MAC Meeting: Law Enforcement Provides Updates
In a unique Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting this week, the board received updates from BART, the California Highway Patrol, and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, with rare opportunities to have detailed questions and answer sessions with each.
BART District 5 Director Melissa Hernandez gave an update on BART rider initiatives and safety,
The California Highway Patrol gave an update on traffic enforcement by Officer Jennifer Pabst, and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office shared their crime statistics with an update from Sergeant Marcus Cox and Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez. The public had a chance to question officials directly, but no one, either in-person or remotely, chose to do so.
On the BART front, Hernandez said that safety is a top priority and acknowledged that many people do not feel safe when they are on the train, especially " a lot of women feel that BART is unsafe. "
To combat that, she says they’ve doubled the number of officers patrolling the system and are deep cleaning the cars every 450 hours of use.
Additionally, new full-coverage fare gates are being installed to prevent ticket evaders. They have been installed in higher-violation stations, including West Oakland, Civic Center, and Fruitvale, and are set for installation at the Richmond, 24th Street, and Antioch stations this month. The system-wide installation is set to be completed by the end of 2025.
On the CHP side, Officer Pabst said that roads have been on a safety upswing lately- with no fatal crashes during Labor Day weekend in this service area.
Pabst said August statistics in Castro Valley included 208 traffic citations, 7 DUI arrests, 9 injury crashes, 19 non-injury crashes, 1 stolen car recovered, and 8 cars towed.
Pabst also shared that the CHP will be conducting enhanced enforcement locally focusing on school zones, distracted drivers, and pedestrian safety.
MAC Chair Chuck Moore asked Pabst what they could do about speed limits on Crow Canyon Road. Moore said that it is virtually impossible to safely accelerate on the heavily traffic road while pulling a large and heavy livestock trailer, for instance.
“The state and county just really don’t understand the needs of the agricultural folks sometimes,” said Moore. He said that roads like Crow Canyon and Palomares were once almost totally agricultural, but are now among the most heavily commuted, so things need to change.
Pabst said that the CHP doesn’t make the laws, they enforce them and that the CHP, MAC, and county should get together to look into the issue, possibly using AB43, the 2021 ordinance that allows city governments to drop speed limits by 5 m.p.h.
Finally, the Sheriff’s Office gave an update, and Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez herself stopped by to answer questions from the public and MAC.
Sanchez said that “quality of life” issues are a priority and that “if little things are allowed, they slowly fester and become worse,” so she feels “no call or issue is too small” and encourages the public to reach out to her office.
“We are service providers,” said Sanchez. "I love it when we get feedback. It's upon me to make sure we are accessible.”
Sergeant Cox said that community involvement is the key to public safety. He said Castro Valley “does very well” overall in crime statistics.
“Does it have crime? Yes. I don’t think there is anywhere in the world--especially in the Bay Area--without crime, but compared to (neighboring communities) Castro Valley’s statistics are not even close,” said Cox.
But, cautioned Cox, having a nice town means being attractive to criminals.
“A nice area comes with nice things,” said Cox. “People know that and come here to commit crimes.”