AC Transit announced Wednesday that it will be ending its weekend night bus detours along a popular stretch of Downtown Oakland.
It was being done for safety purposes but with reinforcements coming in from local law enforcement, the agency feels buses can once again travel the street on weekend nights.
Changes will be in effect starting on Friday, with AC Transit buses no longer detouring along Broadway between 15th and 20th streets.
Since August of 2022, nighttime detours were put in place on weekend nights due to activity that prevented buses from using the street.
“The community was experiencing a significant number of people coming out of clubs and bars and spilling over into the streets. There were instances like sideshows and a number of other instances that effectively shut down traffic,” said AC Transit spokesperson Robert Lyles.
Lyles said that both the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office will soon have a presence in the area, in the hopes of preventing these problems from happening.
In a statement from The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, they say the focus will be on “ensuring the bus zones remain clear of illegally parked vehicles, issuing citations, investigating criminal activity and providing various other services”
NBC Bay Area reached out to Oakland police for comment after hours on Wednesday, but did not hear back.
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Oakland city councilmember Carrol Fife applauds the move to end nighttime detours and said “ensuring reliable and accessible public transportation on Broadway is not only essential for maintaining the safety of our community but also for fostering the prosperity of the uptown/downtown business district.”
