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I just read there's going to be an Oakland DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoint tonight at "an undisclosed location in Oakland".
Great. But why? Everyone knows there are only a few areas where cool and safe (can one be cool and not safe?) bars and restaurants are in Oakland:
1) Downtown at Broadway and Grand where its "First Friday" Art Murmur night.
2) Downtown along Telegraph from 16th to 20th Street.
3) Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue where Lake Park serves as the connecting street
4) North Oakland along College Avenue
5) Piedmont Avenue from Monte Vista to 51st and Pleasant Valley.
First, it's not good to drink and drive, but this quasi-militaristic, secret agent style approach is really too much with this "undisclosed location" stuff. I'd prefer the Oakland Police think creatively and actually provide alternatives to driving on Friday nights.
The OPD could spearhead this much needed idea: a temporary shuttle service that goes around Lake Merritt with four stops, connecting the Grand Avenue area with the Oakland Boathouse and Downtown Oakland and the BART Stations.
Then they could use the same PR advisory system to tell people about the shuttle and use new media with videos to show Oaklanders how much fun it would be to ride the system.
The OPD could use some of the grant money - from the "California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration" - to fund this as a way to help people get around without their cars. I want OPD to start thinking out of the box and be a better friend to the community, as it has been in the past.
There's no reason the OPD can't be a friend to Oaklanders instead of Oakland's version of the U.S. Army. This shuttle service is a great start in the right direction. But until then stay out of the car if your going to drink, or remember this rule: one hour of rest after each pint of beer and a good meal. So, after three beers, don't get behind the wheel for three hours after the beers and have a nice dinner and water with the beers.
Three beers is too much yeast for me. Just saying.
Frankly, given how terrible the cab service is here in Oakland - and still a monopoly controlled by one family and gone unchecked by the City of Oakland - I'd either walk around the Lake to the Lake Chalet or just take BART to San Francisco as it runs all night during the Bay Bridge closure period and the cabbies over there are real pros.
I understand the OPD is under an "ticket performance standard" which places pressure on an officer to write tickets, but that's the problem right there. It causes a way of behaving that's at odds with the idea of community service. That's really got to change.
I just read there's going to be an Oakland DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoint tonight at "an undisclosed location in Oakland".
Great. But why? Everyone knows there are only a few areas where cool and safe (can one be cool and not safe?) bars and restaurants are in Oakland:
1) Downtown at Broadway and Grand where its "First Friday" Art Murmur night.
2) Downtown along Telegraph from 16th to 20th Street.
3) Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue where Lake Park serves as the connecting street
4) North Oakland along College Avenue
5) Piedmont Avenue from Monte Vista to 51st and Pleasant Valley.
First, it's not good to drink and drive, but this quasi-militaristic, secret agent style approach is really too much with this "undisclosed location" stuff. I'd prefer the Oakland Police think creatively and actually provide alternatives to driving on Friday nights.
The OPD could spearhead this much needed idea: a temporary shuttle service that goes around Lake Merritt with four stops, connecting the Grand Avenue area with the Oakland Boathouse and Downtown Oakland and the BART Stations.
Then they could use the same PR advisory system to tell people about the shuttle and use new media with videos to show Oaklanders how much fun it would be to ride the system.
The OPD could use some of the grant money - from the "California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration" - to fund this as a way to help people get around without their cars. I want OPD to start thinking out of the box and be a better friend to the community, as it has been in the past.
There's no reason the OPD can't be a friend to Oaklanders instead of Oakland's version of the U.S. Army. This shuttle service is a great start in the right direction. But until then stay out of the car if your going to drink, or remember this rule: one hour of rest after each pint of beer and a good meal. So, after three beers, don't get behind the wheel for three hours after the beers and have a nice dinner and water with the beers.
Three beers is too much yeast for me. Just saying.
Frankly, given how terrible the cab service is here in Oakland - and still a monopoly controlled by one family and gone unchecked by the City of Oakland - I'd either walk around the Lake to the Lake Chalet or just take BART to San Francisco as it runs all night during the Bay Bridge closure period and the cabbies over there are real pros.
I understand the OPD is under an "ticket performance standard" which places pressure on an officer to write tickets, but that's the problem right there. It causes a way of behaving that's at odds with the idea of community service. That's really got to change.
Comments
you are right on the money with this. why do police departments in many cities choose a clandestine, distrusting, punishment-focused strategy instead of taking the opportunity to not only curb dangerous drunk driving but create goodwill among citizens? particularly oakland, given its recent and historical acrimony between cops and citizens. it's not rocket science! come on, OPD and city officials, show some moxie!
you are right on the money with this. why do police departments in many cities choose a clandestine, distrusting, punishment-focused strategy instead of taking the opportunity to not only curb dangerous drunk driving but create goodwill among citizens? particularly oakland, given its recent and historical acrimony between cops and citizens. it's not rocket science! come on, OPD and city officials, show some moxie!