At the January 22, 2026 BPAC Infrastructure Committee meeting, Oakland DOT staff provided an introductory presentation on a planned corridor project along 18th Street in West Oakland. This project is funded by a state Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grant and includes repaving, railroad track removal, a road diet, pedestrian safety islands, buffered bike lanes, and other potential elements.

An excerpt is below, followed by the full presentation and notes.

Background and Timeline

• Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities (AHSC) – California grant program that funds combined housing and transportation projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• This application was awarded for the Mandela Station affordable housing project and this 18th St transportation project.
• 2020: Approved as part of an Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities (AHSC) grant award.
• 2020-2025: Affordable Housing Development Team finalized funding package and required agreements.
• 2024-2025: 18th St from Wood St to Mandela Parkway paved and project scope implemented.
• Spring 2026: 17th St/18th St from Market St to Brush St will be installed by a currently in-construction project.
• Summer 2026: This section 18th St from Peralta St to Market St planned to be installed.

Next Steps

• January-February:
  • Stakeholder introductions and assess community needs
  • Develop initial conceptual design
• February-March:
  • Additional stakeholder outreach
  • Broader public outreach (mailer, site walks, etc.) as appropriate
  • Refine conceptual design
• Spring
  • Detailed design
• Summer
  • Construction

Presentation

Presentation notes

• This project is a collaboration between Oakland DOT’s complete streets infrastructure division and the bicyclist division. Separate upgrades on the corridor are also happening through through the paving program, starting later in 2026.
• The entire design process will be completed in-house by OakDOT staff.
• 18th St used to connect to the Cypress Freeway prior to its demolition following the Loma Prieta earthquake. It no longer serves this purpose and is overbuilt for current uses.
• The grant funding program that funded this project is primarily for affordable housing in West Oakland. It also includes this 18th Street project as well as new BART cars, transit passes, bike education classes, and other investments.
• This grant funding covers 18th St from Brush to Wood.
  • 18th from Wood to Mandela has already been paved and upgraded via paving program and private development (speed humps, stop sign changes, and some buffered bike lanes).
  • Market to Mandela a separate project is already underway
  • So this project will include Market to Brush, similar treatments to West Street project completed several years ago between 52nd St and San Pablo Ave.
• This project was initiated a long time ago, so staff will be reconnecting with key stakeholders in the community to get feedback and accommodate additional needs.
• Oakland DOT staff will try to come back to the committee at the March meeting with a more detailed design update.

Discussion notes

• Will the painted buffer bike lanes be safe?
• For the connection to KIPP Bridge Academy, is a one-way to two-way conversation being considered for 17th/18th Street?
  • The separate project from Market to Brush will include eastbound bike lanes.
• Make sure to connect with the Ballers baseball team for coordination and promotion after construction, since this facility will deliver people directly to the ballpark — they are interested in increasing bike modeshare to games.
• The other project will add bike lanes from Market to MLK eastbound, but not MLK to Brush eastbound — Please consider future opportunities to complete this bikeway gap.
• Will there be posts or daylighting to constrain car turning speeds at intersections that aren’t getting pedestrian islands?
  • Project will do standard daylighting for right-turn visibility but no sidewalk extensions.
• Is there any treatment near schools to address school pick-up/drop-off traffic bike lane blockages?
  • This is a known issue at many schools around Oakland – Previously a treatment similar to Berkeley HS on Milvia in Berkeley was considered — It turned out to be too expensive to incorporate into this project, but staff will continue looking for opportunities.
• Bike East Bay was included in the AHSC grant funding to provide 3 years of bike education programming for future affordable housing development residents — very happy that the 18th St will be completed before the housing, allowing Bike East Bay to take residents on rides using the new facility — this funding is an agreement between the developer and Bike East Bay, and not with the city.