In a unanimous vote, the Antioch City Council passed an ordinance to put the brakes on sideshow activities. These events have become a blight in numerous Bay Area cities, often marked by screeching tires and cheering crowds. Antioch's leadership has had enough, and as reported by NBC Bay Area, their new policy doesn't just target the drivers—it also cracks down on those who organize, advertise, and even those who simply spectate at these gatherings.
During the council meeting, CBS News San Francisco detailed how residents are affected, with one Antioch resident expressing the disruption caused by sideshows: "All the dogs start barking, people are scared. You feel like something is about to hit your home." The same resident described an incident involving around 200 people, making police intervention efforts futile due to blocked roads. Expressions of distress echo through these communities, underscoring the council's decision to take decisive action. Especially when individual cars often arrive at intersections at 3 a.m. just to practice for about five minutes.
Under the new ordinance, advertising a sideshow or even sharing a social media post about one might land a person in hot water. Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe warned, as per NBC Bay Area, "You can be arrested, you can be fined up to $1,000 and you can spend time in jail. You will be prosecuted". Antioch officials are intent on demonstrating their seriousness about contending with this issue, as it disrupts the community and poses real dangers.
However, the legalities around the ordinance are not without criticism. With concern for the inherent legal challenges of punishing spectators, a legal analyst, Steven Clark, posed a potent question, as cited by NBC Bay Area: "The big question will be can the city of Antioch give someone a citation that could subject them to six months of jail, for merely watching a sideshow." The ordinance's upcoming second reading in July, followed by its expected implementation this fall, could answer these legal quandaries.
Mayor Hernandez-Thorpe has been a vocal advocate for the crackdown on sideshows, expressing a no-nonsense attitude toward the ordinance's passage and enforcement. As he put it, as per CBS News San Francisco, "That is what we get paid to do: to vote. And that's it. It's not complicated and it ain't rocket science."
