Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
RECOMMENDATION
AGENDA REPORT
Staff Recommends That City Council Receive An Informational Report From The Oakland Department Of Transportation, The City Administrator’s Office, The Oakland Police Department, and The Department of Race and Equity Regarding Progress On The Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) Initiative In Year One And Priority Focus Areas For Year Two.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Severe and fatal crashes in Oakland are unacceptably high. Approximately five months into 2022, 20 people have been killed in traffic crashes. In 2021, 30 people were killed by traffic violence, down slightly from 33 fatalities in 2020, but still higher than 2019, when 27 people were killed. Nationally, traffic fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2021 with 42,915 people killed, a 10.5% increase from 2020. The most common causes of severe and fatal crashes in Oakland include speeding, failure to yield, unsafe turning, red light running, and driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Crashes continue to disproportionately occur in Oakland’s City Administrator Approval Date: Jun 15, 2022
TO: Edward D. Reiskin
City Administrator
FROM: Ryan Russo, Director
Oakland Department of
Transportation
LeRonne Armstrong, Chief
Oakland Police Department
Darlene Flynn, Director
Department of Race and
Equity
Joe DeVries, Deputy City
Administrator
City Administrator’s Office
SUBJECT: Year-One Report on the Safe Oakland
Streets Initiative
DATE: May 27, 2022
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 2
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Priority Equity communities1 and on the High Injury Network2 (68% of the High Injury Network falls in High and Highest priority equity communities). However, life-changing and life-ending collisions on roadways are preventable with prioritized, targeted, and comprehensive strategies.
To address this epidemic the Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) initiative was launched in 2021. The SOS core team includes the Department of Transportation (OakDOT), the City Administrator’s Office (CAO), the Oakland Police Department (OPD) and the Department of Race and Equity (DRE). The SOS core team work collaboratively on implementing this initiative and achieving the goals.
This report serves as an annual status update to the strategies set forth in the initiative.
In summary, through 2021, SOS work focused on areas with the highest efficacy at preventing traffic fatalities and the lowest risk of creating new inequities, including the successful delivery of 238 new safety improvements, and the successful passage of Assembly Bill 43 (Friedman), which allows cities to lower speed limits in certain cases. In addition, OakDOT worked to inform the development of Assembly Bill 550 (Chiu) to authorize speed safety systems in Oakland and educate Oakland stakeholders on the efficacy and equity provisions, however, that bill was ultimately unsuccessful. OakDOT continued advancements in prioritizing safety improvements based on equity factors and crash concentrations and transparency regarding project delivery status in the face of demand that out-paced city resources, and OPD has drastically improved their focus of traffic stops on the most dangerous driving behaviors on high-injury streets. While the number of traffic stops and staffing to conduct high visibility enforcement has decreased substantially, and despite a reduction in the percentage of traffic stops conducted on African Americans, racial disparities in stops remain.
During this time, the same agencies working on SOS were also responding to increased community violence in Oakland, including violence on our streets. The SOS interagency partnerships to respond to severe and fatal traffic crashes were foundational to pilot efforts that were initiated in 2021 to prevent large sideshows accompanied by violent activity. Also, the Neighborhood Enhanced Service Team (NEST) initiative that kicked off in 2021 to focus city services, including transportation improvements, on the police beats most impacted by community violence prioritized traffic maintenance requests in these communities. High priority equity communities in Oakland are disproportionately impacted by both severe and fatal crashes, and gun violence and homicides. Through this work, city agencies are working to prioritize resources to leverage synergies to address SOS/traffic safety and community violence prevention goals. Highlights from that work are also included in this report.
The SOS workplan for 2022 includes a continued emphasis on delivering engineering improvements on the high injury network and in high priority communities, with 181 safety improvements projected for delivery, plus additional emerging near-term safety improvements, amounting to 419 safety improvements (and counting) to be delivered from 2021-2022. SOS will
1 Oakland’s Priority Equity Communities are based on demographic data by census tract. More information can be found here: City of Oakland, Department of Transportation, Geographic Equity Toolbox: https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/oakdot-geographic-equity-toolbox 2 The City analyzed nearly 2,000 injury crashes from 2012-2016 and found the majority (60%) of these crashes are highly concentrated on just 6% of the 800 miles of Oakland’s city-maintained streets, the High Injury Network.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 3
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
also focus on the implementation of AB 43 speed-lowering policy, the implementation of 15 mph school speed limits, and the continued analysis of automated enforcement options in Oakland.
OakDOT will work to prioritize monitoring and communication of engineering improvements to improve transparency with the public, and to monitor whether safety improvements are addressing safety issues on the high injury network (HIN) and in priority equity communities.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Traffic safety has long been a need in the City of Oakland (City) as evidenced by the statistics that approximately two people are seriously injured
3 or killed in a traffic crash each week on the
City’s streets. Traffic safety goals are set out in city policies and plans, such as the 2013 Complete Streets Policy, 2016 Oakland Department of Transportation Strategic Plan, 2017 Pedestrian Plan Oakland Walks, and 2019 Bicycle Plan.
In Fall 2019, Councilmember Noel Gallo approached staff for urgent action to address this issue following several severe and fatal collisions in District 5. Severe bodily injury involves a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, or a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body. In January 2020, District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb requested an informational report on speed, including a review of current enforcement, engineering, and policy practices and recommended future actions. City agencies subsequently received additional requests from Councilmembers regarding traffic safety and speed management, including requests for more enforcement and concerns that traffic enforcement results in inequitable outcomes. City staff from multiple departments – the City Administrator’s Office (CAO), Department of Transportation (OakDOT), Department of Race and Equity (DRE), and Police Department (OPD), formed the SOS core team and collaborated on developing a strategy.
In 2020, the interdepartmental group worked to take a citywide, coordinated, interdepartmental approach to make the greatest impact on traffic safety while intentionally centering equity. The result was a SOS initiative focusing on six areas of strategy implementation that will save lives and prevent severe injuries: coordination and collaboration; engineering; policy; planning and evaluation; engagement, education, and programs; and enforcement. SOS evaluated over 70 common traffic safety tools for efficacy and equity and developed 23 strategies that would have the greatest potential for preventing severe and fatal crashes and enhancing equity outcomes.
In April 2021, the first SOS informational report was received by City Council, and the initiative formally launched.
Equity is the driving force for SOS, the approach puts equity first by ensuring resources are spent in the communities that need them most through a data-driven systematic approach. The SOS initiative used the equity impact analysis tool developed by the Department of Race and Equity to evaluate the efficacy and equity impacts of over 70 common traffic safety tools when determining how to develop strategies and priorities. The SOS team continues to use the equity impact analysis tool on specific strategies they are considering for implementation. In addition,
3 Serious bodily injury is any injury which involves temporary but substantial disfigurement of the body or a body part, temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any body part, or fracture of any body part. Serious bodily injury includes, but is not limited to loss of consciousness, concussion, dislocation of joints or appendages, and wounds requiring suturing. Serious bodily injuries typically require treatment in a hospital or medical facility beyond what is required by basic first aid.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 4
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
SOS uses OakDOT’s Geographic Equity Tool to identify Priority Equity Communities, setting out to rectify the harm caused by past redlining and neglect.
The SOS initiative puts safety first and prioritizes the most effective tools to prevent severe and fatal crashes and crash inequities, including among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. SOS incorporates a safe system approach that uses data and community engagement to inform location selection, design complete streets, and implement interventions that improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. Reviewing and lowering speed limits, increasing signage, and pursuing avenues for automated speed enforcement are key strategic plan and SOS strategies.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The SOS initiative advances citywide goals to create vibrant and sustainable infrastructure as well as a responsive and trustworthy government. Increased safety as well as heightened experience and perception of safety creates more opportunity for active transportation as well as for joyful activities and connections in our public space. SOS advances the goal of responsiveness and trustworthiness through using available data and analysis that is made publicly available on our website. In addition to transparency, inclusion through community outreach and collaboration is a key aspect of the SOS strategies. SOS also aligns with the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force’s Final Report and Recommendations, which was accepted by City Council in May 2021. Recommendation number 59 from the Taskforce is to move most traffic enforcement to OakDOT. SOS includes two strategies related to automated enforcement that would operationalize this goal, focuses limited traffic enforcement on the most dangerous driving behaviors, and has worked to advance these strategies as described here.
The goals of the SOS initiative are to:
1. Prevent severe and fatal crashes and related disparities impacting BIPOC communities, persons with disabilities, seniors, and low-income populations.
2. Eliminate severe and fatal injury inequities including racial disparities impacting BIPOC communities that exist today in Oakland.
3. Inform safety strategies that prevent injury and injury inequities, and do not have adverse equity impacts on BIPOC communities, seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income populations.
The SOS initiative focuses on six areas of strategy implementation that will save lives and prevent severe injuries: 1) coordination and collaboration; 2) engineering; 3) policy; 4) planning and evaluation; 5) engagement, education, and programs; and 6) enforcement.
The strategies serve as a guide and are ongoing; the implementation of each strategy will continue until there are zero severe and fatal crashes on Oakland’s streets. For each strategy, staff have summarized progress over the past year and planned actions for the year to come.
Together, these strategies are coordinated by the SOS interdepartmental team and rely on collaboration.
SOS is setting a goal of preventing all traffic fatalities on Oakland’s streets within 20 years, by 2042. No one should have to lose their life or their loved ones to preventable traffic crashes.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 5
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Achieving zero deaths will require unwavering implementation of the strategies outlined below, along with additional policy changes at the State and Federal levels. This goal should be considered in the context of other acts of violence in Oakland. The SOS team also believes that no one should lose their life to other preventable issues facing Oaklanders, including violence or homelessness. The SOS work strives to support and lift up overlapping solutions to the most urgent life or death issues facing Oaklanders. The urgent need for SOS is tragically made clear by the number of traffic fatalities on Oakland’s streets over the past several years, as captured in Table 1.
Table 1. Traffic Fatalities 2019-2022
Fatalities
Total 2019 Fatalities: 26
Vehicle Fatalities: 12
Motorcycle Fatalities (4)*
Ped Fatalities: 10
Bicycle Fatalities: 3
Scooter Fatalities: 1
Total 2020 Fatalities: 36
Vehicle Fatalities: 21
Motorcycle Fatalities (3)*
Ped Fatalities: 14
Bicycle Fatalities: 1
Scooter Fatalities: 0
Total 2021 Fatalities: 30
Vehicle Fatalities:
Motorcycle Fatalities (2)
Ped Fatalities: 8
Bicycle Fatalities: 2
Total 2022 Fatalities:** 20
Vehicle Fatalities: 13
Motorcycle Fatalities (3)
Ped Fatalities: 6
Bicycle Fatalities: 1
Scooter Fatalities: 0
*Motorcycle fatalities are included in vehicle fatalities. **2022 fatalities are through June 9, 2022.
Strategies Update
The following is a status update for the Traffic Safety Strategies that were recommended in 2021 and planned actions:
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 6
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
1. Coordination and Collaboration
The SOS efficacy and equity assessment found that strategies implemented comprehensively can have the greatest impact on safety and equity outcomes. By working together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Strategy 1.1: Safe Oakland Streets interdepartmental team to coordinate interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts to implement traffic safety strategies.
Accomplishments: The SOS team held regular meetings at multiple levels to coordinate the SOS approach. The core OakDOT staff coordinating this strategy met weekly. Strategy-focused subcommittees typically met monthly to ensure progress toward goals. Finally, the CAO convened larger bi-monthly meetings involving leadership of the interdepartmental City partners, including OakDOT, OPD, DRE, and OFD. OFD is a new partner that was brought into the SOS initiative due to their role as first responders to traffic crashes, and educators in the community.
The SOS Coordination Subcommittee produced SOS communications tools that are available for use across multiple departments, including: a brief description of SOS and its importance for a variety of uses including in traffic safety-related press releases, a logo, an overview presentation, a webpage, talking points, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
The SOS team also worked to coordinate with statewide and regional safety efforts, including participating in the California Cities Transportation Initiative’s Vision Zero working group, the California State Transportation Agency’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan Steering Committee, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Vision Zero Working Group. Through these partnerships, SOS has been able to influence state and regional policy and planning efforts.
In 2021, Oakland was one of three cities in California selected for a two-part Speed Management Workshop led by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Vision Zero Network. The workshop was held in Summer 2021 and attended by approximately 30 participants including City Council staff, staff from OakDOT, CAO, OPD, DRE, as well as Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Alameda County Public Health Department, with a welcome by Council President Bas and closing remarks by OakDOT Director Ryan Russo. Participants received an overview of speed management, safe systems, potential impacts of proposed state legislation, engineering solutions, opportunities with automated enforcement, interactive exercises and worked to conceptualize next steps. This workshop helped advance knowledge and partnerships to implement Safe Oakland Streets strategies addressing slower speeds to save lives and address injury inequities.
From July 2021 through January 2022, OakDOT worked to hire a Transportation Planner II to serve as the SOS Coordinator and support the ongoing planning and implementation of the SOS initiative. The SOS Coordinator was successfully hired and started in February 2022, contributing to the development of this report and other SOS initiatives.
Planned Actions: The SOS team will continue to meet and work toward the SOS strategies and goals. With additional capacity from the SOS Coordinator, staff anticipate the program will continue to grow and improve safety outcomes for Oaklanders through a coordinated, complementary approach.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 7
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Strategy 1.2: Safe Oakland Streets interdepartmental team to report back to the City Council on the status of the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative and its traffic safety strategies, on an annual basis.
Accomplishments: This SOS annual report serves as the SOS Team’s yearly status report to City Council.
2. Engineering
Engineering scores the highest of all the strategies for both efficacy and equity. For this reason, delivering engineering safety upgrades and improvements with a focus on the High Injury Network in High Priority Neighborhoods and in areas with vulnerable users, including schools, is a primary focus of SOS. These safety improvements are planned, managed, and built by OakDOT teams. Oakland Public Works (OPW) also contributes to the delivery of capital projects by overseeing construction management. SOS is working to track, report and communicate the delivery of these critical safety improvements to help measure how we are meeting the engineering strategy goals.
The types of safety improvements being tracked and shared herein vary widely; some are near term improvements that are designed and delivered in a matter of months, while others are long-lasting capital projects that have been conceptualized in community plans and have gone through years of planning and design in advance of construction.
As shown in Table 2, there are 419 total safety improvements tracked in 2021 and 2022, with 238 safety improvements delivered in 2021, and 181 safety improvements slated for delivery in 2022, plus an undetermined number of additional near-term improvements resulting from traffic safety service requests. The number of capital projects are projected to increase. This is related to the continued development of the teams that design and deliver this work, and the outcome of years of continuous efforts to establish contracts to deliver services to our community more expeditiously. OakDOT has been more successful at winning competitive grants than ever before, winning over $80 million in competitive grant funding in the last two years alone. This success will result in additional capital projects in future years, as they are currently in advanced design and engineering phases. (Refer to Attachment A for a complete list of 2021 and 2022 safety improvements, and Strategy 2.2 for more detail on Near Term Safety improvements).
Table 2. 2021 and 2022Safety Improvements
Project Type* 2021 2022
Capital Projects 22 23
Near Term Safety Improvements 216 158
Total 238 (includes Traffic
Safety Service Requests
181 + TBD (Traffic Safety
Service Requests)
Total for 2021 and 2022 419 Safety Improvements
*Capital Projects are longer-term projects that include long-lasting safety assets such as traffic signals, concrete work, and repaving, whereas Near Term Safety Improvements include improvements that can be implemented more quickly, including speed bumps, leading pedestrian intervals, and new signs and striping.
This SOS annual report is intended to help monitor and communicate the City’s collective traffic safety work, and builds on existing efforts. To that end, in the Fall of 2021, OakDOT completed Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 8
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
a major update to the OakDOT Major Projects Map that chronicles capital projects, a critical resource for agency coordination and transparency to advance safety and equity. It has had over 65,000 views to date. Updates included adding 42 projects and updated/improved information on all other projects; and adding the High Injury Network so the public can understand how our projects overlap with streets where crashes concentrate. OakDOT will continue making proactive updates to the Major Projects Map. In addition, in future annual reports the SOS team will expand the list of safety improvements presented in Attachment A to also communicate safety improvements currently under development with construction estimated for future years.
Strategy 2.1: DOT to focus project investment in high priority communities and on the high injury network.
Accomplishments: OakDOT will have delivered at least 419 discrete safety improvements between 2021 and 2022. OakDOT was able to map 168 of the 419 safety improvements. The remaining 251 safety improvements were not able to be mapped at this time, and include speed bumps, traffic safety service requests, and the location of speed limit reductions. Figure 1 demonstrates that 82% percent, or 137 out of 168 safety improvements will be on the High Injury Network. This is significant, because it demonstrates that we’re working to focus our investments where they will have the greatest opportunity to save lives, as our prioritization criteria notes.
OakDOT’s capital improvement projects are typically delivered by the department’s Great Streets Division and informed by the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which prioritizes projects based on nine factors that were established through a process involving community and City Council engagement, including: 1) equity, 2) health and safety, 3) economy, 4) environment, 5) improvements/upgrades, 6) addressing poor existing conditions, 7) project readiness, 8) collaboration, and 9) required work. OakDOT specifically prioritizes safety improvements on the High Injury Network, and in high priority equity communities when evaluating the “equity” and “health and safety” categories. Near-term safety improvements, typically delivered by the Safe Streets Division, have similar prioritization metrics which are described in more detail in Strategy 2.2 below.
In accordance with the City’s equity goals, 89% of mapped safety improvements are located within the “high” and “highest” priority equity neighborhood designations, with the remaining 4% in medium and 7% in “low” and “lowest” as demonstrated in Figure 2. This again reflects the efficacy of the established prioritization frameworks in advancing our policy goals.
Planned Actions: OakDOT will continue to align project investments with CIP priorities, including building safety improvements on the High Injury Network and in high priority equity neighborhoods. To evaluate success, SOS will continue to evaluate project delivery by priority equity communities and whether safety improvements are on the High Injury Network over time.
In addition, OakDOT will work to increase detailed tracking of safety improvements to include elements such as safety assets, level of community engagement, and before/after safety outcomes.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 9
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Figure 1. Projects On and Off the High Injury Network
*Locations for some near-term safety improvements including speed bumps, traffic safety service requests, and 2022 speed limit reduction locations are not represented. **Some safety improvements extend beyond the High Injury Network; all safety improvements included are at least 50% on the High Injury Network.
Figure 2. Projects by Priority Equity Neighborhood Designation
* 2021 totals do not include Traffic Safety Service Requests or Speed Bumps; 2022 totals are pending; some near-term safety improvements are still outstanding. **Some safety improvements extend into multiple Priority Equity Neighborhoods; all safety improvements included are at least 50% in the Priority Neighborhood they were counted in.
Projects by Priority Neighborhood (2021 & 2022)*,**
Lowest
Medium
4%
Low
3% 4%
Highest
29%
High
60%
Highest High Medium Low Lowest
Projects on the High Injury Network (2021 & 2022)*,**
180
160
140
120
100
80 31
21 60
40 20
0 137
10 102
35 Capital Near Term
Not On HIN
Total
On HIN
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 10
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Strategy 2.2: DOT to work in partnership with communities to implement responsive, proactive, and near-term improvements.
Accomplishments: In 2021 DOT delivered 221 near-term safety improvements, including but not limited to temporary pedestrian safety improvements, speed bumps, signs, traffic safety service requests, and sideshow prevention projects as outlined in Table 3 below and in Attachment A.
Table 3. Near-Term Safety Improvement Projects
Near-Term Safety Project by Program Type 2021
Traffic Safety Service Request Improvements 132
Speed Bumps 24
Rapid Response Safety Improvements 4
Council Earmark Locations 1
Sideshow Prevention Pilot Locations 3
Leading Pedestrian Intervals 36
Essential Places – Temporary Pedestrian Safety
Improvements* 5*
*3 of the Essential Places Improvements are capital projects
OakDOT’s Safe Streets Division manages a number of programs to deliver smaller-scale, nearer-term traffic calming, traffic safety and pedestrian safety improvements to Oakland residents, including core safety programs, Council member safety improvements and pilot safety improvements. Core programs for this work are as follows:
• Traffic Safety Service Request Program, responding primarily to the 311 Call Center requests for traffic safety improvements that are prioritized based on the most recent available crash and equity data, and essential places where more vulnerable populations travel (schools plus senior centers, libraries, transit stops, etc.); • School Safety Request Program, responding to individual schools, the school district, and other City departments;
• Speed Bump Program, responding to neighborhood petitions; and • Rapid Response Program, responding to fatal and severe injury crashes primarily involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
In addition to the above programs, the City Council has recently allocated additional funding for specific safety improvements identified by Council members:
• April 2021: City Council allocated $800,000 total for minor traffic safety improvements identified by City Council offices; and
• July 2021: City Council amended the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-23 Biennial Budget to increase OakDOT’s operational capacity by approximately $3 million to implement specific, earmarked traffic safety improvements using OakDOT’s fund balance in Measure BB Transportation Sales Tax from FY 2020-2021.
Finally, OakDOT has innovated its programmatic work, to address urgent safety issues for Oakland residents at the intersection of traffic safety and community violence, and established the following additional pilot programs since 2021, which now have specific funding from the July 2021 Council Earmarks described above:
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 11
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
• The Sideshow Prevention Pilot Program
• The Violence Prevention Pilot Program
More detailed information about these programs – including their focus, prioritization approach, FY 2021 accomplishments, FY 2022 and 2023 deliverables, and recommendations to improve and expedite their delivery to meet the needs of Oakland residents – is included in the March 1, 2022 Traffic Safety and Pedestrian Safety Improvements Informational Report to City Council, with Supplemental Reports on May 17, 2022 and June 21, 2022.
In addition to the near-term safety improvements advanced by the above programs, the Traffic Signals team continued to maintain Oakland’s 695 traffic signals and began retiming 85 signals primarily in Oakland’s Downtown with leading pedestrian intervals – a relatively low-cost treatment that enhances pedestrian visibility, provides walking priority over turning vehicles, and reduces pedestrian vs. permissive turning vehicle collisions. 36 signals were implemented as of December 2021, with the remaining 49 implemented in early 2022.
In 2021, OakDOT was also managing and maintaining Oakland’s Slow Streets-Essential Places program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – and working to institutionalize that work into OakDOT’s existing programs as described in an informational report to Council on February 22, 2022. This included implementing permanent safety treatments at five locations that received temporary safety treatments as part of the Essential Places Program, focused on pedestrian safety treatments at Essential Services prioritizing high priority equity areas and locations on or near the high injury network.
OakDOT has developed several webpages to increase transparency regarding project delivery and timelines for these programs, as follows:
• How to Apply for a Speed Bump and Active Applications:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/apply-for-a-speed-bump • $800K Allocation for High Priority Traffic Calming:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/traffic-safety-800k-allocation-oakdot-prioritization-
and-process
• 2021-2023 Traffic Safety Earmarks: https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/2021-2023- traffic-safety-earmarks
• OakDOT Sideshow Prevention Efforts: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/sideshow- prevention-efforts
Planned Actions: The 2022 near-term safety improvements are ongoing with respect to traffic safety service requests and rapid responses to severe and fatal crashes. Some of the near- term safety improvements implemented or scheduled for 2022 are also summarized in Attachment A including sideshow prevention improvements, violence prevention improvements, school safety improvements, council earmark improvements, business zone speed limit reductions, rapid response safety improvements, speed bumps, and leading pedestrian intervals.
In 2022, OakDOT will develop a system for more transparent tracking responses specifically to school safety requests, which historically have been tracked as part of overall traffic safety requests.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 12
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Strategy 2.3: DOT to apply existing tools to increase safety in the highest priority neighborhoods through engagement and partnerships.
Accomplishments: OakDOT follows DRE’s inclusive engagement guidelines, and strives to meaningfully engage community members, with a focus on the City’s high priority equity neighborhoods. Through OakDOT’s Racial Equity Team, staff drafted and shared Community Engagement Standard Operating Procedures with the department at-large to guide and inform how outreach and engagement can be planned and carried out to ensure more equitable outcomes that align with the City's equity goals. OakDOT staff are also highly involved in the interdepartmental “Inclusive Community Engagement Working Group,” which provides resources, training, and support for all citywide engagement efforts, and aims to collaborate and coordinate events to engage residents on multiple areas of interest.
OakDOT works to ensure that the most transformative, long-lasting projects receive the deepest engagement. As such, the Planning & Project Development team within OakDOT’s Great Streets Division (focused on capital projects) works to conduct in-depth engagement in high priority equity communities to identify priorities for future capital projects. In 2021 alone, the team completed a total of 69 outreach events, ranging from focus groups to walks with stakeholders. Some large-scale efforts, like the East Oakland Mobility Action Plan and the Grand Avenue Mobility Plan, distill community priorities and initiate community-driven capital projects. The East Oakland Mobility Action Plan was launched in 2019 in collaboration with community-based organizations that could reach and elevate the needs of community members on the ground. Engagement was focused on strategies that would meet people where they are, including pop-ups, focus groups, virtual engagement, and collaborative surveys where safety was identified as a primary concern. Through this effort community-specific safety needs were identified and inform East Oakland capital project development. Similarly, community-based organizations (CBOs) were hired to engage hard to reach populations in West Oakland as part of the Grand Avenue Mobility Plan. In addition to working with CBOs, engagement so far has included a virtual open house and social media outreach. This engagement has helped inform upcoming safety and access improvements delivered through repaving Grand Avenue, which is also on the High Injury Network.
Planned Actions: Emerging and ongoing capital and near-term safety improvement projects will include appropriate engagement through community partnerships, public meetings and notifications, project webpages, and social media posts. One example of an upcoming project with extensive community engagement is the West Oakland Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEPS), which launches in 2022. OakDOT will work with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to improve truck parking regulations and enforcement, as well as create truck traffic calming recommendations to mitigate emissions exposure and safety impacts in high priority West Oakland neighborhoods. The West Oakland STEPS project also includes filling sidewalk gaps, planting up to 2,000 trees and shrubs, building a bike resource hub, improving 14 bus stops, and providing universal basic mobility passes in West Oakland. As mentioned above, OakDOT is working on tracking and communicating engagement for future SOS annual reports.
Strategy 2.4: DOT to increase the delivery of traffic safety treatments through routine paving projects.
Accomplishments: OakDOT has increased the delivery of traffic safety treatments by leveraging ongoing work to pave and restripe streets. All paving projects now include routine Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 13
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
curb ramp upgrades to meet current accessibility standards, installing only high-visibility crosswalks, which can reduce crashes by up to 40%, and sidewalk improvements to enhance accessibility. Additional improvements in some paving projects include speed humps, bus boarding islands, pedestrian refuge islands, and, when coordinated with grant funding, they may also include more complex improvements such as flashing beacons, traffic signals, etc. Paving projects are prioritized based on the following safety and equity criteria: whether the corridor is on the High Injury Network in a high or highest priority equity areas, in school zones, a high- frequency transit route, and on the bike network. Traffic calming measures were installed as part of routine paving projects throughout Oakland, with more than half of the 2021 completed projects that included traffic calming beyond routine paving improvements were on the High Injury Network. Some streets included in this list are Macarthur Boulevard, Park Boulevard, Telegraph Avenue and 23
rd Avenue.
Planned Actions: Continue to upgrade all curb ramps to current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, crosswalks to high-visibility crosswalks, and make sidewalk improvements as feasible when streets are being paved.
To continue to leverage the opportunity to deliver safety improvements through paving, OakDOT is advancing an analysis to help deliver quality Neighborhood Bike Routes on over 50 miles of streets included in the Five-Year Paving Plan. The analysis is evaluating potential sites for speed humps and/or traffic circles, stop signs or other improvements. This work is foundational for advancing more intensive traffic calming on Neighborhood Bike Routes, in alignment with Slow Streets Phase III's strategy to implement permanent Slow Streets serving bicyclists, pedestrians, and micro-mobility users.
In 2022, OakDOT will begin planning on how to expand the Essential Places program as part of implementation of the Five-Year Paving Plan, prioritizing pedestrian safety improvements at essential services that our residents, particularly the most vulnerable, rely on.
3. Policy
The SOS Efficacy and Equity Assessment found that policies that address speeding and speed limits, as well as automated enforcement, are highly effective at preventing severe and fatal crashes and can address inequities and/or can be designed to mitigate equity impacts. This section provides an overview of applicable policy changes and accomplishments.
Strategy 3.1: OakDOT to reduce school zone speed limits to 15 mph as allowed by state law.
Accomplishments: OakDOT reviewed the legal requirements associated with implementing the law allowing speed reductions and determined a prioritization approach. Implementation is grounded in key SOS priorities including crash history, equity metrics, and student health factors. Reduced speed limits and new signage will be installed according to prioritization metrics in 2022.
Planned Actions: School zone speed limits will be reduced to 15 mph where eligible in a phased implementation approach based on the above prioritization. Installation of signs will begin in June 2022, with 10 schools completed before the 2022/2023 school year starts, and 20 schools total completed by the end of the calendar year. See Attachment B for a list of the Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 14
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
initial 10 schools to be implemented, along with details on which types of streets qualify for 15 mph speed limit reductions under State law. Installation will continue in 2023 both through direct work orders issued by traffic engineering and by incorporating 15 MPH school zones into signage and striping plans for other OakDOT safety improvements near schools. The SOS team will also work to engage schools and communities in the area on communications regarding the importance of slow vehicle speeds near schools as speed limits are reduced.
Strategy 3.2: OakDOT to explore re-establishing automated red-light running enforcement with guidance on equity mitigations.
Accomplishments: OakDOT reviewed the outcomes of the City’s previous red light camera program and spoke with other California cities with successful programs to understand what is working. OakDOT also collaborated with a UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy fellow to research strategies that can be implemented to strengthen efficacy and mitigate equity outcomes.
Planned Actions: The SOS team will present findings to City Council that evaluate past Red Light Camera programs in Oakland, and current programs in other cities, including a focus on best practices and recommendations for a new program in Oakland, based on existing state law, as well as recommendations for advocating for changes to state law in the future. Following the aforementioned research and recommendations, the SOS initiative will consider making a recommendation to City Council regarding re-starting the Red Light Camera program.
Strategy 3.3: CAO, DOT, and OPD to advocate for State policy to authorize guidelines for the use of automated speed enforcement.
Accomplishments: Extensive advocacy work was done in 2021 to advance Assembly Bill (AB) 550 (Chiu) to allow Oakland and four other California cities to pilot speed safety cameras, which ultimately failed. In 2022, Oakland continued to be included in a similar bill (AB 2336, Friedman) to authorize a speed safety camera pilot program, along with five other California cities that would have been allowed to install speed safety programs if AB 2336 had passed. OakDOT and CAO staff continued to play a large role in shaping AB 2336 to respond to the concerns expressed regarding AB 550, and informed Oakland stakeholders and elected officials about the bill and its relation to SOS and reimagining public safety task force goals. More details on the bill, including the goals, efficacy in slowing traffic and reducing traffic deaths, and privacy and equity mitigations can be found on the City’s website:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/assembly-bill-2336-friedman-speed-safety-systems-pilot-
program. In addition, the SOS team presented this bill to the City’s Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (voted to support), Privacy Advisory Commission (endorsed the privacy provisions, but chose not to endorse a bill that can still be amended), and Mayors Commission on Persons with Disabilities. The bill passed both the Assembly Transportation and Assembly Privacy Committees but was held in Assembly Appropriations and will not move forward.
Although the City Council took a position in favor of AB 550 in 2021, there was no action taken by Council on AB 2336 before it was held in the Appropriations Committee. With support from multiple Boards and Commissions, staff recommends that City Council take a proactive position in favor of automated speed enforcement to help support a longer effort at building a coalition prior to the next legislative season. The opponents of automated speed enforcement have well- established lobbying efforts that include the Teamsters Union, Law Enforcement groups such as Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), and the American Civil Liberties Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 15
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Union (ACLU). These groups have either an economic or ideological opposition to the use of such technology and a close relationship with legislators. They typically rely on old rhetoric such as fear of replacing police with cameras, a fear of speed traps impacting truck drivers disproportionately, or civil liberty concerns over the use of surveillance technology. Much less represented in the debate are those families that have been devastated by traffic violence, or trauma doctors, nurses, and fire fighters who must respond when people are severely injured, and community leaders who witness traffic violence in their communities every day. Without these voices being well organized by local political leadership, the City will not benefit from this highly effective tool. Because the authors of both AB 550 and AB 2336 took great strides to address equity and privacy through measures such as fine reductions, diversion programs, and statutes on sharing and saving data, a well-crafted new measure with support from Oakland’s leaders could easily be crafted.
Planned Actions: The SOS team will work with State partners to determine if there is a future opportunity for automated speed enforcement.
Strategy 3.4: CAO, DOT, and OPD to advocate for State policy for local speed limit reductions to improve safety and save lives.
Accomplishments: OakDOT worked with Oakland elected officials and partners across the state to support the successful passage of Assembly Bill 43 (Friedman), which gives more authority to California cities to lower speeds limits in certain cases, and prevents cities from having to raise speed limits in order to enforce them. AB 43 was signed into law in October 2021. Since then, OakDOT has been planning and conducting detailed analyses for implementation. Staff presented to City Council on next steps at the January 25, 2022, AB 43 Informational Report item at Public Works Committee meeting.
Planned Actions: AB 43 offers multiple ways in which OakDOT can lower speed limits. Some of these strategies are already authorized, and some rely on administrative guidelines to be updated first. OakDOT is actively following the administrative updates and weighing in to ensure that administrative updates appropriately integrate the intent of the legislation.
In addition to the school speed limit signage implementation described in section 3.1, OakDOT is taking the following actions currently authorized by the legislation to implement the speed limit setting provisions enabled through AB 43:
• OakDOT will begin implementing speed limit reductions of five miles per hour in locations that quality as Business Activity Districts as allowable by AB 43. In addition to the implementation criteria stated in the law related to commercial zoning, retail/dining frontages, number of lanes, on-street parking, signals/stops signs and marked, uncontrolled crosswalks, streets will be further prioritized for implementation based on whether they are on the high injury network and in priority equity areas. OakDOT is conducting a citywide analysis to identify commercial areas eligible for speed limit lowering which will then be prioritized for implementation in a report to council for authorization in Fall 2022. Five 20 or 25 mph commercial zones will be implemented by the end of 2022, and at least five additional zones will be completed in 2023. • Gateway locations at freeway off-ramps and locations where arterials cross city limits are being identified for additional signage to increase awareness of city speed limits. The workflow for sign installation is expected to be competed in 2022 and installation will begin in 2023.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 16
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
• OakDOT is working on extending formerly expired speed surveys that are required for traffic enforcement and speed limit setting. There are currently 117 streets that require speed surveys in Oakland. Of those, 108 (92%) were expired, and 9 (8%) were active up until early 2022. As a result of AB 43, staff is extending 60 speed surveys, resulting in 59% (69/117) of all required streets having an active speed survey by the end of this year. Speed surveys are required for speed enforcement, whether conducted by OPD or speed safety cameras, should an automated speed enforcement system move forward.
For the 41% of streets with expired speed surveys that need to be re-surveyed, OakDOT is working on a task order to complete that work in 2023.
Strategy 3.5: DOT to identify and advance policies to expedite the delivery of traffic safety improvements, reflecting the urgency to prevent severe and fatal traffic injuries.
Accomplishments: OakDOT has adopted policies (both administrative and City Council approved) to establish project and investment priorities. As mentioned throughout the report, these focus on safety, equity, and land uses that attract vulnerable road users. This prioritization is critical for keep staff focused and working to implement safety improvements with both the greatest urgency, and the greatest impact. See the “Challenges and Opportunities” Section of this report for a deeper discussion on this topic.
In addition, staff vacancies significantly impact OakDOT’s ability to deliver safety improvements rapidly. These include vacancies within other departments and OakDOT. For instance, vacancies within Oakland Public Works’ (OPW) contracting team and the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards result in slower processing of contracts for project planning, design, and construction. Vacancies within Human Resources Management (HRM) result in the slower hiring of all vacancies. OakDOT and OPW have worked to address key engineering vacancies by creating a rolling application process. This has helped get more vacancies filled in those critical classifications.
Planned Actions: OakDOT will continue to work with HRM and the CAO to elevate policies that focus on employee recruitment and retention and would help us deliver more safety improvements with the urgency they deserve. On June 21, 2022, OakDOT presented a supplemental report to City Council with specific actions that could be advanced to assist in resolving this challenge.
In addition, OakDOT will continue to remind the public, City Council, and city leadership of the importance of focusing on adopted prioritization processes and seeks assistance from City Council in minimizing diversions from those priorities to ensure data-driven priorities are implemented as quickly, equitably, and efficiently as possible.
4. Planning & Evaluation
Strategy 4.1: DOT to explore data partnerships to supplement police-reported collision data for more comprehensive collision data.
Accomplishments: OakDOT staff met with San Francisco Department of Public Health staff regarding their comprehensive Transportation-related Injury Surveillance System linking police and hospital data and organized ongoing monthly meetings with the Alameda County Public Health Department staff working to establish a pilot of a similar data system to include Oakland.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 17
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Planned Actions: OakDOT will continue to meet with Alameda County Public Health Department regularly, as they work to increase capacity for a similar collaboration between hospital, police, and other first responder agencies to supplement police-reported collision data with hospital collision data, for more comprehensive traffic collision data to inform lifesaving improvements, providing updates to the high injury network, and looping in the SOS core team agencies as helpful and identifying needed resources to support the effort. Part of this work will also include understanding data sources available, and data needs to assess crash patterns among people with disabilities.
Strategy 4.2: OPD to coordinate with DOT to provide public-facing tracking of traffic deaths in Oakland for transparent monitoring and accountability.
Accomplishments: OPD and OakDOT institutionalized a monthly traffic fatality reporting protocol for timely reporting of fatality data and coordination for rapid responses to severe and fatal crashes. The data was also shared with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission on a monthly basis to increase awareness of traffic deaths to vulnerable road users in Oakland and the City’s response.
Planned Actions: OakDOT will work with OPD on a public-facing webpage, including a map, for traffic fatality reporting, and continue to coordinate to update the map and accompanying data summaries on a monthly basis for transparent tracking of traffic deaths.
Strategy 4.3: OPD to provide public access to stop data via City Open Data platform.
Accomplishments: OPD provided public access to stop data with quarterly reports of data available online (https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/stop-data ) that includes: report number,
type of traffic violation, Oakland resident status data, race, gender, date, stop location (as legally feasible), reason for stop, violation codes for stops, whether a person stopped was searched and the result of the search, result of stop, encounter type (vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian), dispatch or not, intelligence-led or not.
Planned Actions: OPD will continue publishing stop data details so that data is accessible to the public.
Strategy 4.4: DOT to develop a data-driven Local Road Safety Plan to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on City streets.
Accomplishments: OakDOT was awarded funds by Caltrans to develop a Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) in 2018. Since then, staff have concurrently developed the Safe Oakland Streets initiative and the Local Road Safety Plan (Attachment C) which summarizes the equity and data-driven traffic safety approaches utilized by OakDOT to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on City Streets. The LRSP is a framework to systematically identify and analyze safety problems and recommend safety improvements.
Planned Actions: OakDOT will update the High Injury Network by winter 2023 and the crash trend analysis, which identifies critical trends in crashes as they relate to race, age, geography, causes, etc., to inform a proactive approach to addressing safety needs based on factors associated with serious and fatal crashes. An active LRSP is required to remain eligible for future state safety grants, including the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 18
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
5. Engagement, Education & Programs
Strategy 5.1: Safe Oakland Streets interdepartmental team to explore how to best engage community members on the comprehensive traffic safety strategies advanced by Oakland, and how to increase resident participation and communications to be more representative and transparent.
Accomplishments: In addition to the in-depth engagement described in Strategy 3.3 above, the SOS team has taken numerous steps to improve community awareness of the safety improvements we’re working on, why we consider various traffic safety tools, and how we prioritize projects for planning, design, and construction. Below is a list of the ways in which we’ve worked to improve community transparency of our work:
• The SOS team created a Safe Oakland Streets webpage, with relevant background information and resources, including the 2021 inaugural SOS report to City Council, fact sheets with crash trend data in Oakland, access to the High Injury Network map and the Geographic Equity Toolbox map displaying priority equity neighborhoods, and a Crash Prevention Street Design Toolkit that builds community capacity by displaying photos and descriptions of common traffic safety tools and their impact on safety as measured by their ability to reduce crashes.
• OakDOT developed a list of 2021 safety improvements under construction, with hyperlinks to project webpages and make that available at the SOS webpage and promoted it through community meetings and City Council updates:
www.oaklandca.gov/SOS
• OakDOT presented on SOS to Neighborhood Service Coordinators, which provide staff support to Neighborhood Councils, including actionable ways in which residents can request traffic safety services.
• OakDOT also began forming partnerships and meeting with Neighborhood Councils, focusing on those in priority neighborhoods. Slides describing SOS, prioritization criteria, and ways to take action have been created for these presentations and other relevant community presentations.
• OakDOT has engaged with Oaklandside as applicable on a traffic safety reporting series.
• The SOS team has proactively presented on SOS and relevant major projects (including State policy initiatives) to relevant City commissions for their awareness, including Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Mayor’s Commission on Aging, the Privacy Advisory Commission, and the Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities. The SOS team regularly attends Livable Oakland’s working group meetings, which is affiliated with the Mayor’s Commission on Aging and focuses on supporting aging in place.
Planned Actions: The SOS team will continue to build awareness of our ongoing work through annual updates such as this one, information sharing with Neighborhood Service Coordinators, regular updates to our website and social media accounts, and engaging news outlets as appropriate. Over the next year, the team will determine a more detailed engagement strategy now that the SOS Coordinator is on staff and brings additional capacity to focus on this work.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 19
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Strategy 5.2: CAO to support the departments in developing protocols with OakDOT, OPD, DVP and others to provide a holistic approach to community safety.
Accomplishments: Oakland is working to address urgent safety issues for Oakland residents that intersect with transportation safety – including sideshows and community violence. In 2021 the CAO began regularly convening OPD, the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), OakDOT, OPW and other city agencies for the NEST (Neighborhood Enhanced Service Team) initiative - an inter-departmental city initiative focused on the police beats experiencing the highest levels of violence in Oakland. NEST elevates basic service delivery in the priority neighborhoods demonstrating an immediate noticeable impact on their surroundings, while also conducting engagement that connects residents to programs that improve the quality of life.
EST initially focused on East Oakland (beats 34X, 30X, 26Y, 33X, 27Y, 35X) and in 2022 is expanding to Central Oakland (beat 19X) and West Oakland (beats 02X, 02Y, 07X).
In 2021, OakDOT worked in support of the NEST initiative, included prioritizing signage and painting for high-ranking service requests and maintenance needs in police beats 30X and 34X to improve transportation and environmental conditions – including over 3,000 feet of linear curb paint, over 1,000 feet of painted legends, and 25 repaired/replaced signs as a part of two focused days of action. OakDOT also installed 10 Concrete Planters at two entries to Arroyo Viejo Park to help curtail loitering, illegal dumping, and vehicle abandonment.
The CAO also regularly convenes OPD and OakDOT on sideshow prevention efforts as described here: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/sideshow-prevention-efforts. Because there are no established best-practice strategies to prevent sideshows, the City has embarked on an inter-departmental pilot led by OPD and the City Administrator’s Office with support from OakDOT to see what engineering strategies can be implemented to support enforcement efforts at some of the most impacted intersections in Oakland. Starting in Spring of 2021, OakDOT began implementing a pilot of engineering treatments at three locations designed to reduce the area where sideshows can occur and discourage sideshow activity. Hardened centerlines (an OakDOT innovation) and Botts’ Dots were installed at Foothill Ave./Fairfax Ave, 35 th
Ave/MacArthur Ave, High St./MacArthur Ave in support of sideshow enforcement efforts. All three locations are also on the high injury network, and hardened centerlines have safety co- benefits in that they also reduce vehicle speeds while turning, when crashes – including those involving pedestrians – are more likely to occur. OakDOT staff also engaged with Caltrans regarding potential improvements at an additional two locations identified by OPD that are in Caltrans jurisdiction: 42nd Ave/International Blvd and 42nd Ave underneath the I-880.
OakDOT and OPD look to partner and pursue an additional enforcement strategy of pursuing the organizers and promoters or large sideshow events, the large events are advertised on social media sites. This enforcement strategy may require Oakland City Council action to adopt a new Oakland Municipal Ordinance that would allow more proactive enforcement and prevention of sideshows. This will require legal analysis from the Oakland City Attorney Office to protect the Constitutional Rights of the citizens of Oakland.
In addition, the SOS team has been exploring collaboration opportunities with the Oakland Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) team within the City’s Human Services Department. The team was undergoing a staffing and programmatic transition, but fortunately their grant was renewed to provide continued support to Oaklanders. Initial Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 20
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
collaboration ideas included working on restorative justice art or community-led events following a severe or fatal traffic crash.
Planned Actions: In support of the NEST initiative, OakDOT implemented speed bumps and improved lighting on 15th Street in police beat 19X. OakDOT will continue to work with the CAO, OPD, DVP and Council Offices to identify additional improvements for the violence prevention pilot funding in 2022 and will be launching a program webpage by Summer 2022 for transparency and accountability. With respect to sideshow prevention, five additional locations were identified for sideshow prevention measures by Summer 2022. Additionally, the District 4 Council office specifically identified two more locations for sideshow prevention improvements as a part of traffic safety earmarks in Oakland’s 2021-2023 biennial budget (MacArthur/Coolidge and MacArthur/Fruitvale). Finally, the SOS team will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate with ReCAST as the program builds out their new grant program.
Strategy 5.3: DOT to partner with community-based organizations to provide traffic safety programs per the Bike & Pedestrian plans.
Accomplishments: OakDOT partnered with local CBOs to provide traffic safety programming to vulnerable populations, per the recommendations in the City’s Pedestrian Plan and Bicycle Plan. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Program upported a bicycle giveaway and safety program for residents of the Camino 23 Satellite Affordable Housing Associates apartment complex in Oakland’s San Antonio neighborhood via the Cycles of Change bicycle non-profit organization; TransForm was sub-contracted to offer pedestrian- and transit-oriented safety classes to the residents, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program continued support for bicycle safety classes offered by Bike East Bay, which hosted 10 safety webinars with 153 attendees in 2021. Staff partnered with United Seniors of Oakland and Alameda County on its Walkable Neighborhoods for Seniors program. This program is a coalition of walking clubs from throughout Oakland working to promote physical activity and pedestrian safety for seniors. OakDOT has assisted the program with accessing services through OAK311, with an emphasis on pedestrian-related issues including crosswalks, sidewalk maintenance, and sidewalks blocked by parked cars and waste receptacles.
Planned Actions: The City-supported bicycle, pedestrian, and transit safety classes offered by Cycles of Change and TransForm at Camino 23 will conclude by March 2022. Bike East Bay’s bicycle education contract concluded in February 2022, one webinar and on-the-road bicycle skills workshop were hosted in 2022. Bike East Bay will begin a new contract to offer bicycle safety and skills classes free of charge to the public, in addition to a youth bike build and giveaway. Cycles of Change will offer an Earn-a-Bike program consisting of bicycle safety education (in-person and on the road), a bicycle giveaway, and a community ride series. A Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP) grant awarded by the California Air Resource Board will fund a West Oakland Bike Resource Hub to begin implementation in 2022; the City and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project will partner with The Crucible to expand the services that the Crucible’s Bike Program has provided in West Oakland by adding new curriculum and resources to reach more West Oaklanders, and by installing bike fix-it stations throughout West Oakland in key destinations. Additionally, OakDOT is continuing its partnership with Walkable Neighborhoods for Seniors.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 21
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
6. Enforcement
Strategy 6.1: Safe Oakland Streets interdepartmental team to consider complementary strategies to traffic enforcement to achieve traffic safety goals and a culture of safety.
Accomplishments: As described in Strategy 3: Policy (above), the SOS team worked to evaluate the previous red light camera program and is developing recommendations for an updated program. In addition, the SOS team worked to support AB 2336 (Friedman): Speed Safety Systems Pilot Program, which would have allowed Oakland to take steps toward implementing Recommendation 59 of the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, which calls on the City to move most traffic enforcement OakDOT, but the bill did not successfully advance through the legislative process.
See also the summary of the work for the NEST initiative and Sideshow Prevention under Strategy 5.2
Planned Actions: The SOS team will continue to evaluate red light automated enforcement opportunities, as described in Strategy 3.2.
See also the summary of the work for the NEST initiative and Sideshow Prevention under Strategy 5.2
Strategy 6.2: DOT and OPD to collaborate on data sharing to guide traffic enforcement to be more operationally focused, and data driven.
Accomplishments: Through the SOS partnership, OakDOT provided OPD with high injury network maps and most dangerous driving violations that contribute to severe and fatal crashes to guide enforcement, which informed OPD enforcement operations. The most dangerous driving behaviors: Failure to Yield, Unsafe Speed, Unsafe Turning, Impaired Driving, and Disobeying Traffic Signs, account for 70% of Severe and Fatal Crashes.
Planned Actions: OakDOT will continue to share data with OPD to guide traffic enforcement in support of enforcement efforts focused where fatal and severe crashes are concentrated, and on the most dangerous driving behaviors. In 2022, OakDOT will work with OPD to develop a pamphlet/flier to share with drivers who are stopped for dangerous driving violations as a part of enforcement operations – to provide educational information regarding SOS, traffic safety in Oakland, and the critical role of safe driving to save lives.
Strategy 6.3: OPD to pilot high visibility enforcement focused on dangerous driving behaviors within the high injury corridors, as feasible.
Accomplishments: OPD has made significant progress institutionalizing focusing high visibility enforcement operations on the most dangerous driving behaviors within the high injury corridors. Non-dispatch, non-intel led traffic stops are the stops that OPD officers make for traffic enforcement (in contrast to stops that are the result of a dispatched call for service or are intelligence-led4) and thus have the most discretion and are the focus of SOS reporting and
4 A subset of non-dispatch traffic stops which require officers to possess knowledge from an articulable source that leads to the initiation of a stop. The source of information may be very specific, such as a Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 22
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
analysis. Detailed information regarding all OPD stops is also publicly available here:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/stop-data. Attachment D includes summary statistics for these non-dispatch, non-intel-led traffic stops from 2019-2021.
Key findings for non-dispatch, non-intel led stops include:
• In 2021, 73% of stops were within 500 feet of the High Injury Network compared to 61% in 2019.
• 64% of 2021 stops were for the most dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to severe and fatal crashes, compared to just 40% in 2019. • In that same period, there has been a notable decline in the absolute number of traffic stops in Oakland. There were 2,870 non-dispatch, non-intel led traffic stop in 2021, less than half of the stops conducted in 2020 (5,987 stops) - down from over 20,000 stops conducted in 2017. The most recent decline coincides with the elimination of the OPD traffic unit in January 2021. There are currently no OPD officers dedicated to traffic enforcement unit.
• The majority of traffic stops (52%) were conducted as a part of enforcement operations funded by state Office of Traffic Safety grant funds in 2021, compared to 35% of operations conducted in 2020.
Planned Actions: OPD is continuing to institutionalize focused enforcement efforts on the High Injury Network and on the most dangerous driving behaviors with funding from the Office of Traffic Safety for enforcement operations. Per the above, in 2022, OakDOT is also developing public information cards for officers to give drivers during traffic stops to inform them of the SOS initiative and the purpose of enforcement efforts on the High Injury Network and on the specific dangerous driving behaviors.
Strategy 6.4: OPD to develop guidance for reducing the racial disparity between non- dispatch traffic stops and crashes.
Expand the current research to conduct a more detailed analysis to inform a better understanding of the disparities, metrics for disparities and benchmarks for reducing disparities in order to develop directives and/or guidance for reducing the racial disparity between non- dispatch traffic stops and crashes by applying the most effective strategies to reduce bias, and focusing on the most dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to severe and fatal crashes, as opposed to equipment and non-moving violation stops which have higher racial disparities.
Accomplishments: Officers continue to focus on moving violations rather than equipment and non-moving violations for non-dispatch, non-intelligence led stops which involve the most officer discretion. This focus has reduced the racial disparity over time, culminating in Quarter 4 of 2021, where moving violations represented over 90% of non-dispatch non-intel stops across all races (Attachment D).
named or described suspect, or general information about a recent crime trend tied to a specific location and involved individuals. An officer’s knowledge and intent at the time the stop is initiated is important in determining whether the stop is intelligence-led. The intelligence-led field is captured in addition to the primary legal reason for every stop.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 23
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
While the absolute number of stops also decreased by over 50% between 2020 and 2021, Black and Latiné drivers continue to comprise 78% of drivers stopped for traffic violations in Oakland in 2021. As OPD has significantly increased its focus on the High Injury Network - where severe and fatal crashes are most concentrated – it is also focusing enforcement operations in high priority equity areas of that network. As these operations become more focused, this also makes the focus on moving violations – and particularly the most dangerous driving behaviors critical – to reduce racial bias. 52% of non-dispatch, non-intel led stops were on the High Injury Network and in High/Highest Priority Equity areas. 68% of the High Injury Network is also in the High/Highest Priority Equity areas.
OPD regularly assesses, through its risk management process, traffic violation stops. Monthly meetings are held and commanders are held accountable for the actions of their personnel.
Analyses of traffic violations are conducted based on type, race, and outcome and are provided to each commander. Commanders are expected to drill down further into the data to ensure that their officers’ actions are not only lawful but also effective and respond to the needs of the public. Where disparity is probable or known (e.g., due to disparities in suspect descriptions or location demographics), risk management requires evaluation and mitigation to the extent to which the surrounding community is affected – both by crime as well as by responses to crime and public safety need. Where a disparity is evident, decision-making and outcome are assessed by supervisors and command to determine the causes and reasons.
Planned Actions: Per the Risk Management Policy (DGO R-1), the OPD will continue to hold risk management meetings monthly and will continue to assess traffic violations on multiple levels.
Strategy 6.5: OPD to add focused traffic violations as a special section within the annual OPD Stop Data report.
Accomplishments: In 2021, OPD began including data on Non-Dispatch Traffic Stops in the quarterly Stop Data Reports, which now include summary statistics by race, violation type (moving, equipment, non-moving including registration), and intel versus non-intel led factor present. The quarterly reports are published online and available at https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/2021-stop-data. This data is also summarized in Attachment D.
The discretionary non-dispatch non-intelligence led stops have decreased by raw number and percent. Officers continue to focus on moving violations and have increased the percent of traffic stops due to the most dangerous driving behaviors, as described above under Strategy
6.3 Planned Actions: OPD will continue publishing these quarterly reports for transparency and accountability. OakDOT will work with OPD to integrate the SOS dangerous driving behavior violations as a sub-category for reporting in 2022. OakDOT will work with OPD to summarize stops by mode, race, sex and stop reason for inclusion in the next annual report and for review by the SOS Core Team and Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, consistent with the 2019, Bike Plan’s Health & Safety Goals (Actions D.1-3).
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 24
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Challenges and Opportunities
Advancing the SOS strategies outlined below will require focus, support across all levels of government, and overcoming challenges, as identified in Table 4 below (repeated from Executive Summary).
Table 4. Challenges and Opportunities
Challenge Opportunity
Staffing shortages/multiple vacancies
across departments results in capacity
limitations at all levels, from hiring staff, to
administering contracts, and to burn out
that results and impacts on staff
performance and retention. Limited staff
capacity impacts the City’s ability to deliver
on SOS goals. Emerging discretionary
projects requested outside prioritization
processes reduce staff capacity to deliver
prioritized safety improvements and
achieve SOS goals.
In addition to the ongoing Citywide efforts to
address staff recruitment and retention, staff
needs support from City Council to stay
focused on safety improvements that merit
improvements through established prioritization
processes based on data. While demand for
traffic safety improvements is high across the
city, focusing resources where crashes and
high priority equity communities are most
concentrated is what is required to achieve
SOS goals.
Extremely dangerous driving behaviors
(DUI, extreme speeding) that contribute to
severe and fatal crashes and pose
significant challenges for engineering.
New speed limit setting laws will allow Oakland
to lower speed limits on certain streets and in
School Zones. This, in conjunction with traffic
safety engineering improvements, can have a
meaningful impact on reducing speeds and
associated crashes, however, this isn’t a
panacea and unfortunately some people will
continue to speed and disregard signs and
traffic calming measures. With the federal
administration’s focus on traffic safety, there is
also an opportunity to engage in meaningful
federal policy advocacy that focus on systemic
solutions. These include advocacy that would
expand the application of speed governors and
Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety
(DADSS) to detect unsafe alcohol levels among
drivers. Oakland should take every opportunity
to advocate for and support these types of
policy interventions.
AB 550 (2021, David Chiu) and AB 2336
(2022, Laura Friedman) were two similar
bills that would have authorized Oakland to
pilot speed cameras. Both bills did not
pass. City Council supported AB 550, but
did not support AB 2336, hindering the bill’s
opportunity for success.
Oakland should consider reintroducing red light
camera automated enforcement, which is
authorized under state law. Red light
automated enforcement was used in Oakland,
but was discontinued. The SOS team will return
to City Council with more information on what
worked well, and what can be changed if a new
program is introduced in late 2022 or early
2023.
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 25
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
In addition, Oakland should continue to support
and engage in automated speed enforcement
policy efforts at the State level.
OPD traffic enforcement officers were
discontinued. Traffic enforcement
decreased substantially as a result.
SOS is heightening alignment and goals with
the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force
(RPSTF) Final Report and Recommendations,
which was accepted by City Council in May
2021. Recommendation 59 discusses moving
most traffic enforcement to OakDOT, with a
focus on the most dangerous driving behaviors
led by OPD. While traffic citations have
declined significantly, OPD has improved
prioritization and enforcement of the most
dangerous driving behaviors on the most
dangerous streets, in alignment with SOS
priorities and the RPSTF. Much of OPD’s
enforcement is supported through grant
programs that also direct enforcement in
alignment with these goals, and the City can
seek opportunities to increase grant funding
support. OPD should reinstate the traffic
enforcement unit once there is sufficient
capacity to do so.
In the wake of the pandemic, Oakland is
facing many urgent and devastating
challenges, including violence and
homelessness, in addition to a spike in
traffic crashes.
The relationships and collaboration established
by the SOS team are not only facilitating more
interdepartmental solutions to other issues, but
they are also supporting new solutions that
accomplish multiple goals, such as sideshow
prevention installations that include crash
prevention tools located along high injury
corridors. By working in close collaboration, we
can provide positive outcomes across many
critical issues for Oaklanders. One example are
the speed bumps and increased lighting
recently installed on E. 15th St. Between 13
th
and 22nd Avenues, which includes part of a high
injury corridor adjacent to a public elementary
school in one of the police beats with the
highest rates of community violence, OakDOT
worked with the District 2 Council Office, OPD,
and the neighborhood NCPC in identifying the
East 15
th Street corridor and the
countermeasures to reduce the ongoing
speeding, violence and human trafficking
activities. This work was implemented with
violence prevention pilot funding allocated in
the FY21-23 budget.
A life ending or life changing traffic crash
impacts the victims network of family and
friends, generating trauma and pain.
The SOS team is working to explore how we
can learn from and apply restorative justice
lessons to the aftermath of traumatic traffic
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 26
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
crashes to support victims and their families,
and promotes the San Francisco Bay Area
Families for Safe Streets group as a place for
impacted families and survivors to seek support
and advocacy opportunities.
In order to do equity work and engagement
well, we want to engage communities and
compensate them for their time and
expertise, however the contracting process
is slow and not geared toward small CBOs
OakDOT created an On-Call list for CBOs
(2018), but the process to get on the list is
complicated for organizations to navigate and
has taken a lot of time. Further, the City’s
contracting team has vacancies, which
increases time to establish contracts. Finally, it
can be challenging for CBOs to work under
reimbursement contracts (versus grants that
provide funding up front). As this work is critical
to many initiatives being implemented in
Oakland, there could be an opportunity to
elevate the need to streamline and improve this
contracting process with the city.
Funding for the strategic planning,
collaboration, and coordination required to
make the greatest impact is limited.
The State and Federal governments are
increasing financial support for this critical work
through grant programs. Most recently, the
federal government announced a Safe Streets
for All grant program with $50 billion in funding
available nationally. Our work has set the
foundation for Oakland to access these grant
opportunities.
FISCAL IMPACT
This item is for informational purposes only and direct fiscal impacts and/or costs have not yet been identified.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
SOS team members conducted presentations, conversations, and meetings with the goals of sharing our priorities, presenting progress reports, and engaging groups in policy efforts. Below is a summary of the groups engaged.
Engagement:
• Alameda County Department of Public Health
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (Full Committee, Policy & Legislation Committee, Police Relations Committee) and other transportation advocates • Mayor’s Commission on Aging and Livable Oakland meetings • Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities
• Walkable Neighborhoods for Seniors
• Privacy Advisory Commission
• Numerous Neighborhood Prevention Councils
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 27
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
COORDINATION
The City departments, as outlined below, worked together to advance the SOS strategies to save lives and prevent severe injuries. More information on coordination efforts are described in Strategy 1.1 above.
• City Administrator Office
• Department of Transportation
• Police Department
• Department of Race & Equity
• Oakland Public Works
• Oakland Fire Department
• Oakland Human Services
• Department of Violence Prevention
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: The City analyzed nearly 2,000 injury collisions from 2012-2016 to understand how they affect Oaklanders and how to effectively focus safety efforts.5 During that period, there was a 76% increase in severe or fatal injuries and accounted for $900 million in yearly costs of traffic crashes.6 Preventing crashes has economic benefits.
Environmental: When people of all ages and abilities feel safe walking, bicycling, and taking public transit, they are more likely to use those modes. In Oakland, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and communities that suffer most from traffic crashes are also disproportionately impacted by transportation-related emissions. The SOS initiative has the opportunity to enhance environmental health and sustainability, especially among our highest priority communities.
Race & Equity: In 2018, the Oakland Equity Indicators Report found troubling disparities in pedestrian deaths in Oakland
7. The City experiences approximately two severe or fatal traffic crashes each week, with crashes disproportionately BIPOC, high priority equity communities, and seniors. The most common causes of collisions are speeding, failure to yield, unsafe turning, red light running, and driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
The City analyzed nearly 2,000 injury crashes from 2012-2016 to understand how trends and how to effectively focus safety efforts.8 The majority (60%) of these crashes are highly concentrated on just 6% of the 800 miles of Oakland’s city-maintained streets, the High Injury Network. Almost 95% of the High Injury Network is located in medium to highest priority neighborhoods, compared to the approximately 40% of the City that make up those same neighborhoods.
5 https://cao-
94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/CityofOakland_CrashAnalysis_Infographic_08.29.18.pdf 6 Costs include quality of life, property damage, lost work time, medical care, and $250,000 (2011-2016) in litigation payout associated with traffic safety.
7 Oakland Equity Indicators Report: Topic 6.1: Built Environment, pages 127 and 128, https://cao- 94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2018-Equity-Indicators-Full-Report.pdf 8 https://cao-
94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/CityofOakland_CrashAnalysis_Infographic_08.29.18.pdf Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 28
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
As compared to all Oaklanders, Black Oaklanders are two times more likely to be killed or severely injured in traffic crashes, and three times as likely to be killed or severely injured while walking. Furthermore, 30% of streets in majority Asian census tracts fall within the City’s High Injury Network.9 These data represent real collisions that resulted in the unnecessary deaths of too many Oaklanders like Miesha Singleton, mother of seven, who was killed in a crosswalk in front of Elmhurst United Middle School in January 2020.
Regardless of the causes or reasons for these traffic stops and crashes, the City is accountable for the results of our decisions as well as for the policies, practices and procedures which influence our decisions and investments to improve public safety. Furthermore, the City made a commitment to advance racial equity and adopted Oakland Municipal Code 2.29.170.110 to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities. The Safe Oakland Streets strategies has a goal of eliminating severe and fatal injury inequities including racial disparities impacting BIPOC communities that exist today in Oakland. The accomplishments presented in the Analysis and Policy Alternatives section above demonstrate the progress the SOS initiative is making toward eliminating injury inequities.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That City Council Receive a Report From The Department Of Transportation, In Coordination With The Oakland Police Department, The Department Of Race And Equity, And The City Administrator’s Office On Year One Progress Toward The Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) Initiative And Priority Focus Areas For Year Two.
9 City of Oakland, Department of Transportation, Citywide Crash Analysis and High Injury Network, 2018. 10https://library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2ADPE_CH2.29CIAGD EOF_2.29.170DERAEQ
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 29
For questions regarding this report, please contact Maya Amichai at [email protected].
Respectfully submitted,
RYAN RUSSO
Director, Department of Transportation
JOE. EVRIES
DARLENE FLYNN
Director, Department of Race and Equity
Reviewed by: Department of Transportation
Fred Kelley, Assistant Director
Reviewed by: Department of Transportation
Megan Wier, Safe Streets Division Manager
Reviewed by: Department of Transportation
Nicole Ferrara, Policy and Intergovernmental
Affairs Advisor
Reviewed by: Police Department
Sean Fleming, Lieutenant
Reviewed by: Department of Race and Equity
Jacque Larrainzar, Program Analyst
Prepared by: Department of Transportation
Maya Amichai, Transportation Planner II, Safe
Oakland Streets
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022
Edward Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Informational Report on the Safe Oakland Streets Initiative Date: May 27, 2022 Page 30
Attachments (4):
Attachment A: 2021 and 2022 Engineering Safety Improvements Attachment B: 15 MPH School Zone Implementation
Attachment C: Local Streets and Roads Plan
Attachment D: OPD Stop Data Analysis
Public Works Committee
June 28, 2022