Antioch city leaders discuss taking action against sideshows
Many Bay Area cities are looking for ways to combat dangerous sideshows, and in Antioch, city leaders met on Tuesday to discuss a new sideshow enforcement ordinance.
It was the fourth time the issue had been before the council, and the mayor said he was tired of the delays.
In one neighborhood in South Antioch, nearly every intersection has the tell-tale circular tire marks of a sideshow.
"All the dogs start barking, people are scared. You feel like something is about to hit your home," said a man who lives near one of the intersections. He said individual cars will often arrive at 3 o'clock in the morning just to practice for about 5 minutes. But the other day, a whole crowd showed up.
"Oh, it was crazy. There were about 200 people around. They blocked all the entries to this road, so the cops couldn't get in," he said. "People cannot cross the road and people have been complaining, reached out to the city in the past, and nothing has happened."
Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe buried his face in his hands. He said he's tried three other times to get his colleagues on the council to pass a sideshow ordinance without success. The city is trying, utilizing drones and installing small bumps in some intersections, but right now, police have no authority to punish anyone except the drivers themselves. Some believe the law should also hold the spectators responsible, and perhaps most importantly, those who organize and advertise the mass sideshows.
"That has been the most effective tool we have as a city to stop sideshows," said Hernandez-Thorpe, "when we're proactive with law enforcement in finding those who are organizing these and dismantling them there. That's when we've been most effective. So, to me, that was the most important part. Because the reality is, the spectator one--no one has used the spectator law. Pittsburg has one...they've never used it."
Some on the council thought the previous proposals were too strict, others saw them as not tough enough. As a result, nothing had been passed. At Tuesday's meeting, the mayor gave them a choice of ordinances: hold just organizers responsible, or include spectators as well. Either way, he said it was time to make a choice.
"That is what we get paid to do: to vote. And that's it. It's not complicated and it ain't rocket science," the mayor said. "And so, if they want to play games, we'll put in on full display. Here are the two ordinances...pick one. But we're picking one, and we're going to move forward."
Hernandez-Thorpe said even if they passed an ordinance immediately, it wouldn't go into effect until sometime in September. So it would not apply to the remaining summer months, when most sideshow activity occurs. The ordinance is about holding lawbreakers accountable. The mayor thinks that should apply to the lawmakers as well.