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The new Lake Chalet restaurant is really changing the vibe around the nearby intersection of 14th and Lakeside Drive in Oakland, but even with the new eatery, that corner and its area are still dangerous. I write this not to dissuade anyone from visiting what has become a gastronomic center of Oakland culture, but to explain what to do if you use your car to get there.
Have their valet service park your car.
Why?
Well, my good friend's car was broken into Friday night as she parked along 14th not far from Lakeside Drive. The Lake Chalet, where she was headed, is on Lakeside Drive, and so close to 14th Street and the Oakland Public Library that one can comfortably walk to the place after parking along 14th. Trouble is, 14th's still sketchy from Lakeside to Broadway.
Let's be honest in our assessment of that stretch: while a couple of apartments have opened up along it, there's no new retail businesses or any other sign of new investment to spruce up that area. At night, unsupervised young folks walk around with nothing to do but walk around and in some cases start trouble. Then we have the occasional homeless person who just needs some help from someone, somewhere.
View 14th and Lakeside in a larger map
(The map above shows the intersection with the Lake Chalet represented by the blue placemark.)
The only active place is the Ruby Room but the action's inside and at times there's an interesting bit of interaction between the street youth and the patrons, but not often. Still, a third presence is missing and needed: the Oakland Downtown Ambassadors.
This is a small security group ran by an organization called "Block by Block" and charged with providing a kind of watch over the downtown Oakland area. That includes, or should include, the strip of 14th from Broadway to Lakeside.
I've seen the Oakland Ambassadors hanging out in front of the DeLauer's Magazine Store on Broadway, but given the people traffic along there, its a waste of money for them to be there. 14th, really from Alice to Lakeside is where they're needed, especially on Thursday and Friday nights now that the Lake Chalet is open.
The Lake Chalet and the new Oakland Boathouse are assets to Oakland that are changing the neighborhood around it for the good, providing a fun place to eat and "be". But we have to redeploy our existing crime fighting programs so that the area of 14th Street nearby doesn't mar the good times rolling at the Lake Chalet.
The new Lake Chalet restaurant is really changing the vibe around the nearby intersection of 14th and Lakeside Drive in Oakland, but even with the new eatery, that corner and its area are still dangerous. I write this not to dissuade anyone from visiting what has become a gastronomic center of Oakland culture, but to explain what to do if you use your car to get there.
Have their valet service park your car.
Why?
Well, my good friend's car was broken into Friday night as she parked along 14th not far from Lakeside Drive. The Lake Chalet, where she was headed, is on Lakeside Drive, and so close to 14th Street and the Oakland Public Library that one can comfortably walk to the place after parking along 14th. Trouble is, 14th's still sketchy from Lakeside to Broadway.
Let's be honest in our assessment of that stretch: while a couple of apartments have opened up along it, there's no new retail businesses or any other sign of new investment to spruce up that area. At night, unsupervised young folks walk around with nothing to do but walk around and in some cases start trouble. Then we have the occasional homeless person who just needs some help from someone, somewhere.
View 14th and Lakeside in a larger map
(The map above shows the intersection with the Lake Chalet represented by the blue placemark.)
The only active place is the Ruby Room but the action's inside and at times there's an interesting bit of interaction between the street youth and the patrons, but not often. Still, a third presence is missing and needed: the Oakland Downtown Ambassadors.
This is a small security group ran by an organization called "Block by Block" and charged with providing a kind of watch over the downtown Oakland area. That includes, or should include, the strip of 14th from Broadway to Lakeside.
I've seen the Oakland Ambassadors hanging out in front of the DeLauer's Magazine Store on Broadway, but given the people traffic along there, its a waste of money for them to be there. 14th, really from Alice to Lakeside is where they're needed, especially on Thursday and Friday nights now that the Lake Chalet is open.
The Lake Chalet and the new Oakland Boathouse are assets to Oakland that are changing the neighborhood around it for the good, providing a fun place to eat and "be". But we have to redeploy our existing crime fighting programs so that the area of 14th Street nearby doesn't mar the good times rolling at the Lake Chalet.
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