Description
Will post on Facebook for comment - PLEASE comment! On the corner of Wesley and Hillgirt Circle, Oakland, is a section of overgrown bushes, aloes and small trees which has grown overarching the sidewalk (from street side) and into the sidewalk from the homeowner's fence, impeding visibility ESPECIALLY in the darkness. It is a dangerous and unlighted section of sidewalk. At least one person was attacked in this location (my daughter). Passers by avoid this section of the block and for good reason, walking in the street instead which is not safe either. The bushes are so thick that a person could step back into them and be completely concealed from view. There is no streelight. The homeowners have declined to maintain the area outside their fence. As you can see from the photos, the area is very overgrown and impinging on the sidewalk. Imagine the person in the photograph dressed in black, at night. The Feet on the Street neighborhood lighting patrol group has observed this area; the entire neighborhood deems it to be unsafe; it was reported to public works last year by Hoang Banh, our Community Rep from OPD; neighbors on the Cleveland Heights Neighbors email group addressed the homeowners who have advised pedestrians "cross the street and walk there". FOS members attempted to petition the city for a streelight (1.5 years ago) but funding ran out before the petition was processed. Thank you for your attention. UPDATE: PARTIAL IMPROVEMENT BY HOMEOWNERS - THERE STILL NEEDS TO BE WORK DONE BY REMOVAL OF LARGE PINE TREES (NOT ALL PERHAPS EVERY OTHER ONE), ADDITIONAL STREET LIGHT, AND REMOVAL OF OVERGROWTH FROM YARD OVER SIDEWALK TO STREET.
13 Comments
Acknowledged City of Oakland Public Works
The City of Oakland Public Works Agency has received this issue. It is registered as service request # 419672. Please check back for status updates or contact us directly at (510) 615-5566.
manroy9 (Guest)
This is a total safety hazard and both the city and the home owner should be held liable for any crimes that are committed in that spot.
Buick MacKane
I got mugged at gunpoint by three people hiding here about a year ago. I was with three other people, the muggers obviously knew this was a good spot and were just waiting for victims. The weekend after the mugging, I talked to the people who own the property and they pretty much flat out refused to do anything about the overgrowth. I took it upon myself to get out there with a sickle, clippers, and a hedge trimmer to try to cut back some of it. It's definitely NOT a single person job. Something needs to be done with that area. If it means cutting down the trees that overhang the sidewalk from that private property, so be it. I'm still freaked out going anywhere near that part of the circle. How can we go about trying to get a street light there if the property owners refuse to cut down (or at the very least, cut back) their trees?
City of Oakland Public Works
City of Oakland Public Works Agency referred this issue to CODE ENFORCEMENT, service request # 419672. Please contact that agency to follow-up. For more information, please visit the "Helpful Links to Other Resource Partners" at the link below.
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/Connect/ReportaProblem/index.htm
Thank you.
Jim Ratliff (Guest)
This is definitely a dangerous situation. It makes it impossible for pedestrians, even when they avoid the dark gauntlet itself, to fully be aware of their surroundings, because someone can hide there and emerge immediately after someone passes by even on the other side of Hillgirt.
Danny(Hillgirt) (Guest)
This appears a situation that can easily be rectified. The shrubs and bushes are encroaching on the sidewalk and creating a visual barrier. At night the light in this area is blocked making it extremely dark. I know of several crimes that have occurred in this area because of the shadows.
Buick MacKane
Recently I have seen some improvements to this corner, but they have all been on the Wesley side, which is NOT the part that needs the attention. The Hillgirt section is by far the most overgrown and dark. I hope that the work that has been done on the Wesley section is not all that's planned on being done. Again, the Hillgirt section is the dangerous part, Wesley was just a little overgrown.
Swimmy44 (Guest)
Wesley is a whole other problem - the entire block in question has only one home with a huge lot plus the abandoned lot that was "fixed" and still abandoned. There is a lot of garbage there, a box spring which has been unreported for weeks and tall overgrown weeds. Plus there has been for several weeks in a summer someone living in an old Blazer parked - not there recently. Hope that the property owners plan to address their whole fence on the corner not just the Wesley side.
Swimmy44 (Guest)
Hillgirt continues to be a problem. We need the arching overgrowth cut back and if every other of the large trees were removed from the sidewalk (trees which are so bushy they nearly touch each other), light from the Wesley streetlight could come through a little and light up the sidewalk at night. I believe the city could remove the trees - they are obviously very old and not planted by the abutting homeowners.
Jim Ratliff (Guest)
Swimmy44 is correct and her/his suggestion is a good one. I love trees, but it's inappropriate to have a wall of trees so thick as to turn an important pedestrian passage into an obscured tunnel. That line of trees needs to be thinned by selective removal.
swimmy44 (Guest)
Overgrowth over the sidewalk has NOT been removed. Limited lighting on that corner cannot light up the sidewalk in this area. Huge trees planted on the sidewalk stip should be removed (removing every other tree would help) since they completely block the area so any crime occurring there could not be viewed from the street, or from across the street. At night, approximately 30 yards of sidewalk are completely without light supporting the name "tunnel of darkness" and forcing pedestrians to walk in the street on the outside of cars parked there to avoid this section. thank you.
JR003
Not sure if you guys have or not, but emailing your city council member can be surprisingly beneficial. Sometimes they can lead you down avenues that you didn't know where there or get you in touch with the right person. This sounds like a situation that should be handled sooner rather than later.
SWIMMY44 (Guest)
THIS AREA HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY ADDRESSED. THE TREES ON THE CORNER ARE OVERGROWN WITH VINES OVER THE SIDEWALK AND SHOULD BE CUT BACK. LARGE TREES ON THE SIDEWALK STRIP SHOULD BE TRIMMED BACK OR SOME REMOVED.