City of Oakland | Federal RAISE Grant awards Oakland $ 14.5 million to …

The City of Oakland today celebrated the award of $ 14.5 million federal grants to rebuild American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Justice (RAISE) to fund transformative projects on Broadway and Martin Luther King Jr.Way that provide access for historic restore circumscribed communities to the water with projects that support reliable local public transport and safe walking and cycling.

The Reconnecting the Town project is realizing Oakland’s planned and funded commitments to improve physical mobility and digital infrastructure across barriers as part of the city’s wider efforts to address the damage caused by decades of injustice in parts of the city historically deprived of Redlining were affected to make amends. A new fiber optic cable will expand wireless Internet access to parts of West Oakland that currently do not have access to OakWIFI (free public Wi-Fi service), a neighborhood that has historically not had access to public goods and services.

Funded improvements include:

Broadway

This project will expand the existing priority bus lanes currently installed in the heart of downtown and create new priority lanes that extend to the water and Grand Avenue. These lanes will separate buses from general traffic, resulting in a more reliable and efficient transport system.Improve safety at intersections along one of the city’s high risk of injury corridors (only 6% of the roads where over 60% of serious and fatal accidents occur) through the following improvements:

• Only transit lanes from Embarcadero after 11^NS Street and 20^NS
  Street to Grand Ave
• Pedestrian-oriented improvements to the motorway underpass including lighting and pavement widening
• Removed the “Pork” Aisle on 6th Street and Broadway
• Transit signal priority and all new signals
• Light bulb exits for pedestrians at important intersections, continental or “ladder-like” zebra crossings that are clearly visible throughout
• ADA accessibility upgrades
• OakWIFI / fiber installation

Martin Luther King Jr. Way

This project will increase the safety and visibility of pedestrians and cyclists and reconnect downtown Oakland to the waterfront with new pedestrian improvements, bike paths and traffic calming. Appropriate funds are provided through a grant for sustainable residential communities (AHSC). The improvements include:

• Pedestrian improvements, including sidewalk upgrades, accessible curb ramps and curb extensions, intersection safety improvements, and level crossings improvements
• In this project, between Embarcadero West and 14th Street, buffered and / or protected bike paths will be set up, which will create a safe route for cyclists / scooter riders that is separate from motor vehicle traffic
• OakWIFI / fiber installation

7th^NS
Street

• OakWiFi fiber installed from Brush Street to Mandela Parkway

“We were delighted to be giving more than 14.5 million US dollars to the“ Reconnecting the Town ”project. Reconnecting the Town will improve safe downtown transportation with new bike lanes and bus lanes that will help connect people to jobs and opportunities, “said US Under-Secretary of State for Transport Carlos Monje, Jr.” These are the types of projects , which we will support with even greater investments in the future – thanks to the president’s bipartisan infrastructure law. This law is and will be the most significant investment in jobs and infrastructure in many of our lifetimes. ” helping make Oakland and America more competitive in the 21st century. ”

“Oakland is leading the ‘Build Back Better’ initiative,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Today we’re celebrating the first step in reconnecting our downtown to our waterfront, thanks to a generous grant from our US Department of Transportation. We are also seizing this moment to expand our vision of a safer and more accessible boardwalk by announcing TOWN for All, a transformative infrastructure project that will connect residents in neighborhoods from West Oakland to Chinatown to our beautiful coastline, creating a greener, safer coastline , and Oakland more accessible for generations to come. “

“Reconnecting our historically remote communities and re-establishing their access to the benefits of the Oakland waterfront is essential in and of itself – but it is also incredibly important to provide the infrastructure for everyone to do it for them select the most appropriate means of travel, ”said OakDOT Director Ryan Russo. “Public transportation, on foot, by bike – these modes of transport use many of our priority communities to travel, and these improvements will help make them safer and more dignified for all.”

The grant-funded Reconnecting the Town project is part of a larger vision known as TOWN For All – an acronym for Transforming Oakland’s Waterfront Neighborhoods. TOWN for All is a comprehensive package of infrastructure improvements that will provide all Oaklanders with safer, more sustainable and fairer access to water. This series of projects accelerates the implementation of longstanding transportation plans and projects with a view to equity.

• Active transport & transit: 1.4 miles of new lanes for transit only; and 10 miles of new sidewalks, bike paths, and trails connecting greater downtown and West Oakland to the boardwalk to encourage walking, biking, and local transportation.
• Rail safety & freight transport: Rail corridor and roadway improvements to efficiently move trucks and cargo in and out of Oakland Port, reduce traffic jams and truck idle times, and improve road safety.
• Parking and traffic management: Comprehensive suite of parking system upgrades and intersection enhancements to manage on-street and off-street parking and traffic.

Together, these improvements will unite Oakland. Stronger, safer, and more pedestrian, bike, and traffic-friendly connections are needed to break down the barriers that historically separated Oaklanders from their waterfront. A network of new and improved complete roads will provide equitable, sustainable access to new waterfront amenities while protecting and enhancing the flow of goods in and out of the nearby Oakland Harbor.

The improved connections will also provide safer and more reliable ways to get to work for existing workers in the area and give workers access to the 5,532 jobs in Jack London Square, including 755 manufacturing, warehouse and transport jobs and more than 1,600 jobs in health, education and recreation. In addition, the cumulative projects will result in long-term job creation at applicable wages and benefit Oakland companies and workers who have suffered economic hardship due to a decline in economic activity during the COVID-19 economic downturn.

The City of Oakland would like to thank and acknowledge some of the many stakeholders, partners, and leaders who have contributed to the vision to date by supporting this project:

Community partner:

• Bicycle east bay
• Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
• Jack London improvement district
• Prescott Neighborhood Council

Elected officials

• US Senator Dianne Feinstein
• US Senator Alex Padilla
• Congressman Barbara Lee
• CA State Senator Nancy Skinner
• Congregation member Buffy Wicks
• Oakland Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas
• Oakland Councilor Carroll Fife

Public bodies:

• Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit)
• Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC)
• Caltrans
• Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)
• Oakland Harbor
• Emergency water transport authority (WETA)

Job:

• Alameda County Council for Construction and Construction, AFL-CIO
• Provincial Council for Building and Construction