66th Avenue Coliseum BART to Bay Trail Project

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.

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

The full presentation is below.

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27th and Lakeside Streets Project

At the May 19, 2022 BPAC meeting, OakDOT Transportation Planner Colin Piethe presented on the 27th and Lakeside Streets Project. An excerpt of the presentation is below, followed by the full presentation [PDF], and summary of discussion.

The project includes:

  • Protected bike lanes on 27th Street
  • Buffered bike lanes on Bay Place
  • Two-way cycle track on Grand Avenue from Bay Place to Harrison Street

  • Simplified driving lanes and shorter crossing distances at the intersections of Grand Ave and Bay Place, Grand Ave and Harrison Street, and 27th Street and Harrison Street
  • Planted medians along 27th Street and Bay Place
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Martin Luther King Jr Way Paving Project

At the May 19, 2022 BPAC meeting, OakDOT Transportation Planner Colin Piethe presented on the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr Way Paving Project. An excerpt of the presentation is below, followed by the full presentation.

“There were 65 collisions on MLK Jr Way from 47th Street to 61st Street from 2015-2020 including one fatality in 2015 at 60th Street.


Relevant Repaving Dates:

  • MLK Jr Way – 2024
  • 55th Street – 2026
  • 52nd Street – 2026
  • Dover Street – 2026
  • Genoa Street – 2026″

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Grand Avenue Complete Streets Paving Project

At the May 19, 2022 BPAC meeting, OakDOT Transportation Planners Charlie Ream and Josie Ahrens presented on the Grand Avenue Complete Streets Paving Project, OakDOT’s next step towards realizing the vision laid out in the Grand Avenue Mobility Plan.

Grand Avenue from Broadway to Elwood Avenue is on the City’s 5-year Paving Plan. Along with this planned repaving, OakDOT is conducting community outreach and design related to safety improvements and mobility enhancements for people walking, biking, and taking the bus on this important connection. This presentation is an opportunity for BPAC commissioners and members of the public to provide input on safety issues they see on Grand, or provide guidance to OakDOT as staff begin to develop project alternatives.

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

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BPAC 2022 Strategic Plan Update

At the April 21, 2022 BPAC meeting, BPAC Strategic Planning Taskforce member, Commissioner Campbell, presented the draft 2022 BPAC Strategic Plan for adoption.

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

Purposes of the Strategic Plan

  • Focus BPAC members to discuss priorities and, hopefully, arrive at consensus
  • Communicate BPAC’s goals to community, council and city staff
  • Guide agenda development
  • Enable advocacy outside of BPAC meetings
  • Familiarize new BPAC members with the commission’s goals

Goals

  • Goal 1: Be strong advocates for bicycle and pedestrian safety.
  • Goal 2: Be a conduit for information on bicycle and pedestrian projects.
  • Goal 3: Encourage equity driven investments and policies and advocate for the bicycle and pedestrian community.
  • Goal 4: Build relationships with policymakers and provide feedback on pedestrian and bicycle policy.
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General Plan Update

At the April 21, 2022 BPAC meeting, Strategic Planning Manager for the City of Oakland Planning Department, Laura Kaminski, presented on the upcoming General Plan update. The presentation and summary of discussion are below.

The City of Oakland is undertaking a comprehensive General Plan Update process in two phases. Phase I includes the update of the Housing and Safety Elements of the General Plan; creation of the City’s first Environmental Justice Element; associated amendments to other Elements of the General Plan, along with Zoning Code and map updates; Racial Equity Impact Analysis, and an Industrial Land Use Study. Phase I is anticipated to be completed by early 2023.

Phase II includes the update of the Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE); Open Space, Conservation, and Recreation Element (OSCAR); Noise Element; and the development of a new Infrastructure and Facilities Element. Phase II work also includes zoning updates and CEQA review. The Phase I process will help inform the components of Phase II. Phase II is anticipated to be completed by mid-2025.

The Draft 2023-2031 Housing Element is currently open for public review from May 12, 2022 to June 13, 2022.

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AB 2336 & Safe Oakland Streets

At the April 21, 2022 BPAC meeting, OakDOT Policy & Intergovernmental Affairs Advisor, Nicole Ferrara presented on AB 2336 and requested a motion of support for the bill.

Every week, two Oaklanders are killed or fatally injured by traffic violence. These crashes disproportionally impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Assembly Bill 2336 (Friedman): Speed Safety System Pilot Program is a proposed state law that would allow Oakland and 5 other cities to administer these speed safety systems as a pilot program. Oakland would be permitted a total 18 safety systems administered by the Department of Transportation.

The Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) Initiative aims to prevent severe and fatal traffic crashes, eliminate injury inequities, and carefully assess and mitigate any equity impacts resulting from safety measures. SOS found that, in addition to engineering, automated speed enforcement is highly effective at preventing traffic deaths, while also advancing Reimagining Public Safety Task Force goals of moving most traffic enforcement from the Oakland Police Department to the Department of Transportation.

The full presentation is below.

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2022 Bike to W(herever) Day Planning

At the March 17, 2022 BPAC meeting, Chris Hwang, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) Board President, presented on the May 20th, 2022 Bike to Wherever Day and ways to get involved. WOBO invited partners who can and are interested in sharing resources that help Oaklanders experience the city by bicycle to email info@wobo.org if they’d like to participate in programming or to sponsor the event. Please stay tuned for additional details, go to bayareabiketowork.com and follow @walkoakbikeoak on social media for announcements and how to get involved.

The presentation is below.

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Parking Enforcement Update & Proposal to Add Parking Meters to Commercial Loading Zones

At the March 17, 2022 BPAC meeting, Michael Ford (Manager of OakDOT’s Parking & Mobility Division), Quinn Wallace (Transportation Planner), Kerby Olsen (New Mobility Supervisor), and Ira Christian (Parking Enforcement Supervisor) provided an update on parking enforcement activities and policies at OakDOT in relation to bicycling and walking in the city. OakDOT New Mobility Supervisor Kerby Olsen sought support from the commission to add parking meters to commercial loading zones with the goal of reducing instances of commercial delivery drivers parking illegally in bike lanes and bus stops by making yellow loading zones more available to delivery drivers.

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

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