Archive: Reconnecting the Town: Enhancing Oakland’s Civic Hub through Safer, More Reliable, and Equitable Transportation

UPDATE: The survey is now closed. To stay updated on the project, see the Broadway Streetscape Improvements or the Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Streetscape Improvements.

This project seeks to enhance connectivity between West Oakland, Old Oakland, Chinatown, Downtown, Uptown, Jack London District, and the waterfront with major improvements along the MLK Jr Way and Broadway corridors.

The Project will provide safer, more reliable, and continuous biking, walking, and public transit access to connect to the waterfront and enhance affordable transportation choices across the six Oakland community areas mentioned above. This project will close gaps in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Way bikeway and Broadway bus only lanes to create 1.25 miles of continuous north-south connections. Bus reliability and pedestrian enhancements will be installed on Broadway between Embarcadero West and 6th Street, and bikeways and pedestrian improvements will be installed on MLK, Jr. Way between Embarcadero West and 7th Street.

These improvements would only be possible through a successful RAISE federal transportation grant, which the City is working towards in July 2021.

https://www.transportation.gov/RAISEgrants

Project Aspirations:

1. Reconnect and improve multimodal connectivity between West Oakland, Old Oakland, Chinatown, Downtown/Uptown Oakland and the waterfront.
2. Ensure improvements benefit the communities at-large and help close gaps in racial disparities by addressing historic and current inequities of transportation infrastructure and access.
3. Prioritize walking, biking, and public transportation as key ways to achieve #’s 1 and 2.
4. Move people sustainably and safely through affordable and low- or no emission travel modes
5. Improve the pedestrian experience on the Broadway corridor with safe crossings and accessible, street lighting and signal improvements
6. Construct new bus-only lanes to increase transit reliability on Broadway.
7. Enhance public transportation access to the 12th Street BART station, WETA ferry terminal, AC Transit bus lines (12, 18, 19, 20, 29, 51A, 72/72M, 72R, 96, Broadway Shuttle) and Amtrak
8. Address safety within the City’s High Injury Network (Broadway)
9. Create a beautiful street that improves air quality and greenery
10. Contribute to Oakland’s post COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery through the jobs that this project will generate, thus, benefitting current residents, workers, commuters and local businesses, and encouraging public transportation ridership
11. Accommodate future transportation demands given projected population growth and potential developments.
12. Leverage opportunities to improve our internet infrastructure and technology options for residents through the installation of fiber connectivity

Corridor Improvements May Include:

• Paving
• Upgrading sidewalks, removing trip hazards, increasing waiting zones further from intersections
• Improving pedestrian scale lighting
• Improving pedestrian crossings and removing sight lines at intersections to better pedestrian safety
• Upgrading traffic signals and potentially installing new signals
• Planting maximum carbon and PM-capturing landscaping
• Working with the community to provide artistic, cultural, and place-making elements
• Implementing a road diet to (I.e. Culturally relevant wayfinding signage)
• for buffered bikeway on MLK Jr Way from Embarcadero to 7^th/8^th Street
• Bus-only lanes on Broadway from Embarcadero to 6^th Street

The City engaged with the community on proposed improvements and other overlapping projects, including improvements to Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Broadway corridors.

List of past/planned meetings:

• Community Survey administered with a focus on West Oakland, Jack London Square, and Chinatown (in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin)
• January 6, 2020 – Community meeting at the Port of Oakland Exhibit Room
• January 8, 2020 – Community meeting at the West Oakland Senior Center
• January 11, 2020 – Community meeting at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center
• February 11, 2020 – Maritime Stakeholder Meeting
• April 27, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• May 11, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• May 18, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• May 26, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• June 1, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• June 8, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• June 22, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• June 30, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• July 6, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• July 20, 2020 – Howard Terminal Community Benefits Transportation Topic Cohort Meeting
• January 20, 2021 – Jack London Improvement District focused meeting on the bike network related to Broadway and MLK
• May/June 2021 – In-person outreach, pop-up corridor walks, postcards and flyers for MLK between 7^th and 20^th/San Pablo
• Summer/Fall 2021 - planned outreach for improvements to Broadway
• Summer 2021 – Broadway between Embarcadero and 6^th Street
• Summer 2021 – MLK between Embarcadero and 7^th/8^th Street
• Fall 2021 – Broadway between 6^th and 11^th Streets; and 20^th Street and Grand Avenue

What We Have Heard Through Community Engagement:

• Desire for bus service improvements
• Desire for safer streets for walking and biking, including personal safety and the street environment
• Desire for better, cleaner walking paths and more accommodating underpasses (Broadway)
• Strong support for a transit hub and key walking routes Community input on safety and mobility is crucial to ensure helpful benefits
• Strong support for paths that make Broadway as functional as possible since it is the “spine” of Oakland
• Preference to remove parking spots rather than removing another lane of traffic to make room for the transit-only lanes on Broadway
• Wider sidewalks
• Landscaping along MLK
• Better lighting for increased safety
• More and improved curb ramps
• Better curb management
• Signage and wayfinding to transit and for biking

If you would like to schedule a small-group online presentation/Q&A, please email Veronica Cummings at vcummings@oaklandca.gov. and/or Julieth Ortiz jortiz@oaklandca.gov.