Living by the water is many people’s dream, but the reality of that dream may not always be what it seems. In Oakland, California, residents trying to enjoy a walk near the river are furious that homeless encampments are forcing them to take an alternative, more dangerous route.

Oakland residents came together to slam city council president Nikki Fortunato Bas in angry blog posts for failing to clear tents, belongings, and people that obstruct the scenic waterway bike path.

Rudick notes that the city built the bike and pedestrian path over a decade ago to encourage residents to get outside and enjoy the scenic walk near the channel that goes under both Lake Merritt Boulevard and the Nimitz Freeway.

Now, Oakland pedestrians and bikers must navigate through eight lanes of traffic on Lake Merritt Boulevard to continue their route, dodging traffic moving at high speeds. And this isn’t a new problem.

Many locals have commented that they have been complaining about the encampment blockage, writing on Reddit that they have pleaded with the city council to remove the people living there.

Rudick and the Reddit user were not the only ones to complain about the “entitlement” of the unhoused who are living under the freeway, crowding the sidewalk to the point that it is unworkable for locals.

Many locals believe that the level of “entitlement” and harassment coming from the residents of the encampment falls on the shoulders of President Bas.

A long-delayed project to fence in Peralta Park, which runs along the bike path, is what is causing the delay in the trash and encampment removal. Now, Rudick reports that the city is expanding the tall black fencing to the bike path.

Rudick warns that it is only a matter of time before Bas must confront the issue under Lake Merritt Boulevard. He fears that it will take a serious accident to happen on the eight-lane highways for Bas to act.

The fence under the freeway is meant to prevent encampments and protect residents from injury during construction, but photos of missing bars show that people are moving into the park, forcing residents to take a more dangerous path.

In an email from Bas to Streetsblog, she writes, “On March 18, the Measure DD [which is supposed to fund parks] community advisory group voted unanimously to approve funds for the installation of the fence as proposed to enclose the entire park, with daytime access to the public.”

Oakland’s unhousing issue has been a problem affecting the Bay Area for years. More than 170 unhoused encampments cover entire city blocks. One of the largest encampments is located along the 880 freeway across from the Embarcadero.

Oakland’s unhoused population keeps growing, and the city is trying to find a solution as Newsom puts his boot down, threatening to fine cities that are unable to clean up their streets.

Earlier this year, Oakland and Alameda County released their latest homelessness tallies, which occur every two years. This report, mandated by the federal government for any jurisdiction that receives funding to address the crisis, shows the estimated number of people on the streets.

The 2024 count found 5,490 people living without permanent housing in Oakland. This reflects a 9% increase over the previous point-in-time count in 2022, which found 5,055.

The numbers also show that Alameda County’s overhaul unhouse population decreased by 3% over the last two years. The number of homeless youth and veterans throughout the county dropped, too.

In the last five years, the unhoused population in Oakland has been slowing down. Between 2017 and 2019, the population grew by 47%. Between 2019 and 2022, the population grew by 24%.

“Oakland is delighted to have bent the curve for what has been a constant double-digit increase, trending ridiculously high,” Assistant City Administrator LaTonda Simmons told The Oaklandside.

Simmons also attributed the city’s slower growth rate to stronger collaboration with the county as well as Oakland’s “encampment management” work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the country moved thousands of people off the streets and into converted “Roomkey” hotels. Many of the residents who stayed in these hotels were moved into permanent housing.

While the city is making the effort to move people off the streets and into securing housing, the unhoused residents and supporters are critical of Oakland’s approach to encampment management.

Residents often complain that the shelters available to them do not offer enough resources to support their needs. Others state that the limited shelter options put them in a place where they would have to give up some of their comforts like their pets.

Mayor Sheng Thao, who is currently facing a recall election, said that the city is trying to find the funds in their current budget to combat the ongoing crisis affecting the unhoused population and residents alike.

One way that Oakland is trying to help limit the amount of people living on the streets is through Measure U, an infrastructure bond that voters approved in 2022. The bond was the largest single source of affordable housing funds the city had ever seen.