Stop signs replace traffic lights at 'busy' Oakland intersection, reportedly on account of area homeless

The City of Oakland, California, has replaced traffic lights with stop signs at one intersection, and some area residents believe criminal behavior on the part of local homeless persons led to the potentially dangerous change, KPIX reported.

Earlier this month, the intersection of E. 12th Street and 16th Avenue, about two miles east of Downtown Oakland, went from a traffic light to a four-way stop. A Fox News report described the intersection as "busy," and KPIX-TV video shows the intersection teeming with businesses and vehicles.

According to the sources who spoke with KPIX, the city made the change to stop signs because people living in a nearby homeless encampment have been stealing copper wire from electrical boxes connected to the traffic lights at the intersection. As a result, the lights malfunctioned for months, often blinking red or blacking out entirely, KPIX reported.

Mason Young described the change to a four-way stop as putting a "band-aid" on the problem, but noted a band-aid was better than "bleeding out." His metaphor is graphic, but it may also be apt as the malfunctioning traffic light caused a truck to slam into an auto repair shop located on one corner of the intersection, he claimed. KPIX did not mention whether any injuries resulted from the crash.

The owner of the repair shop, Tam Le, claimed the move to a four-way stop is a sign "that the city is giving up on us." Le has owned the shop for more than 25 years, but he said the homeless encampment, which now extends nearly three blocks along E. 12th Street, may soon force him out.

"Many businesses already closed down on E. 12th St. And I don't know how long we're going to be here. Because once they move to our side of the sidewalk, we will be gone," Le said.

The homeless not only create blight along the street and perhaps steal copper wiring, some also steal electricity from underground city sources. A spokesperson for the city told KPIX that the city placed heavy cement blocks atop the access points for the electrical boxes but that determined thieves pull the blocks off and steal the electricity anyway.

In its report, KPIX shared a Google Earth photo of the intersection taken on an unknown date. Not only does the photo show a traffic light that was once in working repair, but it also reveals just how much the homeless encampment has begun to encroach on area businesses along the street.

Composite screenshot of KPIX-TV report via @choeshow X video

Young also admitted that crime and violence in the area is a problem. "All my family and relatives that don't live in the area ... they're like, 'You're going to get shot.' And I can't say, 'No, I'm not. There's no gunshots,' because there are," he said.

Despite the danger, Young said he still wants to stay.

"I want to live here, and I love this neighborhood. I love how diverse it is."

A city spokesperson claimed that the stop signs at the intersection are just a temporary measure but did not provide KPIX a timeline for when new traffic lights would be installed.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!