.
“It’s always dangerous, you know? It's always dangerous the way they move with the cars,” said Jorge Hernandez of Antioch.
Now another safety measure is being taken by the city replacing the current boat ramp gate with an electric gate that will close the lot completely at 9 p.m.
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“They will be on timers and they will be much more firm than what we currently have to keep people away,” said Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe.
He said it’s a part of a larger plan to address sideshows in the city, which includes putting up traffic barriers in sideshow hot spots like Sand Creek Road.
The mayor also says a team of investigators are in place to find out when the sideshows are set to take place.
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He credits the system in place for Antioch PD quickly shutting down a sideshow over the weekend at the intersection of Lone Tree Way and Golf Course Drive.
“It’s not to my surprise considering we’ve been staffing up as quickly as we can,” said Thorpe.
But some residents along Lone Tree Way hope the city will do more to address sideshows in their neighborhood.
“We can hear it every night, you can roll down and just look at the street marks,” said Nathaniel Herrera of Antioch.
As for the safety measures at the boat launch, the mayor says the electric gate will be in place in a matter of days.
For Hernandez, who uses the lot frequently, he believes it’s a smart move for the city.
“Yeah that’ll prevent them. That'll make it harder for them. Definitely got to try to stop it some way somehow,” he said.
