At the August 6, 2020 Infrastructure Committee meeting, Hank Phan, OakDOT staff presented on the KONO (Koreatown-Northgate-Waverly) Rapid Response Project.

“Telegraph Avenue is a special place in Oakland, where we come together to create community and support commerce. It is also a high-injury network corridor, where we have a shared urgency to provide safe transportation for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, local businesses and residents—and where a recent tragic crash demands immediate action. The City of Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) has heard loud and clear from this community that safety is the top priority for our streets and sidewalks, and we will continue to listen and collaborate on solutions.

OakDOT is finishing up a permanent design for Telegraph Avenue from 20th St. to 29th St. that will be constructed in 2021. In the meantime, the Department will install interim treatments in 2020 that address lessons learned from the 2016 street design currently on Telegraph Ave.

The interim treatments are:

1. Bollards between bike lane and parking, and around beige painted safety zones
2. Clear and more frequent stencils to indicate the lane against the curb is in fact a bike lane
3. Slower right turns with special turning speed humps
4. Restricting left turns and through movements at key intersections with bollards (23rd St., 25th St., and Sycamore St.)”

Download the above flyer here [PDF].
See more info about the full Telegraph Avenue Corridor Improvements—from 20th Street to 52nd Street—here.

Notes from the Infrastructure Committee

Presentation

• Collision occurred earlier this year. A left-turning driver hit a bike rider at Telegraph/25th St.
• The left-turn prohibitions at 23rd St, 25th St, and Sycamore were originally planned for September installation, but now are being held off until further discussion with stakeholders.

Discussion

• Why were these three intersections chosen for turn prohibitions, is it based on crash analysis?
  • Yes, based on data available so far, but OakDOT is now doing further analysis before implementing any changes.
• Can advance stop and yield lines be implemented in the short term ahead of stop signs/signals and uncontrolled crosswalks, even if the rest of the project requires more outreach and communications first?
  • Staff will look into it.
• Are all the new bollards a distraction for drivers? Concern about clutter and driver attention.
  • Unknown. The intent is to preserve sight lines, data will continue to be collected.
• D3 council staff reported on meeting with business owners & other stakeholders earlier in the day—mentioned that turn prohibitions wasn’t a popular option—further coordination with Department on Race and Equity about the additional impacts of current & planned street/sidewalk infrastructure beyond crashes.
• Comments shared about the need for additional stop controls at more intersections, more parking removal needed in order to improve sight lines