Oakland CA is removing illegal speed bumps from public roads installed by locals
- Oakland’s sideshows have been causing a lot of trouble
- Residents installed their own speed bumps to stop the noise
- But the City has ripped them up
Published on May 30, 2025 at 8:38 PM (UTC+4)
by Jack Marsh
Last updated on May 30, 2025 at 8:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Residents in Oakland, California, have become angered as the City has removed ‘illegal’ speed bumps from public roads that were intended to crack down on the notorious nightly sideshows.
Oakland is a breeding ground for exhilarating American muscle car action, with drivers gathering in the depths of the night to burn serious rubber.
The ‘sideshows’ are regular for donut fanatics and burnout kings, with unparalleled decibels being ripped from huge engine revs.
But while this all sounds like a bit of fun, Oakland citizens are bereft by a lack of sleep, and tried to solve the problem on their own. Just their answer back was illegal itself.
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While we’ve heard of fighting fire with fire, these Oakland residents have taken a small flame to try and put out a roaring inferno.
Yet when it comes to City authorities, they’ve actually decided to crack down on the flicker of light that the Oakland people created.
The residents installed their own speed bumps on the roads, unsanctioned by the State, in a bid to prevent the lawless rallies and noisy nightriding.
The method appeared to be working, too, as we all know that supercar kryptonite is speed bumps.
However, the City has now unbolted the speed bumps from the road and removed them.

This wouldn’t be the first time either, as they previously ejected self-made tyre barriers filled with mortar weights, which were intended to also slow down the motley sideshows.
To little shock, the residents were left aggrieved.
“We had a solution, we had a solution that was working,” one resident, Michael Andemeskel, speaking on Fox News, said.
“The city decided to rip it up because it wasn’t their solution.
“I just don’t understand what they want from us. We’ve been completely reasonable and cooperative,” he explained.
Josh Rowan, Oakland’s director of transportation, said that the speed bumps were a ‘risk’ though, hence their removal
“The behaviors that frustrate everyone frustrate us too. When it comes to solutions, their solutions are increasing risk on the street,” he said.
“We want to work with [residents]. We want to get solutions that solve this problem. But they keep getting out in front of us. And that’s not helping either us or them.”

Usually, such tarmac-greasing rubber-burning donuts and burnouts resonate with the underground clubs in Tokyo, but since America has gotten the bug for such rallies, Oakland has been in a bit of bother.
Whether or not the City will intervene with a solution of its own is yet to be seen.
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