Attachment B: 15 MPH School Zone Implementation
15 MPH School Speed Limits: Supporting Slower Speeds Near Schools to Save Lives
To support safety near schools, OakDOT will begin implementing 15 mph signage on the streets that are most relevant to school travel and within 500 feet of schools in Summer 2022. In most cases, these streets already have other signage or markings identifying them as school zones, such as yellow crosswalks or school crossing signs.
OakDOT receives data from Alameda County Safe Routes to School for each school in Oakland. These data include nearby collisions, demographic characteristics of the school’s neighborhood, and a student health score for each school. Schools were selected from this list, prioritizing schools near streets with high crash concentrations, in low-income communities and communities of color, and with higher concentrations of low-income students and focusing on elementary schools.
Following is the list of the first 10 schools that will receive signage before the start of the 2022-23 school year. Under California Law, 15 MPH zones can be established on streets with no more than two lanes within 500 feet of a school. OakDOT expects to place around 35 speed limit signs through this process. We will also be placing or updating signs at the ends of school speed limit zones to ensure that they are enforceable and fixing other straightforward signage issues.
• Lincoln Elementary School
• American Indian Public Charter School
• Garfield Elementary School
• ASCEND Charter School
• International Community Schools/Think College Now (shared campus) • Martin Luther King Elementary
• Community School for Creative Education
• Hoover Elementary
• Achieve Academy
• Bridges@Melrose
OakDOT will be complete another group of 10 schools by the end of 2022:
• Esperanza/Korematsu
• EnCompass Academy
• La Escuelita
• Franklin Elementary
• Rise Community/New Highland
• Acorn Woodland
• Horace Mann Elementary
Attachment B: 15 MPH School Zone Implementation
• Lockwood STEAM Academy
• East Oakland PRIDE
• KIPP Bridge Academy
Installation will continue through 2023 at eligible locations at the remaining approximately 30 elementary schools. This work will be completed through direct work orders issued by OakDOT’s Traffic Engineering section for implementation by the Traffic Maintenance section, and by incorporating 15 MPH school zones into signage and striping plans for other OakDOT projects near schools.