Vallejo residents call on CHP to patrol city thoroughfare
VALLEJO -- Like a lot of places, the city of Vallejo is dealing with a shortage of police officers even as crime is on the rise. Saturday morning, a group of residents gathered to ask the state for protection, not for the city but for a stretch of the state's own roadway.
There have been so many sideshows at the Sonoma Boulevard - Lemon Street intersection, that the burned rubber has all but obliterated the white lines of the crosswalks. Farther up Sonoma, sex workers downtown openly ply their trade. The north end of Sonoma Boulevard has become a frequent scene of high-speed police chases, often ending in tragedy.
"We have another freeway. It's not as famous as Highway 80. It's not as famous as 780 or even 37. But it is a highway!" said Vallejo city councilmember Cristina Arriola.
Sonoma Boulevard is a part of California State Route 29 and the demonstrators said the state needs to supply help keeping some kind of order on it. They formed a loud, honking, car caravan through the town, ending at the CHP Golden Gate Division headquarters.
"We have a freeway that cuts right through our town and it's neglected," Arriola said. "And I don't buy into the 'understaffing' catch phrase of the day. I don't believe that. I believe they can spare a handful of officers to patrol a greatly needed street. It's very dangerous."
Arriola said she's tired of hearing about Gov. Newsom sending hundreds of CHP officers to protect Oakland and San Francisco from urban crime. Especially when Highway 29 in Vallejo is left unprotected.
"Our police department actually is understaffed," she said. "We've got 21 officers on duty in Vallejo for a city of 125,000."
The group said they're also having to fight public apathy. People have become numb to the sounds of gunshots and sideshows every night and many have given up thinking Vallejo can be any better.
"There's been significant research to show that where you live greatly impacts your mental health," said resident Zoe Olvera. "And living in a town where you can't feel safe to drive down the road is something that impacts mine and my partner's -- my family's. My parents worry about me all the time."
"It's PTSD, you know, for a lot of people," said Mishel Adolph. "I mean, you have to change the way you live. Everybody's on edge because we have no protection and we're not even asking the CHP to protect us. We're just asking them to protect that corridor."
They're asking that a small group of officers, maybe four, be assigned to patrol up and down Sonoma Boulevard. They believe that the sight of a black-and-white patrol car in the area would have a real impact -- more than it ever would in Oakland or San Francisco.
"I love this town but it is shameful to feel like I wouldn't want to invite my grandpa to come and be here," Olvera said. "I would worry about him driving and getting carjacked or shot or something like that. It's wildly unsafe."
The residents say they only want the help until they can bring their own police staffing back up to a reasonable level and they're only asking the state to protect the roadway that it actually owns.
