Roads in an East Oakland community remain potholed after safety concerns led a construction crew to abandon its repaving project, according to a local report.
“He basically said the work was suspended and he couldn't tell me the time frame they would be back because the contractor stopped all work because he felt unsafe,” Shari Angarano, a resident of the Parque Sobrante area, told the Daily. Email from his recent call with the project director.
“They were not going to restart the project until the city of Oakland could guarantee them a safe work environment,” he added.
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Residents in the Sobrante Park area of Oakland are concerned that poor road conditions could cause damage to their vehicles. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Community residents insist that nearby road conditions are dangerous and put their vehicles at risk of damage if not repaired soon.
Angarano spoke on camera with KRON 4 San Francisco where he said the existing pavement was torn up last month to prepare for repaving, but on the day crews were scheduled to repave the roads, they never showed up.
“Every day more gravel and stones are kicked up, every time the bus passes,” he told the outlet. “I asked the project manager that question…what happens if my tires blow out? All he could do was tell me to file a refund request with the city.”
“I called and the Oakland city engineer said the contractor pulled out because the crews didn't feel safe,” Angarano told KRON.
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Crime in Oakland even attracted the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, in February, provided the area with 120 California Highway Patrol officers. (FoxNews)
He added that he would like to see the streets repaved “as soon as possible.”
The outlet said the Oakland Department of Transportation, when contacted, confirmed that the project is scheduled to resume soon and should be completed sometime this month.
Oakland has faced another exodus lately, as some residents and businesses leave for safety reasons. As the coastal California city faced relentless crime, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom felt compelled to intervene in February, sending 120 California Highway Patrol officers to the area to mitigate the crisis of rising robberies and violence.
OAKLAND, THE ONLY IN-N-OUT RESTAURANT IN CALIFORNIA TO CLOSURE DUE TO CRIME
An exterior view of an In-N-Out on Hegenberger Court in Oakland, California, on Friday, March 15, 2024. The restaurant, along with the only Denny's location in Oakland, closed for safety reasons. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
“What is happening in and around this beautiful city is alarming and unacceptable,” his office said in a news release at the time.
Denny's closed its only Oakland location after 54 years due to crime in January. In-N-Out also closed its only Oakland location earlier this year, citing the same issue.
Last year, several residents told CNN that they no longer feel safe enough to leave their homes. A lifelong Oakland resident told the outlet that he planned to flee the city.
In February, an Oakland restaurant owner told Fox News Digital that the city's crime problems were “the worst I've ever seen in my life.”
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