Sideshows in Santa Rosa

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A sideshow is an informal demonstration of automotive stunts now often held in vacant parking lots and public intersections. Common activities at sideshows include doughnuts, burnouts, and reckless driving. They are illegal, but are growing in popularity among youth, not only in Santa Rosa but throughout the Bay Area and other communities around California. In Santa Rosa, sideshows have attracted the largest crowds on Friday and Saturday nights – on some occasions drawing more than 400 people. Sometimes they occur in multiple locations in Santa Rosa, at the same time. These events require a tremendous response from the Santa Rosa Police Department, which divert staffing and resources from other calls for service that are not related to sideshows. Sideshows are also impacting the neighborhoods in which they occur in a variety of ways.

Even though sideshows are a complex issue to address, the City of Santa Rosa will continue to find ways to best respond to them. The Office of Community Engagement and the Santa Rosa Police Department will continue to partner with stakeholders to educate and engage with the community, enforce all laws associated with illegal sideshows, and engineer methods to prevent/deter sideshows from forming in Santa Rosa.

Feedback Opportunity

So that we can best address these events and respond to our community, please help us by providing your ideas and feedback. Take the community survey and also drop a pin on the map to let us know where sideshows are happening and how they are impacting your neighborhood.

A sideshow is an informal demonstration of automotive stunts now often held in vacant parking lots and public intersections. Common activities at sideshows include doughnuts, burnouts, and reckless driving. They are illegal, but are growing in popularity among youth, not only in Santa Rosa but throughout the Bay Area and other communities around California. In Santa Rosa, sideshows have attracted the largest crowds on Friday and Saturday nights – on some occasions drawing more than 400 people. Sometimes they occur in multiple locations in Santa Rosa, at the same time. These events require a tremendous response from the Santa Rosa Police Department, which divert staffing and resources from other calls for service that are not related to sideshows. Sideshows are also impacting the neighborhoods in which they occur in a variety of ways.

Even though sideshows are a complex issue to address, the City of Santa Rosa will continue to find ways to best respond to them. The Office of Community Engagement and the Santa Rosa Police Department will continue to partner with stakeholders to educate and engage with the community, enforce all laws associated with illegal sideshows, and engineer methods to prevent/deter sideshows from forming in Santa Rosa.

Feedback Opportunity

So that we can best address these events and respond to our community, please help us by providing your ideas and feedback. Take the community survey and also drop a pin on the map to let us know where sideshows are happening and how they are impacting your neighborhood.

Feedback opportunities have concluded. Thank you.

If you have a questions about sideshows, please take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the right side of the page. If you do not see your question, please leave it here and one of our staff will respond. Thank you!