Oakland – Temescal – parking (apartment, renter, crime)

[much_obliged]

I’m moving to Oakland - into the Temescal neighborhood. Unfortunately my apartment does not come with parking so I will need to use street parking. Thankfully I won’t be using a car to commute to and from work.

Is getting a residential parking permit in Oakland a pain? Is it better to do it via mail, or go in person? The city website seems pretty disorganized which imparts some trepidation about the application process in my mind.

How patrolled by parking enforcement are the quieter residential streets? The law says you must move your car every 72 hours. What if I am out of town for a week? Will I get ticketed and towed? Will my car get broken into? I never leave anything visibly in my car. How’s the property crime in Temescal these days?

[artemis78]

It is easy to get a permit. Residential streets are relatively heavily patrolled for permits but not for the 72-hour rule; in my experience they really only enforce that when people call cars in. So to that end, the best way to deal with it is to establish a good relationship with your neighbors so that they know you and recognize your car, and be very, very (VERY!) careful that when you park--and especially when you park if you are going to be out of town--not to block your neighbors' driveways. Even just a tiny little bit. When they do enforce that rule, I've only seen them ticket unless a car was blocking part of a driveway, in which case they will tow at the request of the driveway owner.

Welcome to Oakland!

[TooMuchData]

72 hour rule: Agreed that it's only enforced when someone calls it in. And then you should have 72 hours from the time the parking enforcement person first verifies the location of your car. Keep your neighbors happy and it should not be an issue. Personally I'd rather pay for airport parking than risk it, but the risk is very low. Obviously don't block anyone's driveway, not even an inch, but that should go without saying.

Parking permit: Not all of Temescal is permitted. I take it you'll be in Area N near MacArthur BART. You'll have to prove residence to get the permit of course, which you probably will not be able to do until you actually move. Until the permit comes in find parking towards the north and/or east to get out of Area N.

Car break-ins: Like in any city and most parts of the bay area, leave absolutely nothing visible. If you leave something visible your car may be broken into at any time of day, even (especially) right around the corner from restaurants. If nothing is visible your car is highly unlikely to get broken into. A surprising amount of people do not seem to comprehend this, so you will see broken car window glass all the time. Almost always something was left visible.

Car theft: If you have a car which is easy to steal, especially one that is both easy and desirable like an old Honda, get The Club as a deterrent. This is a must in most parts of the bay area.

Home burglary: This happens sometimes, usually (not always) during the workday. Temescal is very central, very convenient, and just affluent enough that the residents often have things worth stealing. You're probably less of a target in an apartment building than in a SFH, though it might depend on the layout of the building. Being on a higher floor is probably better, just for the inconvenience. I'd give basic advice on securing your windows and doors, but as a renter you probably don't want to invest in the landlord's home. Plus most homes in California are made of wood, so burglars can and occasionally do just cut a hole into them if they really want in. (Home burglaries occur all over the bay area. Marin is probably your best bet for avoiding them, though that is a guess, not a statement based on facts. Burglaries are somewhat common even in the nice parts of the peninsula, SF, east bay, and south bay.)

Hold ups: It's been a long while since I've heard of a hold up at gunpoint in Temescal. That said they did happen in years past. The most common scenario was a person walking home from BART after dark in the winter, with headphones/earphones on or otherwise not paying much attention to surroundings. But there were exceptions to that as well. Temescal's central location definitely played a role here.

[much_obliged]

Update: Getting the permit in person was a cinch. I went with all the required documents at 2:00 PM on a weekday and didn't even have to wait in any line.

Parking is always easy to find within a block radius.

The neighbors tell me they haven't heard of any home invasions in the immediate vicinity in about 2 years. They did reiterate not leaving anything visible in your car.

I am loving the centrality of Temescal - walkable and bikeable access to the diverse adjoining neighborhoods and friendly neighbors.

[TooMuchData]

Glad you're liking Temescal!