Great work by residents. But next time they need to have a more organized force to keep the city at bay, bring in the media, call their reps in the city council, etc.
You can’t beat the government in force but you can embarrass them until they give up.
You know, if Fox News is agreeing with you, maybe you should stop and consider whether you’re on the right side.
Sideshows are not “reckless driving”. They’re community events. But the community they come from is poor and black so the Nextdoor scolds work themselves into a panic and put up barricades to block roads.
To be fair, Oakland’s government is corrupt bottom to top. If these streets were blocked with trash instead of barricades they wouldn’t do shit. But that’s not the problem here.
I somewhat agree with the essay but I don’t think they’re making the case that people should be allowed to drive recklessly anywhere they want just because it’s a community event. There are good reasons people don’t want this happening next to their house. It’s dangerous and very loud, which you seem to gloss over but the essay affirms.
You don’t get a pass to harm people just because it’s a community event.
If your “community event” has such a high carbon cost of needlessly burning fossil fuels and destroying tires, not to mention the noise pollution and safety aspects, maybe it’s time to find a new community event.
Why not a street take over of bicycles? How about meeting up at a third space like a park, bar or cafe? What about collectively doing some tactical urbanism to improve your community - paint some crosswalks, add bollards to force pedestrianization.
