Latham Square, a pilot project by the City of Oakland whose goal was to create a new public space in Downtown Oakland, has recently been cut short. Just six weeks into the the six month pilot, cars have been reintroduced through one section of the square, cutting the seated and landscaped area off from the more frequented sidewalk and the closest cafe. Sign WOBO’s petition in support of a car-free Latham Square here!
The shortening of the car-free pilot is in spite of positive survey results conducted by Oakland’s Public Work department, which showed that of 180 respondents, 63% picked a car-free plaza as their first choice. Limited traffic was preferred by 25% and only 12% wanted the option that will be presented to council: resumption of two-way traffic. The survey respondents also overwhelmingly felt that the pilot “improves downtown Oakland overall” (82% agree or strongly agree) (source; Car-Free plan for Latham Square challenged by City of Oakland staffers by Laura McCamy in Oakland Local).
The change comes from Oakland’s planning department, which will present a proposal early December for a permament plaza design allowing two-way car traffic. Read more from Laura McCamy in a Streetsblog article on the pilot change here.
EBBC was out at Latham Square last night handing out front and rear lights to bicyclists caught in the dark by the recent daylight savings change. Our annual bike light giveaway, which is sponsored by the City of Oakland, took place this year in Latham Square as a nod to the city’s investments in new car-free areas and to take advantage of this great location for outdoor events.
Help us keep Latham Square as ped and bike friendly as possible – sign Walk Oakland Bike Oakland’s petition here.
Latham Square has the potential to be a great addition to Oakland, if we give it enough time to grow into its space. As part of our Oakland Bikeways Campaign, we’re looking to make Telegraph Ave, an essential Oakland bikeways connection, a complete street – and we’re hoping Latham’s success will help this new, innovative bikeway connect with future public spaces like Kasper’s Korner (see this location’s potential here!).