A frequent theme in the comments of those who voted in the online FatBurger poll—both “Yes” and “No”—was how bad they feel the existing Kwik Way is. The Kwik Way was frequently derided for being a “run-down dump” and an eyesore, having poor food, being dirty inside and out, and being a scene for drug dealing. The word “blight” was commonly used. Excerpts from those comments….

Residents living closer to the Kwik Way were much more likely to vote in the FatBurger poll and opposed FatBurger more strongly than those who live more than a mile away. Why?

As of the originally announced end of the poll, Febrary 11 at 10 PM, a total of 390 self-identified Oakland voters voiced overall opposition online to a proposal for the Kwik Way drive-in restaurant to be replaced by a FatBurger. “No”s (48.5%) beat the “Yes”s (41.8%). Residents within a half mile of the site were even stronger in their opposition: 57.3% voted “No” vs. 32.5% “Yes.”

However, the deadline appeared this morning to have been extended a week. Subsequently, this extension was apparently reversed. The “Kwik Way Location” is now listed as a “Closed Issue,” and “The Decision” is “under review, February 11, 2007.”

Council member Pat Kernighan has launched an online poll to assess neighborhood opinion about the proposal for a FatBurger restaurant to open in the Kwik Way Building. The poll runs through Sunday, February 11, at 10 PM.