Eye on the Hills: Reckless driving at Oakland corner causing complaints

A busy crossroads at the top of the Oakland hills is drawing sideshow complaints from neighbors who are pleading with the city government for help.

The intersection of Skyline Boulevard, Manzanita Drive and Pinehurst Road near Shepherd Canyon Road is a wide junction surrounded by homes and scenic parkland. It’s also a magnet for speeding vehicles and reckless drivers who see the wide roadway as an invitation to spin doughnuts and burn rubber.

“We hear the cars at least two to three times a week,” says neighbor Bev Chernoff, who has witnessed the reckless behavior by day and night. She says the daytime incidents put hikers, walkers, cyclists and other motorists at risk. Each time neighbors hear the screeching of tires, they dutifully report it on the city of Oakland’s OAK311 nonemergency line.

The city’s approach to complaints is often “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Josh Rowan, the city of Oakland’s transportation director, did conduct a site visit with neighbors several months ago and discussed prevention measures like speed bumps and intersection triangles. Neighbor Charlie Young says Rowan was able to see the chaotic nature of the intersection.

“He observed many cyclists, many near-misses of vehicles that did not know what they were doing in the circle and even a group of roughly 50 children walking from the Hills Swim and Tennis Club through the intersection to the trails.”

Now, though, many months have passed by with no follow-up from the city.

“We as neighbors have concerns that we got a bit of lip service during the director’s visit and that now we will be forgotten,” says Young. “I understand from Director Rowan that his approach is intended to be equitable, meaning that he is not placing a higher value on areas of affluence versus areas with less fortune, but the impression is that because we are in the hills, our issues are less impactful than perhaps some of the more visible issues.”

Young admits that the “sideshows” in his neighborhood don’t attract crowds or involve more than one or two cars, usually expensive vehicles that speed toward Moraga, Orinda and Lafayette (“Lamorinda”) after the act.

“A lot of this is caused (from our observations) by rich kids with too much time on their hands,” he says, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous. With a large swim club nearby, along with entrances to Redwood Regional Park and Huckleberry Preserve, reckless motorists are not just a noise nuisance, they’re a safety concern for everyone who may use the intersection.

Rockridge news: College Avenue in Oakland’s Rockridge district is getting a trendy new fashion store called Esqueleto. The business started in the city’s Temescal district and has grown to several locations around the country, including Mill Valley, Los Angeles and New York.

They sell everything from designer rugs and wall art to engagement rings and expensive diamond earrings. Esqueleto is closing its Temescal district shop after 15 years and opening its new one Oct. 25 at 5520 College Ave.

Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.