Agenda Item
3.15 23-0872 Subject: Community Traffic Safety Program
From: Councilmember Fife
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Declaring The City Council's Intent And Desire To Establish A 3-Year Pilot For A Short-Term Encroachment Permit Program That Allows Schools, Businesses, And Community Centers That Serve Vulnerable Populations To Apply For Temporary Encroachment Permits To Install Removable Traffic Safety Treatments And Create Traffic Calming Zones In The City's Streets And Directing The City Administrator To Hold At Least Two (2) Community Meetings In Areas Of The City Within Oakland Department Of Transportation's Identified High Injury Network To Solicit Feedback From Residents And Community Based Organizations And Assess Their Interest And Ability To Participate In The Pilot Program; And To Return To The Public Safety Committee Meeting On February 13, 2024 With A Report And Recommendations, Including The Following:
(1) Information On Any Cities In California Or The United States That Have Successfully Implemented Similar Programs To Reduce The Number Of Traffic Accidents And Fatalities And Increase Safety For All Who Travel On Public Streets;
(2) Recommendations To Council About Legislative Or Administrative Changes Needed In Order To Implement A Similar Program In Oakland;
(3) Information Gathered From Residents And Community Based Organizations At Two Community Meetings Assessing Their Interest And Ability To Participate In The Pilot Program; (4) An Analysis Of Staffing And Budget Needs In Order To Begin And Sustain The Pilot Program; And
(5) A Report Exploring The Feasibility And Developing A Plan And Timeline For The City Of Oakland To Become A "Vision Zero Network" Member City; On The November 14, 2023, Public Safety Committee Agenda
I’m a parent of a child at Sequoia Elementary who lives in Dimond District. We had one of our students hit by a car while in the crosswalk in front of Sequoia on 8/22/23. I think calm streets are necessary and urgent around schools, and traffic calming pilots make sense to reduce accidents and involve the community. Please bring this item to committee as soon as possible.
I am a parent who has 2 kids in OUSD schools, one at Oakland Tech, and both of them bike to school. My Tech student complains about not being able to cross the streets near the school very easily and really liked the mid-block pilot crosswalk last year. They also say that walking between upper campus and lower campus is hard because of the timing of the crossings and how far they are. My other kid goes to Claremont Middle and when I go to bike with them, there are always vehicles trying to turn into crosswalks where students are crossing. Having a way for the schools to pilot traffic calming would be so good. This would also be great in the downtown area where drivers treat the one-way streets like highways. 90-day traffic pilots would be great so that we have time to truly see the safety impact.
I’m a Oakland resident who lives in the Golden Gate area. I think calm streets should be a priority around parks and especially schools and traffic calming pilots would be a great way to get the community involved and get around. Schools have some of the most vulnerable population of Oakland and absolutely should experiment with traffic calming to help protect the youth and their parents. Please bring this item to committee as soon as possible.
My name is George Spies, I'm a resident of Oakland, and I support CM Fife's proposal, and here's why:
Calm streets should be a priority around schools and other areas that children and seniors frequent. Traffic calming pilots are a great way to get the community involved, and creates a very tangible mechanism for community engagement, which the city government prizes very highly.
Traffic calming is important to me as someone who primarily walks, bikes, and rides transit. Our streets are too wide, too fast, and too dangerous, and don't scale to the human needs of people on them, outside of cars.
The current process of changing our streets considers the harms of action, but not the harms of inaction. We need a way to take action with temporary materials so the treatment can be adjusted if needed. Traffic calming doesn’t have to take years to be implemented if we allow for pilot projects before more permanent infrastructure changes.
Please make quick-builds for safe streets a priority for the City of Oakland
Parents and community members are really stressed about traffic safety near their schools, and want to spend their energy on tactical projects that can make their streets safer. It’s a burden to be constantly telling community members why they have to wait for an emergency safety project to be implemented. Expanding the short-term encroachment permit to allow for 90-day traffic calming pilots would provide a way for the community to be engaged in the solution without creating an extra installation and maintenance burden for the Department of Transportation.