A New Year, a new Call to Action
A vigil, and opportunities to speak out
Welcome to a new year! Here’s to joy for each of us, and a safer community for all of Oakland. 2023 had its tragedies and challenges, but also saw some real progress for street safety, and certainly saw a big expansion in the number of people activating to work for safer streets. Below our call to action, you can read about some of our collective wins over the last year.
A tragedy, and a vigil this coming Wednesday
On Tuesday afternoon (January 9th), a woman known in the community as Ladybug was attempting to cross San Pablo Avenue at 24th St. when she was struck in the first lane by a driver, which knocked her into the second lane. The driver apparently hit the brakes, and the driver behind, not seeing the woman, swerved into the second lane to pass the first car. This second driver hit Ladybug a second time, and she died of her injuries on the scene.
Traffic Violence Rapid Response will be staging a vigil this coming Wednesday Jan 17 from 5:30 - 6:30 at the intersection of San Pablo and 24th. If you can, please come out and join your neighbors calling on the City of Oakland to install quick-build safety measures on San Pablo. Bring a sign and/or a friend, tell people you know about the crisis of traffic deaths (35 in Oakland in 2022, 32 in 2023).
We are asking everyone to contact City Administrator Jestin Johnson, and impress upon him the need for OakDOT to expand their quick-build efforts to create safety for Oaklanders NOW. The City needs to make it safe for people to cross the street, to get to and from the bus stop, to take their kids to school and their elderly parent to the rec center. Make your email or call personal. Feel free to start right away. Make sure to mention the needless tragedy to befall Ladybug. If you have your own story, or know of one nearby, include it. The pushback here may be that there is an improvement project already underway for this stretch of San Pablo, but it has already been 6 years and there are at least 3 more to go before they break ground on the big project: San Pablo Avenue. Not fast enough!
Jestin Johnson
cityadministratorsoffice@oaklandca.gov
Phone: (510) 238-3301
Sadly, over the last month, at least 2 more people walking on International Blvd have been killed by drivers. If we can arrange vigils for them, we will. Stay tuned.
The year in progress
In December, our friends at Transport Oakland worked with City Council to ask OakDOT to create a plan for neighborhood groups and schools to create their own safety projects. Using “encroachment permits”, the City would allow groups to create a temporary traffic calming installation for the safety of residents and community engagement. Similar to “slow streets” during the pandemic, schools or community organizations could use planters and temporary materials to pilot calming devices to make school crossings or similar locations easier and safer. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) and several TVRR members staged a temporary crosswalk at Oakland Tech HS this Spring, which kicked off the effort. The plan will be developed by OakDOT in April based on community support - share your feedback and ideas at the next community meeting on Saturday, Feb 24! Sign up here for updates.
In November, we learned that a project initiated by TVRR co-founder Tim Courtney and his neighbors who live on 8th Street in West Oakland would be breaking ground. Tim and his neighbors had tried to alert the City for a long time about dangerous speeding, with no results. So they got hold of some speed sensors and documented the dangers they faced, along with videos of the aftermath of car crashes into yards and homes, and neighbors’ stories, to illustrate the scope of the problem, and they had a media campaign to get the city’s attention. They were granted 500k in the 2021-23 CIP (Capital Improvement Project) budget for traffic circles, speed humps, a mid-block crosswalk, and hardened centerlines at intersections spanning the >1 mile stretch between Market and Pine. Construction of the remaining circles is going in now, with construction anticipated to be complete by April. The circles and humps have had an immediate effect on dropping speeding and reckless driving to a fraction of what it was beforeand. The traffic circles are a sight to see! 8th St Safety Project
In October, following the tragic loss of a little girl riding on the back of her father’s bicycle on Lakeshore Boulevard, Robert Prinz of Bike East Bay and TVRR advocates supported the family in a vigil for little Maia, and called for a protected bike lane at the Lake. Many people came out to hold the family in their hearts, and Councilmember Nikki Bas helped arrange a meeting between the family and the Mayor. Determined to make their loss into something meaningful, the family pressed the City to install a truly safe bike facility, and OakDOT staff stepped up to find a way to accelerate a distant-future plan into a two-way bike lane on Lakeshore to be built by the end of this year: Lakeshore Separated Bike Lane Project. Our hearts go out to the family for their strength and love and desire to help all of Oakland!
In July, we learned that the Grand Ave. redesign in Adam’s Point, which had been slated for a lane reduction and connections for the two-way cycle track along with generous bike lanes and many pedestrian safety features would be significantly rolled back. So TVRR teamed up with Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) to launch a petition drive to return to the safer, better design. After 1000 signatures (A Safer Grand Now), OakDOT announced that it was revisiting the plan so that they could take community input. Indications are that this was due to public outcry. Success!
In June, after months of pressure from TVRR members, two detailed reports, and several vigils for people lost, AC Transit and OakDOT announced that they would upgrade the International Blvd Quick-Build project from only “signs and paint” at a few intersections to extend the whole length of the Boulevard rows of posts to separate the vehicle travel lane from the bus lane, and to the centerlines at intersections to prevent illegal left turns. This huge upgrade followed our recommendations, even though it is still lacking speed cushions, which we still push for. And the coalition is growing as Fruitvale merchants have begun to organize with us to demand safety for their customers! International Blvd Quick Build