HERCULES (KRON) — The mayor of Hercules is renewing calls for high-speed cameras and license plate readers to be installed along roadways plagued by violence.
Over the past two years, there have been dozens of shootings along Bay Area highways and interstates. Just this week, two people were shot along Interstate 580 in Oakland.
This past Wednesday, shots rang out along I-580 in Oakland. Two people were injured.
Back on Nov. 11, a 26-year-old man was shot while driving along Interstate 80 in Vallejo.
These two most recent attacks are just the latest of more than two dozen highway shootings across the Bay Area in recent months.
“I think anyone who travels on freeways in the Bay Area right now, it’s an issue,” Hercules Mayor Dan Romero said.
Hercules sits at the crossroads of I-80 and Highway 4. The city has seen its fair share of problems.
He says Hercules, along with other cities in west Contra Costa County, have been trying to find ways to stop the violence.
As an example of a possible solution, Romero points to the city of Pittsburg, which installed high-resolution cameras and license plate readers along Highway 4 this past summer.
Since then, things have been quiet along that stretch of roadway.
“It’s a deterrent, and that’s what we want,” Romero said.
Romero wants to follow their lead, and he says the state has offered to help pay for the equipment if they can find someone to manage it.
“The state is still willing to give us some money for license plate readers and high-resolution cameras and shot spotters,” Romero said. “That is still on the table. They have not taken that off. We just need to find a law enforcement agency in west county willing to accept that information.”
Romero also hopes that any city or agency that installs surveillance technology will involve the public in the process.
“Let’s have an open process so all of our residents can participate in that,” Romero said.