At the June 16, 2022 BPAC meeting, OakDOT Transportation Planners Charlie Ream and Celina Chan presented on two projects, the 66th Ave Coliseum BART to Bay Trail project (this post) and the Laurel Access to Mills, Maxwell Park & Seminary (LAMMPS) – Phase 2 project.

These projects and the 27th St Bay Pl Project which was heard at the May BPAC meeting was submitted as One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) applications for the June 30, 2022 deadline. Staff requested the commission review the checklists attached for each of the three projects and share comments back to Charlie Ream by June 23, 2022.

An excerpt of the presentation is below, followed by the full presentation.

About the project

Residents of East Oakland currently have no way to access the Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline by foot or on bike. This green space is totally cut off from the low-income neighborhoods of East Oakland by the 880 Freeway, various railroad tracks, and wide swaths of industrial land. The nearest bicycle connection to the Oakland shoreline is on Fruitvale Avenue, and in the 4.2 miles between Fruitvale Avenue and the San Leandro City border, there is one pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the 880 freeway, close to 98th Avenue.

This project seeks to finally create a connection from East Oakland to the Shoreline for people walking and biking on 66th Avenue between San Leandro Street and Oakport Street. The roadway today is a maze of freeway on and off- ramps and is not fit for people biking. OakDOT is working towards applying for Environmental Review and Design Funding from the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Cycle 3, due on June 30, 2022.

Project goals

• Create an off-street biking and walking pathway connecting the East Bay Greenway (San Leandro Street) with the MLK Jr Regional Shoreline
• Realign Caltrans freeway ramps to create space for pathway
• Work with Union Pacific Railroad on safe crossing treatments
• Add AC Transit bus stops to the Dil Damon Slough trailhead

Schedule/next steps

• Now: Updating 2018 Design
  • Meetings with Caltrans
  • Planning for UPRR permitting
• June 30, 2022: One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Application
  • Only Environmental (NEPA), Design (with Caltrans and UPRR coordination), and ROW phases
  • High-level Construction cost estimate: $20-30M (previous estimate for ATP Cycle 4: $16.5M)
  • Design at 20%: $4-6M
• Early 2023: Grant Award Notifications
• Summer 2023: Council Appropriates Funds
• Fall 2023 – Spring 2024: RFP for Consultant Support for Design + Outreach
• Spring 2024: Begin Detailed Design and Environmental Review
  • Caltrans Coordination.
  • UPRR Coordination/Negotiation
• Final Grant Obligation Deadline: January 31, 2027
• Seek Construction Funding

Presentation