Public Works and Transportation Committee
November 18, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Josh Rowan
City Administrator Director, Oakland Department
of Transportation
SUBJECT: Oakland Municipal Code Chapter
10.20 (Speed Limits) Administrative
Updates
DATE: November 4, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt An Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) And Adopting Appropriate California Environmental Quality Act Findings To Reflect Changes In Oakland’s Street Network And To Modify Speed Limits on Broadway and International Boulevard
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Speed limits in the City of Oakland are established by Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter
10.20 (Speed Limits). Various clerical edits are needed to synchronize Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) with Oakland’s present roadway network, and various revisions are also necessary to comply with state law. In addition, this action modifies the Business Activity District on Broadway by extending the current 20 mile per hour (mph) zone on Broadway an additional .4- mile from 27th Street to Piedmont Avenue in line with recent speed surveys. Lastly, the speed limit on International Blvd is being updated to be consistently 25 miles-per-hour between 1st Avenue and 42nd Avenue.
BACKGROUND & LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Speed limits in the City of Oakland are established by Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits). Over time, portions of the Chapter 10.20 have become outdated and must be updated to reflect Oakland’s current built environment. For example, while certain streets have been renamed, i.e. Grove Street is now Martin Luther King Junior Way, the OMC speed limit tables still state Grove Street. The OMC speed limit tables also include some typographical errors, as well as street segments that no longer exist, i.e. those bisected by the I-980 freeway.
Jestin Johnson (Nov 13, 2025 15:50:40 PST)
11/13/2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) Administrative Updates Date: November 10, 2025 Page 2
Public Works and Transportation Committee
November 18, 2025
In addition, under Assembly Bill 43 (2021), local governments may, by ordinance, set a prima facie speed limit of 20 mph or 25 mph on streets designated as Business Activity District. In 2022, Oakland established Business Activity Districts on various corridors through Ordinance No. 13709 C.M.S. H owever, the transition between speed zones must be sufficiently gradual in order to comply with state law to allow drivers to adjust their speed. Although staff installing speed limit reductions have matched and continue to match this in practice of installing speed limit signs, the Oakland Municipal Code must be revised to reflect this requirement and staff practice.
Separately, one of these Business Activity Districts is on Broadway from Water St to 27th St. In the process of reviewing speed limits at future speed camera locations, OakDOT conducted a speed survey on Broadway in October 2025 between 27
th St and Piedmont Ave and discovered
it would be possible to extend the speed limit reduction on Broadway north of 27th St. The results of the survey allow us to extend the 20-mph speed limit by approximately 0.4 miles from 27th St to Piedmont Ave. Lastly, the speed limit on International Boulevard is being reduced from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. OakDOT conducted speed surveys that justified the reduction in the speed limit, and it is recommended to update the Oakland Municipal Code to reflect these speed surveys.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
As the official law governing speed limits in the City of Oakland, Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 should accurately reflect the city’s roadway network. The proposed administrative changes will eliminate outdated entries and typographical errors in the OMC. The administrative changes may be grouped into the following five types: updating street names that have changed; correcting errors in street names; clarifying the endpoints of street segments; removing streets that no longer require an entry in the OMC; and deleting duplicate entries where one street is included twice with two different speed limits.
First, the edits update street names to match the street names currently used. For example, Grove Street is now Martin Luther King Junior Way and 20th Street is now Thomas L. Berkley Way. Similarly, East 14th Street is now International Boulevard and Cypress Street was replaced by Mandela Parkway. Second, the edits correct misspelled streets and mis-named streets. For example, Foothill Boulevard does not intersect with 57th Street, but it does intersect with 57th Avenue. Third, the edits rename endpoints of street segments to provide greater clarity on those endpoints. For example, East 8th Street does in fact intersect East 10th Street.
But that location is also the intersection of East 8th Street and 9th Avenue. Because East 8th Street and 9th Avenue are generally perpendicular streets, the location where they intersect is easier to understand than the intersection of East 8th Street and E 10th Street which generally are parallel streets.
Fourth, due to larger changes in Oakland’s street network, some streets that used to be major streets are now minor streets and no longer need speed limits set by the Oakland Municipal Code. For example, 8th Street from Cypress Street to Grove Street used to be a major street connecting West Oakland to downtown. Following the construction of Interstate 980, 8th Street no longer connected to downtown and now ends at Market St. 8th Street is now a local street in Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) Administrative Updates Date: November 10, 2025 Page 3
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November 18, 2025
a residence district with a default speed limit of 25 mph. Because of the changes to 8th Street in West Oakland, it no longer needs a speed limit established by the Oakland Municipal Code.
Fifth, the edits eliminate duplicate entries where one street is included twice with two different speed limits. For example, Broadway Terrace from Belgrave Place to Hermosa Avenue has one entry with a speed limit of 30 mph and a second entry with a speed limit of 35 mph. While the source of the duplication is not known, these duplicates may have been created by previous ordinances adding a new entry to change the speed limit but neglecting to delete the entry being replaced.
In addition, California Vehicle Code section 22358.9 requires a transition between speed zones of no greater than 5 miles per hour when reducing a speed limit in a Business Activity District.
Since OakDOT began installation of speed limit reductions in Business Activity Districts in 2023, staff have followed and continue to follow this requirement in order to comply with state law.
However, the original ordinance establishing reduced speed limits in Business Activity Districts, No. 13709 C.M.S., did not accurately reflect this requirement. The attached revisions to the Oakland Municipal Code are recommended by staff to fully comply with state law.
Separately, Broadway was identified as an eligible corridor for a Business Activity District prima facie speed limit reduction in 2022. This change, codified through Ordinance No. 13709 ,
reduced speed limits from 25 MPH to 20 MPH from Water St to 27th St and from 30 MPH to 25 MPH from 27th St to College Ave. New speed survey data collected by OakDOT supports adjusting the speed limit on a small section of Broadway between 27th St and Piedmont Ave from 25 MPH to 20 MPH. This change also reflects recent land uses changes between 27th Street and Piedmont Avenue, which include the construction of housing and retail buildings.
Lastly, OakDOT conducted speed surveys on International Boulevard that justified reducing the speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. Traffic signs reflecting this 25 miles per hour have been installed on International Boulevard reflecting these speed surveys.
These changes support the citywide priority of Vibrant and Sustainable Infrastructure by eliminating confusion between Oakland’s Municipal Code and the roadway network, ensuring our speed limits comply with state law, and slowing vehicle speeds, each of which support a safer transportation system for all modes of travel.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to update the Oakland Municipal Code. There is a minor fiscal impact to update the signage on Broadway and International Boulevard that will be funded by the department’s operating budget in Project 1003469, Organization 35242.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The clerical updates to the Oakland Municipal Code are administrative in nature. Regarding Broadway and Assembly Bill 43, the Safe Oakland Streets interdepartmental team conducted Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
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November 18, 2025
outreach in advance of established Business Activity Districts to the City’s Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, Mayor’s Commission on Aging, Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities, and various Neighborhood Council meetings.
COORDINATION
Through the Safe Oakland Streets initiative, staff worked closely with an interdepartmental working group, the Mayor’s Office and City Council to advocate for the passage of AB 43, which authorized the creation of Business Activity Districts. The City Administrator’s Office and City Attorney’s office have reviewed this report.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Slower vehicle speeds and associated reductions in severe and fatal crashes would have potential economic benefits for the City and its residents as slower speed reduce injury severity and therefore the direct and indirect economic costs of severe and fatal crashes on residents and the community.
Environmental: Strategies to lower speed limits, slow vehicle speeds and improve traffic safety help encourage more people to choose to travel by walking, bicycling, scootering, and similar more environmentally friendly modes.
Race & Equity: Through an equity impact assessment completed for Safe Oakland Streets, City staff found that AB 43 helps to advance equity. Lowering speed limits has independent utility in slowing down traffic, which results in lives saved. Combined with engineering, slower speed limits granted through AB 43 can help prevent crashes in the first place, reduce injury severity, and address the inequities in who is killed and severely injured in traffic crashes on our streets.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
Amending the Oakland Municipal Code to reflect changes in Oakland’s street network and modify Business Activity Districts are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15183 (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning), 15301(c) (Existing Highways and Streets, Sidewalks, Gutters, Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails, and Similar Facilities), and/or 15061(b)(3) (No Significant Effect on the Environment); each of the above exemptions provides a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt An Ordinance Amending Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) And Adopting Appropriate California Environmental Quality Act Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 10.20 (Speed Limits) Administrative Updates Date: November 10, 2025 Page 5
Public Works and Transportation Committee
November 18, 2025
Findings To Reflect Changes In Oakland’s Street Network And To Modify Speed Limits On Broadway and International Boulevard.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Joe Wang, Safe Streets Division Manager, at [email protected].
Respectfully submitted,
Josh Rowan
Director, Department of Transportation
Reviewed by:
Megan Wier
Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
Joe Wang
Transportation Manager
Department of Transportation
Prepared by:
Craig Raphael
Project Manager I
Department of Transportation
Jason Patton
Senior Transportation Planner
Department of Transportation
Brian Sukkar
Supervising Civil Engineer
Department of Transportation
Josh Rowan (Nov 13, 2025 10:27:20 PST)