This is just one more reason why those who hand out money to the beggars on the I780 WB offramp need to stop. It encourages them to continue with their self destructive behavior. Right up to camping nearby.

Donate your charity to those that can actually help these folks, rather than giving to them directly to feed their habit. There are many options in this town.

Give them a hand up but, not a hand out.

I agree with you. The police should be notified instead of loitering.

Issue 4022918 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Mike:

The off ramp is Caltrans property. For continuing resolution, it's probably best that we all start contacting Caltrans about this. I contacted them a couple of years back and pointed out that the beggars at that location were also camping in the heavy brush under the overpass on that very steep hillside and a danger not only to themselves, but to the traffic below and on the off ramp. It took almost a year but, they finally came and stripped the hillsides bare there which pushed the squatters out. This worked well for the last couple of years.

But now, as always seem to be the case, this new encampment is growing. On Friday 01/12, the usual man & woman w/dogs and signs along with another individual had set up operations on the WB I780 offramp for Glen Cove Road. And when I looked up at the encampment above the onramp on the other side of I780, they had hung numerous sleeping bags/blankets on the cyclone fence to air and dry.

It will only get worse until they're given the boot as harsh as that may seem. VPD won't enforce because this is Caltrans property. But, animal control out to be checking for licenses and confiscating any unlicensed/unvaccinated animals they are harboring as a public health issue. That might send these folks on their way.

What about the CHP? It's my understanding the California Highway Patrol enforces California Highways.

That's a thought. But, to "enforce" they would have to be breaking a law. What law is being broken? We'd need to know that. I'm pretty sure that camping on state freeway right of way is verboten.

And, I'm also sure the various patrol officers assigned to this beat have noticed the camp and for whatever reason, decided not to take any action.

Maybe, if we call CHP dispatch and tell them there in an encampment on the hillside on freeway right-of-way, and that it's dangerous for the squatters as well as motorists we can goad them into action.

FYI: I've had some experience dealing with a large encampment of squatters on some vacant land my company owns in another city. The officers that were finally called in after a long process to evict them indicated they wished they could do more because this was just going to keep happening. But they felt their hands were tied by the department's policies which reflected a "go easy" attitude of the mayor and city council. So all they did was order them out.

By law, we had to hire someone to clean up their mess and hold all of their "belongings" for 30 days to allow them to come and get them if they wanted them. Ridiculous!

The fix I dreamed of was handing out invitations for free food and lodging and listing the home addresses of the city council members and the mayor. Of course I never acted on it figuring I'd end up being the one in jail.

In Antioch the police are working with the CHP to clear the intersections and medians of pan handlers. And, the City has posted signs at frequented spots that read: " Say No to Panhandling. Contribute to the Solution. Give to Local Charities.

https://tinyurl.com/ybrc6cel

What we might want to do is aggravate them as much as they aggravate us. i.e. spray them with water. Blow those loud air horns in their direction as we take the off ramp. Sit on the off ramp with our own signs saying "Please don't feed the animals".

Things like that. Make them uncomfortable so they move on. They need to be willing to help themselves before anyone else can help them. When they pan handle and camp like that, they are indicating that they are unwilling to help themselves.

Have you ever noticed that on SR29 you see pan handlers on the sidewalks and in the median all the way up to the American Canyon border and then they seem to disappear?

My guess is Vallejo has a hands off policy while American Canyon has a "we will not be Vallejo" attitude and is aggressive in their enforcement of anti-vagrancy/loitering laws. If so, it's pretty apparent which one works well.

Solano county has one of the highest homeless ratios with Vallejo being the big winner. Its obvious that the city neither has the means, funds or wherewithal to get the problem solved. Which is either city incompetence coupled with inefficient funding or simply a 'who cares'. But its overwhelming in the scope of the problem of homeless along with the trash and plight they bring with them. Good for AC of having a zero tolerance, guess our city officials just turn their heads to the situation. I am tired of all the excuses, reasons,etc. nothing ever seems to change in this city. Blight, trash, dirty and dangerous, that's how I describe Vallejo.

Have any of you tried calling the Mayors office at 707648-4377? I have always found their office to be very responsive to my needs. Maybe a few call from several different individuals could be instrumental in getting some action. i know SeeClickFix can do many thing well but some things may require help from someone a little higher on the food chain.

Yep, right on target, Concerned Citizen.

Somehow American Canyon has the resources to "Remove panties draped on fire hydrant" (yes, that's a real issue up there), repeatedly someone is sent out to correct the problem within hours of the entry here on SCF. Maybe they should block the content from American Canyon, it shows how poor this city really is at responding.

Although I don't support harassing the homeless by throwing water on them etc.

I wonder if Vallejo could start a volunteer program for people that would like to do more the trash and dumping in this city, more than talk about it that is. Similar to the Cal-trans adopt a highway. I personally would be happy to join. My husband and I routinely walk our neighborhood and pick up any trash. Something needs to happen, because the status quo is not working.

Thanks for reporting! This issue is not under the jurisdiction of Vallejo Public Works, and should be addressed by Caltrans. We have forwarded your issue to them. You can follow up with them by calling 916-654-2852. In the future, you can submit a Maintenance Service Request to Caltrans district 4 on their website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/d4address.htm. Thanks again for using SeeClickFix!