ABC7 I-Team helps Oakland residents get dangerous sound wall fixed
The ABC7 News I-Team helped residents who live by a sound wall in great disrepair along High Street off-ramp from I-580 in OaklandThe sound wall along the High Street off-ramp from I-580 south in Oakland is in such bad shape that it is a danger to those who live on the other side.
Put yourself in Dino Santiago's shoes: 74 years old, retired after a long career as a Golden Gate Transit bus driver, bought this house by the highway in Oakland 40 years ago. He was there when Caltrans first installed the sound wall in 1983."When it went up, did it make a difference in your quality of life in terms of the sound? Did it make the sound less from the highway?""Oh, definitely, definitely. Well, it's a brand new house to us, OK? We didn't mind it.
But, a lack of maintenance by Caltrans over the years has left the sound wall in very bad shape. Santiago explained, "After this wall starts getting decrepit and everything like that, it still was like the ocean, OK? But like in a tidal wave, bam, splash and all that." Santiago says the sound wall along his property line has suffered six hard car crashes over the years, and many more glancing blows. After a crash knocked down a large section last summer, Caltrans installed a flimsy chain-link fence. Now, Dino says thieves and the unhoused have easy access to his yard."What kinds of things have been stolen?""Oh, my lawn mowers and stuff. I have some tools over there. Hey, a fishing pole. I'm an avid fisherman.
Santiago believes the condition of the area has led to more people thinking his home is an easy target. They broke his windows in October, so he boarded them up and started carrying a gun. "I armed myself, I felt that I had to. Two guys came over here and they thought they were gonna do that, I just raised my shirt up. They saw it and they scrammed."
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