At the October 15, 2020 BPAC meeting, the 2021 Recruitment Committee reported back with recommendations from its review of applications of people seeking to be appointed to the BPAC. The committee is recommending Michael Lok, David Ralston, and Jeremiah Maller (alternate) be appointed for the 2021-2023 term. Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by City Council.

Summary of Discussion

• Michael Lok received praise for his bicycle-related work in Chinatown.
• David Ralston was acknowledged for his important community-based work on the San Leandro Creek Greenway.
• Midori Tabata received thanks from her fellow committee members for leading their work.

A motion to recommend Michael Lok, David Ralston, and Jeremiah Maller (alternate) be appointed for the 2021-2023 term was made (Schader), seconded (Burnette), and approved by consent.

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The applicants who were considered were:

First name	Last name	Home zip code	Closest major intersection to home	Council District #	Work city
Gordon	Douglas	94606	14th Ave / Foothill Blvd	2	San Jose
Michael	Lock	94611	Mountain Blvd / Thornhill Dr	4	Oakland
Felix	Sargent	94612	San Pablo Ave / W Grand Ave	4	Oakland
Brenda	Goodrich	94611	Broadway / 51st St	1	Oakland
Joseph	Lawlor Jr	94606	Foothill Blvd / 14th Ave	5	Martinez
Cathy	Dinas	94610	Grand Ave / Lakeshore Ave	2	–
Paige	Peltzer	94610	MacArthur Blvd / Grand Ave	2	San Francisco
Stephanie	Beechem	94611	W MacArthur Blvd / Broadway	3	Oakland
Liz	Binning	94608	San Pablo Ave / W MacArthur Blvd	1	San Francisco
Natalie	Mall	94609	Shattuck Ave / Alcatraz Ave	1	Oakland
Sigrida	Reinis	94611	Tunnel Rd / Skyline Blvd	1	Oakland
David	Ralston	94610	Mandana Blvd / Lakeshore Ave	2	San Francisco
Jeremiah	Maller	94607	Mandela Pkwy / 7th St	3	San Francisco

Michael Lok

Please tell us how your qualifications and participation will relate to the requested board and/or commission’s mission.

“Thank you for the opportunity to potentially serve on the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission. I have been interested particularly in pedestrian safety issues ever since I was a high school youth and volunteered with Asian Health Services when due to a pedestrian hit and run fatality of a senior in Chinatown led to the advocacy for the first pedestrian scramble crosswalk in Oakland. That experience was what propelled me to study political science in school and eventually earn a Master’s in Public Policy.

One of the main things making me want to serve on this Commission was the recent hit and run outside Garfield Elementary and I hope this Commission through working with city agencies and advising the city leadership can help make a difference in improving safety for all modes of transportation in and around our City. For the last few years as a D4 resident, there has been similar concerns around bike and pedestrian safety in and around parks and schools.

In my 11 years working in Oakland for different organizations and institutions, I have focused on improving access and equity for under-served communities. While much of my work has been focused on District 2 and 3, all of them have been analyzed in a citywide context when looking at regional planning processes like the Lake Merritt BART Redevelopment, Downtown Oakland Specific Plan, and Oakland Alameda Access Project which impact more than their immediate neighborhoods. My career has focused on looking at how to reduce the gaps of traditionally underserved communities including but not limited to communities of color, immigrants, limited English speaking, LGBT and formerly incarcerated and I would welcome the opportunity to explore bicycle and pedestrian access issues from those lenses. Thank you for your consideration, Michael Lok”

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David Ralston

Please tell us how your qualifications and participation will relate to the requested board and/or commission’s mission.

“First of all I am a long-time avid bicyclist and have lived, commuted and traversed Oakland by bicycle (and walking) from Skyline to the Bay Trail for the last 25-years. As a planner, I have been directly involved in the design and implementation of bicycle facilities from the Mills-Laurel Project to the San Leandro Creek Greenway. In addition to being a project manager for numerous Oakland streetscape/complete street projects, I have worked hand-in-hand with local bicycle groups such as WOBO and the Scraper Bike team developing plans for bike boulevards and mid-intersection traffic islands. I have worked and advised on earlier versions of the Bike and Ped Plan as well as how these plans connect with the City’s Sustainable Community Strategies.

The specific passion for which I seek to be part of the BPAC is to help in the development of inter-agency plans (e.g. with Caltrans and MTC) and state/regional funding for bike-ped connectors from our flatland communities and neighborhoods -crossing the freeway and railroad tracks – to the waterfront/ Bay-Trail. This is an imperative need and the opportunity for building this kind of green active transit network has never been closer. Thank you.”

Jeremiah Maller

Please tell us how your qualifications and participation will relate to the requested board and/or commission’s mission.

“I would love to join BPAC to support increases in pedestrian and bicycle transportation in Oakland by identifying and overcoming barriers to access. I would like to empower historically underrepresented stakeholders in disadvantaged communities to express their needs and achieve transit policy objectives by initiating conversations, seeking their input and amplifying their voices to Oak DOT, Oakland City Council, and the Planning Commission.

I gained experience empowering under-represented stakeholders from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds working as a social worker with young adults who are homeless and mentally ill for four years in East Oakland. I believe in listening and making space for under-represented voices to be heard. I’m committed to cultural humility and identifying and challenging deep institutional and social roots of bias and racism both as an introspective process and in dialogue with communities. I’m committed to advocating for anti-racist transportation policy in Oakland and working in a collaborative spirit based on group consensus.

I’ve relied on bicycling, walking, and public transit as my sole means of transport since 2012, when I sold my car. Since moving to the Bay Area 13 years ago, I commute daily across the bay by BART (with my bicycle) as I live in Oakland and work in San Francisco. Recreational bicycle rides are my primary pastime on weekends. I biked over 7,000 miles last year, most of it in the Bay Area. I’m familiar with how many bus and train routes connect to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in communities around the bay. I believe increased walking, public transit and bicycle use are a vital part of the solution to climate change and community health.

My undergraduate degree in Political Science and master’s degree in Economics equip me with tools to assess and evaluate the impact of proposed transportation policies, understand project proposals, and craft resolutions and recommendations. My employment as a Data Analyst equips me with tools to gather, analyze and present data relevant to transit policy decisions. I’ve been a member of both Bike East Bay and SF Bicycle Coalition for 10+ years, since moving to the Bay Area in 2007. I started attending Oakland BPAC meetings in Nov 2019. I started attending all bi-monthly meetings of the BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force in Dec 2019. I’m a member of three recreational bicycle clubs in Alameda County: Oakland Yellow Jackets, Grizzly Peak Cyclists, and Berkeley Bicycle Club.

As a BPAC Commissioner I would prioritize and champion these BPAC 2019 Strategic Plan Goals emphasizing community input and working closely with councilmembers: Goal 1.4 & 1.5 Outreach to councilmembers in each district and Public Works Committee, Goal 2.3 Provide input about projects early in in the process, Goal 3.2 Get more community input on projects, Goal 4.3 Get relevant info from the Commission into the community and seek community input. 4.5 Make use of connections with councilmembers. Goals 6.1 & 6.3 Fiscal oversight and monitoring. As a BPAC Commissioner I would advocate for robust evaluation and monitoring over time of progress in closing ped and bicycle transportation access disparities in disadvantaged neighborhoods. My favorite sections of the Oakland Bike Plan emphasize transportation justice for disadvantaged neighborhoods. I would leverage this analysis to encourage councilmembers to prioritize meaningful investments in disadvantaged neighborhoods. My favorite sections are: P.125 Disparities between – Share of existing bikeways and disadvantaged population by zone, P. 131 Distribution of priority projects by zone relative to disadvantaged population by zone. If selected, I would commit to attending all BPAC meetings and continue to attend bimonthly BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force meetings to stay informed and facilitate communication between groups. I’m interested in serving on the Infrastructure Committee or Planning Commission Review Committee.”