ACTC is working in collaboration with the City of Oakland on the development of the East Bay Greenway Multimodal Project, which is a proposed active transportation facility along the BART corridor between Lake Merritt and South Hayward. At the November 2, 2023 BPAC Infrastructure Committee meeting, Matt Bomberg, Senior Transportation Engineer provided an update on the project in Oakland, including key design issues.

An excerpt of the presentation is below, followed by the full presentation [2.4MB PDF], presentation notes, and discussion notes.

What we from BPAC heard last time

• Build low- to no-maintenance infrastructure
• Parking protected bike lanes may become RV parking lanes
• Consider ability to sweep
• Look to foster community stewardship
• Maintenance issues in existing segment
• Explore lighting, public art as part of project

Design issues

• Fire clear width/bike lane width
• Intersection designs/connections to intersecting bikeways
• Daylighting practices
• Buffer island treatments
• Paratransit accommodation and ADA parking
• Garbage staging

Project milestones

• December 2021 – new direction to phase East Bay Greenway •
• June 2022 – San Leandro Council approves concept design
• December 2022 – ATP grant award ($19.5 million)
• May 2023 – Oakland Council approves concept design
• June 2023 – CEQA document filed
• June 2023 – 35% plan circulation
• June 2023 – SCCP grant award ($39 million)
• January 2024 – 65% PS&E circulation
• Seeking additional state and funding
• Spring 2025 anticipated – Design phase completion

Presentation

Presentation notes

• Green segments shown on map are ones that Alameda CTC is working on, orange segments are ones Oakland is working on now, and blue segments are existing segments.
• Looking into raised medians on San Leandro Street to help reduce car speeds reduce pedestrian exposure at crossings.
• Almost $60M in state and federal grants awarded to project, with construction start required by 2025 – Continuing to look into additional funding opportunities.
• 26 feet of clearance width along E 12th Street are or fire access clearance needs, due to elevated BART tracks.
• Looking into mitigating gutter pan impacts on curbside protected bikeway.
• Looking into bikeway intersection upgrades from turn boxes to protected intersections.
  • Trying to avoid protected bikeway islands big enough to park a vehicle on.
• Looking into the level of “daylighting” (clear sight lines) needed at various types of intersections and driveways.
• New stormwater treatment requirements means green infrastructure or other types of pervious surfaces are needed — could potentially be added to the protected bikeway islands.
• Paratransit accommodation has been challenging.
  • AC Transit has requested access design at every property along the corridor if there is no accessible door alongside the street, or off-street parking.
• Looking into garbage pickup & dumpster management, to not block the bikeway or obstruct sight lines.

Discussion notes

• Interested in connection from 54th Ave to High Street.
  • Short segment of shared lane bikeway on 54th Ave, then connecting to off-street bike/walk pathway along San Leandro St.
  • San Leandro St north of Seminary becomes narrower, off-street pathway becomes much harder.
• How will the E 12th St crossing of High St work?
  • E 12th is one-way north of High St – Oakland’s project keeps the street one-way for cars, but adds a 2-way concrete-protected bike connection, with a signalized crossing of High St.
  • From 54th Ave to High, E 12th will be more of a neighborhood bikeway treatment with speed humps and traffic circles.
  • Currently no good ways to bike across High Street – so this will create at least one good connection.
  • Will also connect the other way of 54th Ave.
  • Project design is close to complete.
• Have the 35% design plans been shared with the committee or general public yet?
  • No, not yet.
• How will driver turns across the San Leandro St pathway be handled?
  • No room for right-turn pockets.
  • Bike/walk traffic will get advance crossing phase before cars.
  • Right turn prohibitions will be added, but design is still TBD — Current implementations from 85th to 75 Aves, looking into opportunities to update on this.
• Are BART elevated track fire access needs different along Ohlone Greenway in Albany / El Cerrito?
  • Unknown, might be grandfathered in.
  • Topic is being brought to the BART bike advisory task force for discussion.
  • Might just be a local fire department determination.
• Raised protected intersections preferable when designing for constrained spaces, allowing more flexibility for bike and pedestrian movements.
  • Worth looking into for opportunities.
• Comment in favor of proposed green infrastructure and stormwater handling infrastructure.