1 Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) 2021 BPAC Chair’s Report to the Public Works Committee of the Oakland City Council December 16, 2021
To the Honorable Chair of the Oakland Public Works Committee, The Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) is pleased to present a summary of our work in 2021 and a set of key policy recommendations.
The year brought a continuation of the COVID‐19 emergency, endangering the health of people in our city and disrupting lives and livelihoods. BPAC maintained its normal meeting schedule in a virtual format. With limited opportunities for city staff to engage with the public, BPAC meetings became an especially important forum for sharing information about ongoing and new programs and for collecting public input. Commissioners and the public used the meetings to speak directly with city staff.
As 2021 progressed, the economy began to strengthen, schools reopened and Oaklanders began to move around the city more. Unfortuna tely, with the increased movement came tragic crashes that killed and seriously injured pedestrians and an e‐scooter rider. BPAC meetings became an opportunity to discuss these crashes and look for responses.
The year was also an opportunity to reimagine public safety and access for all Oaklanders. The ways in which bi
cyclists and pedestrians are protected or targeted by law enforcement was recognized as an important part of this. Ambitious policy and planning processes were started to make our city’s streets safer. Community groups initiated an effort to connect the residents of East Oakland with the nearby shoreline.
We greatly apprecia
ted the support from OakDOT staff, the City Administrator’s office and the Office of the Mayor to enable BPAC and the public to have a productive 2021. We would like to give special recognition to the staff who directly support the work of the BPAC, Jason Patton and Noel Pond‐ Danchik. Duri
ng another challenging year for city staff and the community, they provided exceptional support, advice, and guidance.
Thank you for your consideration of this report and our recommendations. We continue to look forward to working with you as we strive to make the City of Oakland a great pla ce to walk and bike for everyone.
Respectfully,
Commissioner Andrew Campbell, (District 1) 2021 Chair
Commissioner Patricia Schader, (District 7) 2021 Vice‐Chair Commissioner Reginald K. Burnette, Jr. (District 6)
Commissioner Grey Gardner (District 2)
Commissioner Michael Lok (District 4)
Commissioner Phoenix Mangrum (District 5)
Commissioner David Ralston (District 2)
Commissioner Dianne Yee (District 3)
Attachment A
2 2021 Oakland Bicyclist & Pedestrian
Advisory Commission Chair’s Report
to the Public Works Committee
of the Oakland City Council
The City of Oakland Bicyclist & Pedestrian Advisory
Commission
3 1. Recommendations
This report summarizes many of the topics that the Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) focused on in 2021. The City has made remarkable strides toward creating a city that is safer and more accessible for people walking and biking. The Paving program is a great example. The program has been significantly improving safety on streets through crosswalks, curb ramps, road diets, bike lanes and more. Even with this progress, many areas remain that need more focus from the city. The following are several recommendations that we urge the Public Works Committee to consider:
1. Reduce violence on our roads, including through better coordination between the Department of Transportation (OakDOT), Oakland Police Department (OPD) and the Office of Violence Prevention
• 2021 was a violent year in Oakland. This has included violence against pedestrians. Twenty‐ two people were killed or seriously injured in Oakland while walking, bicycling or riding an e‐ scooter. Victims included children and the elderly. Of these, at least 12 people were harmed by drivers who fled the scene.
• OakDOT should continue its focus on high injury corridors with hard infrastructure, but this is not enough.
• Low cost, quick fix improvements should be made in dangerous locations. • A multi‐pronged effort is needed to prevent reckless and dangerous driving, involving OPD and the Office of Violence Prevention. Increased traffic enforcement could be part of the answer, coupled with equitable enforcement. Given the shortage of police officers and lack of focus on traffic enforcement, technologies like red light cameras should be investigated again. • The multi‐agency Safe Oakland Street Initiative could be a process to enable coordination across the city, but the initiative needs to be accelerated.
2. Continue the city’s commitment to the most protective infrastructure possible for pedestrians and bicyclists
• A strength of the city’s Let’s Bike Oakland bicycle plan is the focus on developing bike infrastructure that will be used by less confident bicyclists. Meeting the needs of less confident riders, including children and families, should continue to be a priority. This includes expanding the network of protected bike lanes and filling in challenging gaps between segments of bike lanes.
3. Connect East Oakland to the shoreline
• Access to the shoreline is important for recreation, community and family gatherings, exercise and enjoyment of nature. However, unlike residents near Jack London Square and Lake Merritt, the residents of East Oakland cannot access the shoreline that is closest to them.
Roads, train tracks, industrial spaces and the Coliseum site are all barriers. • The city has recognized this gap, but has not made a sufficient commitment to close the gap.
Safe access via bike lanes, sidewalks, separate paths and mass transit need to be pursued. The Power the People project is one initiative that the city should support. • While Coliseum redevelopment is pending, find short term solutions to provide access through the site or other routes.
4 4. Hire staff and secure future funding for the next 5‐year Paving Plan • The Paving Plan has been a mechanism for rapid pedestrian and bicyclist improvements throughout the city. However, we have heard that staffing is a challenge and future funding is not in place.
• Find ways to support OakDOT’s hiring of more staff to support the Paving Plan. • Help communicate the successes of the paving supported by Measure KK. • Support the passage of a successor bond measure to fund more paving projects.
We also reiterate the recommendations from the 2020 BPAC Chair Report that should continue to be pursued:
Ensure more proactive coordination with BPAC on bicycle and pedestrian‐related initiatives that originate from the City of Oakland Mayor’s office, City Council and departments and agencies outside of OakDOT.
Strengthen the review of OakDOT projects by BPAC, particularly timely follow‐up on comments before project final design has concluded.
Strengthen OakDOT coordination with BPAC and community stakeholders during bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure implementation phases, including monitoring of effectiveness, safety and continued community engagement. Continue the progress made towards filling OakDOT staffing vacancies.
2. An Overview of the Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission
The role of the BPAC is to advise the City of Oakland Department of Transportation, the Oakland City Council and other city departments on pedestrian and bicycle issues, with an overarching objective of ensuring that walking and bicycling projects and programs in Oakland are safe and equitable. The BPAC is charged with advising the City on bicyclist and pedestrian‐specific plans, policies, projects, and programs, as well as the accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians in all plans, policies, projects, and programs. In addition, the BPAC reviews Transportation Development Act Article 3 funding allocations as required by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The BPAC was officially formed by Oakland City Council Resolution in 2014 as a formal commission with the City of Oakland, although the commission was preceded by what was then the Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Committee of the Oakland Public Works Department. The BPAC is comprised of nine commissioners. Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor of Oakland, and commissioners serve three‐year terms during each appointment. The BPAC is governed by adopted By‐laws, which can be revised and amended by a majority vote. Typically, three commissioners are appointed each year to stagger the turnover of the commission, unless resignations require the need to appoint a new replacement commissioner to serve the remainder of an existing term. Commissioners can be reappointed for multiple three‐year terms; however, they can only serve two of those three‐year terms consecutively.
Commissioners devote their own time and resources when serving on the BPAC and take their advisory role with the upmost seriousness and offer freely their experiences and expertise in community outreach, advocacy, engineering and planning. The BPAC commissioners come from a very diverse range of backgrounds and areas of expertise and each one brings their unique experiences as a bicyclist and 5 pedestrian in Oakland. The BPAC was fortunate to have at least one commissioner who lives in each of the seven City Council Districts in 2021, however, this is not a requirement of the BPAC. Many commissioners have deep connections to multiple parts of the city, and all take seriously their responsibility to improve safety and access for people walking and biking throughout the city.
BPAC commissioners are committed to ensuring the commission is made up of motivated individuals who represent the entire City of Oakland. To help bring this about, when new openings arise due to term limits (two, three‐year terms) or early departures, BPAC undertakes a recruitment process for new commissioner appointments. The process ends with the BPAC recommending candidates to the mayor, who has the authority to make appointments, subject to city council approval. A special BPAC New Commissioner Selection Committee was formed consisting of both current and past commissioners as well as members of the public. Members of this special committee conducted a robust recruitment process including contacting City Councilmember offices and notifying stakeholder groups about the opportunity to join the BPAC. The committee also held a virtual info session. Eleven applications were received this year. The committee put forward recommendations to the full BPAC. The recommendations were approved and forwarded to the mayor. We have requested that they be appointed and approved in time for the BPAC’s January 2022 meeting.
3. Summary of BPAC Meetings Held in 2021
The BPAC holds regular commission meetings on the third Thursday of each month. Special meetings of the BPAC can be held at any time, subject to the required public notification process. The BPAC held twelve monthly regular commission meetings in 2021. Most meetings were just over two hours long, but our June 2021 meeting lasted over 4 hours due to extensive public comment. One short special meeting was held just prior to our regular October meeting pursuant to guidance from city staff for the sole purpose of adopting a resolution that would allow the BPAC to continue using teleconference meetings instead of in‐person meetings. Due to the ongoing COVID‐19 state of emergency declared by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 4, 2020 and the local emergency issued by Oakland’s city administrator on March 9, 2020, all BPAC meetings in 2021 were held via teleconference using Zoom.
BPAC is grateful to staff in the City Administrator’s office, KTOP, and our supporting staff in the Department of Transportation Bike and Pedestrian Program, Noel Pond‐Danchik and Jason Patton, for helping us hold teleconference meetings and complying with all relevant open meeting requirements.
We found the format to be very effective. All BPAC commissioners were able to meaningfully participate. Presenters were able to participate with less impact on their personal and family obligations. Many members of the public participated and were able to provide public comment. Public attendance was very strong in 2021. Public attendance ranged from 8 to 74 with 17 to 19 public attendees at most meetings. This is larger attendance than the typical meeting before the COVID emergency.
New Standing Agenda Item on Recent Bicyclist and Pedestrian Fatal Crashes The year started with several tragic pedestrian fatalities. In order to raise awareness of these tragedies on Oakland’s streets and spur action for solutions, in March 2021 the BPAC started a new standing item where information would be shared about fatal and serious crashes in Oakland. Twenty‐two people were killed or seriously injured in Oakland while walking, bicycling or riding an e‐scooter. Most of these were 6 walking. At least twelve of the crashes were hit‐and‐run incidents. Hit‐and‐run fatalities have emerged as another upsetting aspect of the city’s current wave of violence. The city must find ways to end these horrific and unnecessary tragedies.
Topics Discussed in 2021
Below are summaries of topics discussed at BPAC meetings in 2021. Actions taken by BPAC are indicated in bold.
BPAC Strategic Plan and Legislative Priorities
BPAC Strategic Plan for 2021 – The BPAC adopted the following goals:
1. Be strong advocates for bicycle and pedestrian safety
2. Be a conduit for information on bicycle and pedestrian projects
3. Encourage equity driven investments and policies and advocate for the bicycle and pedestrian community
4. Build relationships with policymakers and provide feedback on pedestrian and bicycle policy
BPAC Safety Priorities – Adopted legislative priorities put forward by the BPAC’s Legislative Committee. The BPAC agreed to support street safety legislation focused on traffic calming, a quick fix traffic calming budget request to support low cost improvements such as bollards and speed tables, speed limit reductions around schools and citywide, and equitable enforcement strategies including shifting minor traffic enforcement to OakDOT. California Assembly Bills 43 and 530 – BPAC voted to write a letter of support for AB 43, which would allow cities to lower speed limits in the High Injury Network. After the bill passed the legislature, the BPAC Chair wrote a letter of support to the governor encouraging him to sign the bill.
Important Transportation Programs
Biannual Paving Update & Next Paving Plan – Sarah Fine (Complete Streets Paving & Sidewalks Program) presented three times on implementation of the 2019 3‐year Paving Plan including an updated schedule. She also presented the 2022 5‐year Paving Plan. BPAC discussed how important the Paving Plan is for implementing many important pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements including road diets and high‐visibility crosswalks. Safe Oakland Streets Traffic Safety Legislation – DoT and City Administrator staff described an interdepartmental initiative ton comprehensive traffic safety strategies. School Safety at OakDOT ‐‐ Lucas Woodward who discussed the various ways that OakDOT’s Safe Streets Traffic Engineering team works to further school traffic safety in Oakland, including current and future projects and challenges.
Bike Plan Update – Jennifer Stanley and Pierre Gerard of OakDOT provided an update on the Let’s Bike Oakland Citywide Bicycle Plan.
Flex Streets – Greg Minor from the Economic & Workforce Development Department discussed future plans for Flex Street installations.
Focus on East Oakland
Ney Avenue Traffic Calming – Lucas Woodward presented an update on the Ney Avenue Neighborhood Traffic Calming Plan.
Martin Luther King Jr Library Bike Programming – Commissioner Burnette, an Oakland Public Library staff member, along with OPL staff, presented an overview of the library’s bicycle services 7 at the 81st St Ave Library, Martin Luther King Jr Library, and other locations in partnership with the Scraper Bike Team and EBALDC.
Martin Luther King Jr Shoreline Access Study – Marquita Price and Danielle Dynes of the East Oakland Collective discussed the new Power the People: MLK Jr. Shoreline Access Study, which aims to connect East Oakland residents with the shoreline. Oakland RAISE – I‐880 Freeway Green Infrastructure Retrofit and Active Transit Corridor Planning ‐‐ BPAC Commissioner David Ralston announced an upcoming Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) federal planning grant opportunity to support green infrastructure and active transit connections along the I‐880 corridor in East Oakland. A motion to write a letter of support was passed by BPAC.
Police‐Bicyclist Relations
Bike Rides with the Oakland Police Department and Police Relations Committee – BPAC voted to support a proposal from the BPAC Police Relations Committee to organize community rides with OPD in order to create a dialogue between bicyclists and OPD. Reimagining Public Safety – Dave Campbell from Bike East Bay presented draft recommendations and policies related to moving traffic safety functions from OPD to DoT.
Project Review
Telegraph Avenue Complete Streets Project, 20th Street to 29th Street ‐‐ OakDOT Director Russo presented a proposal to remove protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue in Koreatown Northgate (KONO) and replace them with buffered bike lanes instead of installing concrete protected bike lanes. Following over two hours of public comment and discussion, BPAC passed a motion saying that BPAC did not support the OakDOT staff recommendation and urged the continuation of the implementation of the concrete protected bike lanes with added curb management strategies, addressing visibility issues to the extent feasible, and controlling parking in the protected bike lanes.
Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Grant New Projects and Updates on Previous Projects – presentation from Julieth Ortiz and Yvonne Chan. Commenters said that projects need sufficient quantity and quality of bike parking.
Transportation Demand Article (TDA) Projects Grant Applications and Previous Awardees Update – Julieth Ortiz gave and overview. BPAC voted to support the TDA grant applications and recommend that OakDOT seek additional funding for bicycle educations programs through TDA or another source.
I‐980 Redevelopment Project ‐ Warren Logan, Policy Director of Mobility and Interagency Relations, discussed the potential redevelopment project to remove/cap Interstate‐980.
OakDOT Update
OakDOT Budget and Organizational Update – OakDOT Director Ryan Russo and Ariel Espiritu‐ Santo, OakDOT Agency Administrative Manager provided an organizational and budget update.
Various budget and staffing dynamics and challenges were discussed.
The Future of Mobility
E‐Scooters – Kerby Olsen, New Mobility Supervisor, provided updates on the e‐scooter program, including a proposal to allow more scooter to park at each bike rack. BPAC members urged the city to ensure the scooter companies are meeting their equity obligations and making scooters available throughout the city.
Electric Bike Library and Zero Emissions Vehicle Plan – Kerby Olsen, New Mobility Supervisor, 8 described a grant‐funded $1 million project to purchase 500 electric bicycles and make them available at low cost for medium‐ and long‐term rentals.
Advice to the Planning Department
Annual Major Development Projects – Catherine Payne (Bureau of Planning) and Audrey Harris (Transportation Department) reported on current and upcoming major projects that could present opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements in conjunction with, or as conditions of, the residential or commercial projects. Discussion focused on a project at 98th Ave and San Leandro and the importance of connecting the development to the neighborhood with bike and pedestrian improvements. Attendees highlighted the challenge of ensuring conditions of approval are fully met.
Annual Report from Strategic Planning ‐‐ Laura Kaminski from the Bureau of Planning presented on the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan, transportation impact fees and the upcoming General Plan Update.
The Joy of Biking
Bike To Wherever Day – Chris Hwang of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) presented on plans for the May 21, 2021 ride to Lake Merritt and how people could get involved. Hwang returned to share how pedal pools came from across Oakland and the event provided much‐needed joy and socializing for Oakland’s bicycle community.
4. BPAC Committee Summaries
BPAC Committees are an important organizational element of the Commission, as they provide a forum for detailed discussion on specific topics that might otherwise be too time consuming for the full BPAC to address at regular Commission meetings. Actions originating at the committee level can be forwarded to the full BPAC for further discussion and consideration on an as‐needed basis. Committees report back to the full commission at the monthly BPAC meetings. In addition to providing a management tool for the full BPAC, the BPAC committees are an important linkage to volunteer members of the public, as membership in each committee is open to the public, as per the BPAC By‐laws. BPAC By‐laws were revised in January 2020 to provide an opportunity of members of the public to chair individual committees, which was previously reserved for commissioners. This provides the public an opportunity to participate in the advisory process at a significant level within the BPAC organizational structure.
BPAC actively encourages members of the public to participate on BPAC committees. Information on the BPAC committees can be accessed through the following link:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/bicyclist‐and‐pedestrian‐advisory‐commission‐bpac‐committees‐ and‐liaisons
The following section reports on the activities of each BPAC committee in 2021.
Open Forum Committee
The committee continues to track and monitor issues raised by the public during Open Forum. Open forum is an important committee of the BPAC, as an Open Forum item is included in every BPAC meeting for the public to comment on items not on the regular agenda. In many instances, this could be 9 the only opportunity members of the public can comment on specific bicycle and pedestrian issues.
Indeed, many of the comments BPAC hears deal with larger transportation issues and are not always specific to bicycle and pedestrian topics.
Open Forum Committee through most of 2021 was comprised of Commissioners Jesse Jones (resigned in August) and Patricia Schader and public member Midori Tabata. The committee tracks issues brought to the BPAC at its monthly meetings. In 2021, we have received 27 comments to date.
We track the issues and make it available for public view at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v0nDQC83kYuR8rW_ofuDLSTOy0LdRg9otR63Yp0u5Qw/edit ?ts=573a2ece#gid=0
The issues presented this year were:
Obstruction of sidewalk or street due to events or construction 2 Telegraph bikeways for and against 4
Enforce equity requirement for e‐scooter program 1
Protected bikeways 2
Infrastructure design obstacles on bike route 1
Caldecott Tunnel settlement project funding 1
Announcements of events, projects, City action 6
Requesting support for projects 3
Thanks for support 3
Request for BPAC to work with another Commission 1
Bicyclists traffic infractions 2
Additional parking on Macarthur in Laurel 1
Actions:
Many items required no further action
Simpler issues were addressed during the Open Forum session or refer the speaker to 311. Caldecott Tunnel Settlement issue was a carryover from 2020. There were more projects than in the settlement funds so not all requested projects, even high priority ones cannot be completed.
After extensive research of possible funding sources, referred group to Caltrans.
The BPAC takes public comment seriously and endeavor to encourage participation and to help resolve issues.
10 Infrastructure Committee
The Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) Infrastructure Committee comprises BPAC commissioners and other volunteer members of the public. This committee examines Oakland street and sidewalk plans and provides detailed feedback to staff. These meetings are held every other month, or as needed, and reports back to the full BPAC.
Agenda materials, presentations, and schematics are distributed in advance of meetings when possible, to assist committee members with formulating questions and ideas. Committee meeting agendas and notes are available online at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qqS46y3dWNeAxMVwU3HTwjunj‐ b0pwANtZix‐ CisiWA/edit?ts=5a30853e
Projects are prioritized and selected for review by the committee based on a number of factors, including but not limited to:
Urgency – How soon a project is likely to be implemented Geography – Where projects are located
Level of design – How easily committee input can be incorporated into a project during the current design phase
Public interest – As expressed at BPAC meetings or via requests from the public to commissioners, staff, or elected officials
Safety – Whether there is a history of injuries or fatalities at a location or corridor Opportunity: Whether project upgrades or changes can increase bicyclist and pedestrian access and safety
Outreach – Whether a project already has an existing or planned robust public input process, or whether it would be better heard by the full BPAC, possibly as an action item. Presentation to this committee should not be considered an alternative to other public outreach, and the committee may choose not to review items for which there is already a robust public input process.
In 2021, the Infrastructure Committee consisted of 4 commissioners and 5 members of the public. It is open to the public and does have public attendance.
Members:
Commissioners
o Dianne Yee, co‐chair
o Reginald Burnette Jr
o David Ralston
o Patricia Schader
Public
o Robert Prinz, co‐chair
o Brendan Pittman
o George Naylor
o Midori Tabata,
o John Minot
The Infrastructure Committee held five meetings covering a total of 15 items.
Items reviewed:
11 2021 Citywide Striping Project
Grand Avenue Mobility Project
High Street Paving Project
Martin Luther King Jr. Way road diet, from 7th Street to 20th Street MacArthur Safety Improvements in the Laurel District (S.L.O.W. Laurel [Safe Livable Open Welcoming Laurel])
Neighborhood Bike Route Implementation Guide
Safe 8th Street Project
West Grand Avenue HOV/Bus Lane Extension Phase II Project (MTC project) Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) Rapid Response Projects 14th Street Safety Project
14th Avenue Streetscape Project
Caltrans encroachment permit process
Oakland CityRacks Bicycle Parking Program
Sideshow Prevention Pilot Projects
Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) Downtown Project
The intent of this committee was to provide space for in‐depth reviews of projects that couldn’t ordinarily be accomplished during a BPAC meeting, and especially projects that help inform broader design policies and standards, which will ultimately streamline the workflow for staff. Items are sometimes reviewed both in the committee and at the full BPAC, but with attention to different details. For instance, the full BPAC reviews and provides input on proposed HSIP projects annually, and the Infrastructure Committee monitors their implementation. The committee also works with staff to help resolve issues that may develop during project implementation.
The narrower focus affords the committee an opportunity to continue to monitor the progress of projects over time. Staff has been diligent in working with the committee and we continue to confer every few months on new ideas, implementation, and results.
The Infrastructure Committee has been
successful in working with staff on:
Final development of the Neighborhood Bike Route Implementation Guide, which will help provide a more consistent minimum design standard for traffic calming and other safety features on residential bike route streets going forward.
Development of the 14th Ave Phase 2 streetscape project, via which this committee amplified community requests for increased greenery and other added design features, and helped brainstorm solutions such as in‐street tree wells which were added to the project. Oversight and review of the ACTC COVID‐19 Rapid Response bike/walk grant projects. The committee’s previous work with staff on buffered‐to‐protected bikeway conversion standards helped to inform an upgrade along Embarcadero West. This small grant program was described by staff as one of the easiest and most flexible they’ve had to work with, allowing for very fast implementation with high quality design.
Facilitating conversations between DOT staff and other jurisdictions, such as the conversation with Caltrans D4 on addressing encroachment permit impacts that delay construction of bike/walk infrastructure and paving projects.
Recommendations going forward:
The new Neighborhood Bike Route Implementation Guide recommendations will apply to all future capital projects that overlap with these corridors, but there should also be a dedicated 12 effort to retrofit existing NBRs to this standard proactively, not dependent on the paving schedule.
This is already happening on a few corridors, but Bicycle Program staff need to be given funding and capacity to do this work more holistically citywide, perhaps in coordination with the current effort to upgrade Slow Streets corridors to more permanent installations. Questions around what NBRs should be called, and what type of stencils or other artististic treatments should be used, are still unanswered and could be part of this process.
Despite all of the great work being done through the paving program, staff capacity limitations are still resulting in missed opportunities with these projects where the outcomes do not meet recommendations from the 2019 Bicycle Plan or 2017 Pedestrian Plan. Since the majority of Oakland bike/walk infrastructure upgrades happen in coordination with repaving, and since paving activity will be ramped up even further in the coming years, we are very nervous that these bike/walk omissions will increase. We propose two parallel solutions in order to avoid this:
o Continue to increase OakDOT staff capacity, including in communications roles, to help stay on top of the growing workload while still ensuring high quality project designs that are informed by community needs. Ideally this will allow the design process to drive project implementation, not the paving schedule.
o Streamline the project development process by proactively creating more policy guidelines and design standards similar to the Neighborhood Bike Route Implementation Guide, including for features such as protected bikeways, protected intersections, bus boarding islands, and so forth. This will help provide staff with a better baseline to deliver routine but high quality infrastructure projects more efficiently, and will assist new staff members in designing projects to Oakland’s standards.
External agencies including Caltrans, Union Pacific, and others continue to delay or water down Oakland bike/walk infrastructure projects, almost all of which serve a critical traffic safety function, leaving vulnerable road users at risk due to these impacts. It remains to be seen how Caltrans’ recent commitment to complete streets implementation will apply to local projects which overlap with their right of way, but we still recommend that Oakland coordinate with state and regional partners to develop strategies or policy solutions to overcome these issues.
Several bike/walk projects and grant applications have moved forward recently without adequate, or any, review by the full BPAC or the infrastructure committee. Some examples include the Downtown Leading Pedestrian Signal project, and the TOWN for All infrastructure grant application. Each of these were only noticed in the BPAC agenda as a printed announcement after the project/award was finalized, with no engagement or input opportunities ahead of time. This is not to say that these are not worthwhile projects, but as appointed representatives of the public on city matters relating to bike/walk infrastructure and policy, staff needs to be more proactive about engaging the BPAC on the work they are doing and allowing for input during an appropriate phase. The BPAC meets monthly and the infrastructure committee has a bi‐monthly but flexible schedule, with the intent of working around staff availability and project timelines.
Legislative Committee
The Legislation Committee was formed as a venue to discuss and recommend policies to advance to the full BPAC for consideration as well as to OakDOT staff and ultimately to the Oakland City Council.
The Committee began its year elevating the importance of traffic safety and seeking ways to give the City more flexibility in responding quickly and effectively. Automated enforcement of speeding and red‐ light running were important discussion topics in 2021. The Committee worked to advance AB 43, State 13 legislation that was adopted and will allow for lower speed limits.
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Police Relations Committee
This committee of the BPAC was formed in September 2018 and works to address the impacts of traffic enforcement on bicyclist and pedestrians with particular attention towards reviewing current police stop data and identify ways to reduce racial inequities observed in traffic enforcement.
In 2021 the committee held a very positive meeting with OPD leadership early in the summer. OPD committed to joint bike rides, with multiple BPAC representative participating in an August 2021 ride.
Captain Sean Fleming is now in communication with the Committee to continue this effort. Some City Councilmembers have also expressed interest in participating. The committee also supported the 2019 Bike Plan’s call for an annual report on reducing bias in policing. The Committee is interested in riding with new police officers so they can get to know the community by bicycle as part of their onboarding process.
5. 2021 BPAC Commissioner Biographies
Andrew Campbell, Chair (District 1): Andrew has been a resident of Oakland since 2005. He is a daily bike commuter and enjoys exploring Oakland by bike and foot with his kids. He believes that with continued focus by the city and community, all parts of Oakland can become safe for walkers and cyclists of all ages and abilities. Before joining the BPAC, he served on the steering committee of Grand Lake Neighbors. He is executive director of an energy policy research group at UC Berkeley.
Patricia Schader, Vice Chair (District 7): Patricia grew up in East Oakland and currently resides in deep East Oakland. When she moved back to deep East Oakland the first item that she noticed was the lack of infrastructure. As an avid cyclist and runner, for every bike ride she would have to drive somewhere to ride because of the lack of infrastructure. However, she noticed other parts of Oakland have great bike lanes, walking paths and wide sidewalks with children in other areas on bikes in the bike lanes enjoying their bikes. She joined the BPAC to advocate to improve Infrastructure in East Oakland and bring Equity and Equality to the underprivileged citizens and the at‐risk children in East Oakland.
Reginald K. Burnette, Jr. (District 6): R.B. has been riding anything with wheels since age 4. Cycling has become his route to changing his community, one bike at a time. He began riding with The Scraper Bike Team in 2009, “bringing greenery to the scenery” and immersing himself in Oakland’s biking community, with a focus on youth. RB has been a critical member of major initiatives including the East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative that lifted up neighborhood planning and secured $28M of implementation funds for the transformation of Deep East Oakland Grey Gardner (District 2): Grey is a District 2 resident living in the Eastlake area. Having commuted to work by bike for over twenty years, he is eager to see Oakland’s roads become increasingly safer and more comfortable for bicyclists and pedestrians. He served for more than a decade as a public defender and presently works on drug policy and criminal‐justice reform issues throughout the U.S.
Jesse Jones (District 1): As a bicycle commuter and recreational cyclist, Jesse is passionate and excited about interconnected bikeway systems that are safe and useable for Oakland residents of all ages and abilities. As a landscape architect, she holistically considers bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as part 14 of the urban landscape and recognize how improvements can affect the overall wellbeing of the people living in cities. As a woman, she thinks it is important for women and families to be represented and supported in the cycling and transportation community.
Michael Lok (District 4): Michael Lok grew up in the East Bay, having been born at then‐Merritt Hospital in Oakland (now Alta Bates Summit Medical Center) where both of his parents worked. Having spent a lot of time in Oakland Chinatown as a teenager, Michael volunteered with Asian Health Services where he assisted in the Pedestrian Safety Campaign which led to the first pedestrian scramble systems in Oakland to be installed in 2002, that was a moment where Michael knew he wanted to focus on public service. After his education, Michael has spent his entire professional life working in Oakland focused on juvenile justice reform with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and coordinating a student success program at Laney College. Almost 13 years since he was a youth volunteer at Asian Health Services, Michael joined the staff role to work on different public health advocacy projects.
Phoenix Mangrum (District 5): Phoenix has been a bicyclist since the age of 4. For over 10 years he has worked as a bike mechanic and bicycle safety educator with youth and adults. The focus has been teaching bike safety though the safe routes to schools program ‐ elementary, middle and high school students. Phoenix also teaches a bike safety class for low‐income adults who need a bike for transportation.
David Ralston (District 2): David works as policy advisor for the regional Bay Area Air District focusing on local health equity land‐use planning, environmental justice policy, and community engagement around designing and implementing green infrastructure. David has also worked as a strategic planner and urban economic analyst for the City of Oakland’s Redevelopment Agency helping to realize key bicycle/pedestrian projects such as Fruitvale Alive, the Laurel to Mills access project, and the San Leandro/Lisjan Creek Greenway. David enjoys working with local community and neighborhood groups as part of a larger goal to build out an accessible grassroots‐led inter‐connected citywide “green network” that reflects the culture and diversity of Oakland. David is an avid bicyclist and hiker when he is not at the Lake or relaxing at home with his family in District 2.
Dianne Yee (District 3): Dianne is a transportation planner who grew up in the East Bay. She attended UC San Diego where she saw that suburban land uses and limited transportation choices are unsustainable and inconvenient. She continued her studies at Portland State University and earned her Master in Urban and Regional Planning. She returned to Oakland to serve her community and because the Bay Area is home.