SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The sound of engines revving and tires skidding from nearby sideshows aren't out of the ordinary when you live along a dead end street in the Meadowview neighborhood of South Sacramento.
It's something Shirley Chand says she's used to, but they're getting worse and becoming more frequent since pandemic restrictions eased.
"I've lived here like 11 years now, but very recently it's become the top nuisance in the neighborhood," said Chand. "[Sideshow participants] are pretty young, too."
With Chand's house along a street frequented by sideshows, she says it wasn't long before police began asking her for porch camera footage to help identify vehicles and suspects.
She says some folks in the neighborhood may not think sharing footage with law enforcement will lead to major change, but they need to do all they can if they want sideshows gone.
"With the police's hands tied, I think we are the ones who need to step up and do something," she said.
Residents say sideshows are spiraling out of control
Just a few weeks ago, a sideshow involving more than 200 cars led to a person firing a gun into the crowd of people. Only four cars were impounded.
The Feb. 25 incident near Florin Road and Amherst Drive happened just blocks away from Claude Arretche.
"We have people doing donuts on a regular basis," he said.
Neighbors concerned over the frequency of sideshows were hoping to speak at a Traffic Safety Town Hall Thursday with city councilmembers... and then it was postponed a second time.
An email sent to residents by Councilmember Mai Vang's office says the town hall is postponed to ensure all speakers are able to attend and answer questions.
"We understand that this change may cause great inconvenience for you and we sincerely apologize for the short notice. We will update you with the new date and location as soon as they are confirmed," reads the email.
Land Park community advocate Kathi Windheim says she understands the difficulty in police responding to sideshows quickly as multiple sideshows can be happening around the city at the same time.
While catalytic converter thefts are also a growing issue in the neighborhood, Windheim says way more people are put in danger during sideshows as opposed to the thefts.
She referenced a Feb. 11 incident where sideshow participants surrounded a family van attempting to drive through the large crowd.
"You don't want to be driving on the street and all of the sudden you're surrounded. The best thing to do is get away, even if you have to leave your vehicle to get out of the area," said Windheim.
As a community leader, she receives many videos from neighbors of sideshows happening outside their homes.
She also suggests neighbors with porch cameras send their videos to police, as well as share the videos with other neighbors in case they can identify vehicles or suspects.
Living along a long dead-end street, Chand says she wouldn't mind seeing more speed bumps and other traffic obstacles requiring cars to slow down, and possibly even prevent sideshows.
"(Sideshow drivers) would come any time of the night and any time of the day," she said.
Councilmember Vang's office referred ABC10 to Sacramento police when asked for comment about the concerns of community members.
