Action on Grand Avenue - April 13th

Grand Avenue Tragedy

On February 3rd, retired UCB Sociology professor Michael Burawoy was out for his evening stroll, and was crossing Grand Avenue at Park View Terrace, right in front of the entrance to Fairyland, when he was struck in the crosswalk and killed by a driver who then sped off. This tragic loss for all those who knew him, and to the surrounding community, is profound, but sadly part of a pattern of ongoing danger on Grand Avenue, as it is on other multi-lane streets in Oakland.

Commemorative Protest

On Sunday April 13th, at 1PM, Traffic Violence Rapid Response will host a commemorative protest for the loss of our neighbor, and against the ongoing danger to young and old that is Grand Avenue today. Bring signs, flowers, candles, your friends, family and neighbors, and all your feelings.

Every Loss is Tragic

At least thirty people died on the streets of Oakland last year due to traffic violence. Four of those were people attempting to cross International Blvd. The latest of these, Mardenia Carillo Lopez, age 17, died in front of her mother last August as they were crossing at 72nd Avenue. The family was so grief-stricken that, through an intermediary, they asked us to please not stage an action at the site -- and out of respect for their wishes, we of course did not.

Traffic violence is both systemic, with a disproportionate number of traffic deaths happening on the fast, multi-lane streets of East Oakland, and it is also deeply personal to the loved ones who have lost someone. As an all-volunteer community group, we want every action we hold to honor those two truths, commemorate every life lost, and call out to save lives everywhere across the city.

We know that action matters. We won a solution on International Blvd., and crashes, injuries, and fatalities are far lower there now than in the preceding three years. Public pressure works. So please come on April 13th, and bring your desire for change!

More Ways to Make Grand not only Safer, but Grand!

The Oakland DOT is already working on a redesign of Grand Avenue from Broadway, past the Lake, to Mandana. Given strong interest in the project, the planners have developed two options to share with the public for input. The whole presentation is HERE.

Down below, we offer more detail on the two options, but the topline is that TVRR supports Option 2, which will bring calmer traffic, safer crossings, and greater vibrancy to Grand. Lake Merritt and Fairyland bring people from all over Oakland for recreation, and people deserve to access our “central park” safely and comfortably, on foot, on bikes, and on transit. The “preferred” OakDOT Option 1 pits the streetside vendors and parking proponents against folks who want the two-way cycletrack (see details below).

There will be lots of opportunities in the Spring to provide feedback on the project. Join and be loud!

• April 26, 2025: Grand Lake Farmer's Market tabling event
• May 21, 2025: Presentation to Grand Lake Neighbors

Sign up HERE to get project updates.

Sign the petition if you have not done so already.

Visit the Lake Merritt Loop page at the Bike East Bay site.

Email the project planner directly (CReam@oaklandca.gov) to share your enthusiastic support for a safer Grand with Option 2, with a “5 to 3 road diet”.

Email your councilperson and tell them to support Option 2, the most pedestrian and kid/senior-friendly version of this project. See table below for contact info.

Read and share (with your council person and friends) the Splashpad news articles written by neighbor and TVRR member Arielle Fleisher, trying to help make the case for why we need these improvements!

Follow TVRR on BLUESKY and on INSTAGRAM. We’ll be posting much more about Grand in the coming weeks.

The most important thing is to be loud - to OakDOT and your council person - with your support for this project.

Your City Government

• Noel Gallo, Council President, District 5: ngallo@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7005
• Zac Unger, District 1: zunger@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7001
• Rebecca Kaplan, interim D2: district2@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7002
• Carroll Fife, District 3: cfife@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7003
• Janani Ramachandran, District 4: jramachandran@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7004
• Ken Houston, District 7: khouston@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7007
• Rowena Brown, at-large: atlarge@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7008
• Kevin Jenkins, interim Mayor: kjenkins@oaklandca.gov (510) 238-7006, officeofthemaytor@oaklandca.gov, also District 6 Council Member

All the Details

Both options provide for protected bike lanes each way between Broadway and the Grand Lake Theater. They both accommodate the two-way bikeway in the two Adams Point sections connecting to Bellevue (with a BIG caveat, below). They both include some pedestrian improvements and bus boarding islands, and some other traffic calming. So, all that is good.

But Option 2 removes a lane in each direction, with a center turn lane, and provides more opportunities to make Grand safe for people to cross the street, and will move us closer to the vibrant and relaxed boulevard that Grand can be. It’s also a key element of the Lake Merritt Loop: a two-way bikeway all the way around Lake Merritt:

Option 1 keeps both lanes headed towards 580. To make that fit with the 2-way cycle track, it removes all the parking along the stretch where the vendors set up their stalls near the pergola, from Bellevue to El Embarcadero on the eastern side, while Option 2 does not remove that parking. OR, maybe they abandon the two-way cycletrack if they get pushback on removing the parking…

Sadly, while the protected bike lanes will continue under 580 to Splashpad Park, the cancellation by CalTrans of their upgrade to the traffic light by the onramp makes it very constrained to do much with the last few blocks from the Grand Lake Theater to Mandana. There will be one lane reduction westbound, and buffered bike lanes, but not the robust treatments possible in Adams Point. On the other hand, Adams Point is where the serious injuries and fatalities are concentrated, so we will focus our energy there.

Feel free to speak up for what you want!