At the October 19, 2023 BPAC meeting, Becky Frank and Hunter Oatman-Stanford, transportation planners from the Office of Regional and Community Planning at Caltrans District 4, introduced Caltrans’ Vision 980 Study.

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An excerpt of the presentation is below, followed by the full presentation and a summary of discussion.

Project summary

• What: To improve connections between West Oakland and Downtown Oakland
• Why: I-980 is a barrier to travel and economic opportunities
• How: In collaboration with partners, stakeholders and the public

Focus on:

• Acknowledging past injustices and racist decision making Reintegrating communities
• Addressing environmental justice
• Improving transportation options

Project phases

• Phase 1: Identify a new concept and vision for transportation and land use along the entire I-980 corridor.
• Phase 2: Perform a more detailed feasibility and technical analysis of the concept/vision.
• Develop an evaluation framework to ensure the vision meets equity performance measures or benchmarks.

Explore options:

• Improving public transit connections
• Providing pedestrian and bicycle paths or bridges
• Redesigning roadways and over/underpasses for walking, biking, transit
• Capping the freeway to expand open space
• Transforming the freeway to create new land use opportunities

Presentation

Summary of discussion

• Phase 1 of the study is planned to begin in 2024, and to conclude in Summer 2025.
• Phase 2 to conclude by Summer 2027. City of Oakland was a co-applicant for Phase 2 and will share
  that Phase with Caltrans.
• Other City of Oakland studies, plans, and projects have included comments on Highway 980, so the
  Vision 980 study should reference those comments.
• Elaine Brown’s 1992 memoir, A Taste of Power, includes context on the Black Panthers’ lobbying in
  the 1970s to finish construction of Highway 980 to increase vehicular access to jobs in Oakland’s
  City center.
• An Interstate 580 Transit and Multimodal Strategy study by the Alameda County Transportation
  Commission (ACTC) will examine the extent to which freight trucks need to use I-580, and a
  Request for Proposals is about to be released for that study (and will be conducted on a shorter
  timeline than the Vision 980 Study).
• There may be some misinformation in local and/or mass media about what this study is.
• Interstate 980 should be compared to Interstate 880 in terms of racial disparities.
• Caltrans has proposed a number of community meetings and will include community-based
  organizations in its outreach efforts.
• Is social media a valid source of public comment on this project? Consider Nextdoor, Facebook,
  Instagram as tools of an engagement model that may benefit harder-to-reach communities.
• While a limited number of conceptual visualizations will be created for this study, there is no limit
  to the number of options for the future of Highway 980. The hope is that the local community will
  coalesce around one vision for the Highway.
• Repaving work on Oakland’s streets should not be affected by the study.
• How will the decision-making process look like at the end of the public input process? In the case
  that it is recommended that the Interstate highway be removed, State legislative action and
  collaboration between Caltrans and the City of Oakland would be required.
• To better reflect the variety of lived experiences around I-980, Caltrans needs to hear from all
  communities impacted by this study. Sign up to provide feedback and learn more about study
  activities.