On February 2nd, Megan Schwarzman was run over by a car while bicycling along Fulton Street near Bancroft Way. Meghan was hit by Berwick Haynes, who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. A mother and scientist at the Berkeley School of Public Health, Megan was wearing fluorescent green safety gear […]
There is a growing consensus that building a second Transbay Tube is critical to the Bay Area’s future. Transbay ridership has skyrocketed in recent years – MTC’s ongoing Core Capacity Study estimates that peak hour Transbay transit capacity operated at 96 percent capacity in 2014, and ridership has continued to increase since then despite extremely […]
Oakland’s new buffered bike lanes continue to experience frequent blockages due to illegal double parking. Robert Prinz of Bike East Bay recently posted a video of Webster Street in which delivery trucks and several cars associated with Pandora’s valet service used the buffered bike lane as a loading zone. A few blocks away along 17th […]
The Bay Area is in desperate need of housing, especially affordable housing in walkable and bikeable neighborhoods located near transit. Downtown Oakland presents a tremendous opportunity to achieve measurable progress in combating the regional housing crisis, especially as it relates to equity and sustainability – few locations in the Bay Area rival its accessible location […]
As common law doctrines evolve, sometimes their rationale, and proper application, can get lost; that can be because of just one “less than thoughtful” reported appellate decision. One example is an appellate decision in the 1990s limiting the application of the “rescue doctrine” in California. Five years afterwards, another court took a more serious look […]
The Oakland Police Department issued a press release on Wednesday announcing a pedestrian safety enforcement operation on Monday, February 1st. The press release notes increasing rates of pedestrian collisions (876 total in Oakland over the past three years) and highlights key planned enforcement activities to promote pedestrian safety: “Special attention will be directed toward drivers […]
What kinds of open spaces does Oakland need? The City recently posed this question via Twitter as a part of its ongoing Downtown Specific Plan efforts. The Downtown Plan presents an exciting opportunity to guide a new chapter of growth and revitalization of Downtown Oakland; initial planning efforts have already offered some transformative discussions, including […]
Tonight (Thursday January 14th) at 7:00 PM, the Lafayette Circulation Commission will review a dangerous double-wide roundabout proposal at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Olympic Boulevard, two key corridors for bicycling. The proposed dual-lane design would create a chaotic gap in Lafayette’s bicycle network, serving as a barrier to safe cycling to schools […]
Transit riders across the country received a big boost in commuter benefits thanks to Congress’ new spending bill. The bill increased pre-tax transit benefits to $255 per month, matching the pre-tax benefits for parking. Transit commuter benefits are widely used in the Bay Area: employers with 50 or more full-time employees are required to offer […]
Oakland continues to have tremendous success in winning grant money for complete streets projects. Following nine million in grant awards from the Active Transportation Program (ATP) for redesigns of Telegraph Avenue and 20th Street, Oakland was recently awarded $4.7 million in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds for four traffic calming projects: • Telegraph Avenue […]
