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.
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WATCH HEREEarlier 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?"
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The city told the group the speed bumps were removed because they created a hazard. A day later, the sideshows returned, Andemeskel said.
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SIGN UP "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.
