Murders and Violence at Lake Merritt’s Cul-De-Sac
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland District 2 Councilmember Nikki Bas
On Sunday a man was stabbed to death near the 1200 block of Lakeshore Ave, also known as the Lakeshore cul-de-sac. This is the 4th murder on this dead end street in less than six months. As residents of the area, we demand that specific actions be taken in an effort to prevent further loss of life on this problematic, yet small, stretch of road.
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Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland District 2 Councilmember Nikki Bas
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Murders and Violence at Lake Merritt’s Cul-De-Sac
An open letter from residents of Lakeshore Ave’s cul-de-sac in Oakland
Oakland Mayor Schaaf and Councilmember Bas,
On Sunday a man was stabbed to death near the 1200 block of Lakeshore Ave, also known as the Lakeshore cul-de-sac. This is the 4th murder on this dead end street in less than six months. As residents of the area, we demand that action be taken in an effort to prevent further loss of life on this problematic, yet small, stretch of road.
The issues at the cul-de-sac are many, as the area has attracted loud music, partying, speeding, drunk driving, and trash. However, most troubling, is the string of murders that have taken place within the last year:
05/01/2022 - Man stabbed to death after confrontation
04/07/2022 - Man shot to death during robbery
12/24/2021 - Man shot to death
11/11/2021 - Woman shot to death while fleeing group of robbers
*This is not to mention other people shot further down the road on Lakeshore Ave.
A common theme to these murders revolves around the area being a place of confrontations and robberies. Confrontations can happen as the place operates as a drive-in BYOB party spot. Robberies are enabled by the area being a pedestrian thoroughfare that is secluded from regular police patrols with an easy getaway due to the parking’s proximity to the walkways and angle-in parking.
These issues are not a secret. Many of us have voiced our concerns and repeated them after each murder. We’ve written letters. We’ve had meetings with city council members and the Chief of Police. Yet, we are not seeing action taken and another person has died.
Us residents are once more asking for your help, this time banding together to write this letter. Specifically, we are asking that the city enact the following measures as soon as possible to reduce the chance of another murder happening at the Lakeshore cul-de-sac:
1) Install public safety cameras to deter crime and capture evidence
2) Close the Lakeshore Ave cul-de-sac to non-resident traffic
3) Install lighting on the cul-de-sac to increase visibility
4) Add Oakland Police Department public safety patrols on foot and bike at this location
These are proven tools that have worked in other cities to prevent violent crime and we are past due to implement similar methodologies on this problematic block.
Signed,
Michael Chesher, Lakeshore resident & other residents of Oakland