February 16 Oakland BPAC Meeting Notes
The Committee continues discussion of which projects to fund with $675,000 in Transportation Development Act (TDA) fund for 2012. Staff is recommending:
- City Bike Racks IX: $75,000 This program funds free sidewalk bike racks in front of businesses that request them. Want to bike rack at your favorite local business, contact bikeplanner@oaklandnet.com
- Redesign of bike lane/right-turn lane on Harrison St at Grand Ave: $250,000 The free right-turn lane at Grand & Harrison is a sweeping turn that encourages speeding and also encourages motorist to cut over into the bike lane. The redesign will make the approach more of a “right turn,” which will force motorists to slow down. Equally encouraging, the bike lane on Harrison at Lake Merritt will be reconfigured so that the buffer area is between the vehicle lane and the bike lane, rather than between the bike lane and the curb. This new design will enhance safety be separating faster moving cars from people bicycling in the bike lane
- Storm Drain Inlet Grates: $75,000 This may not sound exciting, but it is. The bike program is funding new storm grates, to encourage the Pubic Works crews to replace dangerous inlet grates as part of their routine maintenance of Oakland’s storm water system. Inlet grates with longitudinal slots can catch bike tires, which quickly leads to a crash. The partnership between Public Works and Transportation Services is part of our “complete streets” campaign to have all of Oakland’s various departments working together to make our roadways work for everyone who uses them
- Walkway Reconstruction: $275,000 Seven priority walkways will be renovated
Super-cool news: Oakland is launching their “on-street” bike parking corral program. Three locations are getting multi-rack bike parking corrals in unused parking bay spaces adjacent to the curb. Each on-street bike parking corral provides between 16-20 bike parking spaces, in the area of one car parking space. Efficient, huh? The locations are:
- Beer Revolution on 3rd Street down at Jack London Square
- Burma Superstar in the Temescal District
- The Burrito Shop/Peet’s Coffee in Lakeshore
We need our members to start consuming massive quantities of beer at Beer Revolution (just kidding), enjoying the Bun Tay Kauswer at Burma Superstar, and the Chile Verde at The Burrito Shop on Lakeshore. Bring your helmets with you to remind the proprietors that their customers wine & dine by bike.
The Committee got to review the bikeway design on Broadway, from 38th to Broadway Terrace. Everyone loved them, as they provide spacious bike lanes, sometimes as wide as 6 feet. There is one block of the bikeway design we hope to improve, and that is between 38th St and 40th St, heading North. The design proposes sharrows, where a dedicated bike lane is needed. EBBC is contacting Kaiser Permanente for their support of removing on-street car parking spaces, which will provide the necessary room for the bike lane. Have you contacted the City of Oakland and voiced your support for these awesome new bike lanes, and roadway repaving too? Send an email to: bikeplanner@oaklandnet.com
Next Meeting of the Oakland BPAC is March 15, 5:30-7:30pm, Hearing Room 4, Oakland City Hall
January 19 Oakland BPAC Meeting Notes:
Staff will bring this back to the February 16 Oakland BPAC Mtg for further input. Plan on attending and sharing your priorities. Or just add a comment below with which of the above options you feel is most needed. notes from January 19, 2012 Bicycle & Pedestriian Advisory Committee Mtg Attendees: Brian Toy, Carol Levine, Chris Hwang, Chris Kidd, Daniel Schulman, Dave Campbell, Jason Patton, Jennifer Stanley, Kendahsi Haley, Midori Tabata, Robert Prinz, Huy Nguyen (OPD), Anthony Banks (OPD), Peter Schultze-Allen, Robert Raburn, Rebecca Saltzman Topic Discussion/Decisions/Action Items 1. Introductions, Appointment of note taker Meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Chair, Chris Hwang. Rebecca Saltzman agreed to take notes. 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes Minutes of the December meeting approved by consensus. 3. OPD Bike Patrol Unit Oakland Police Officer Huy Nguyen presented to the BPAC about the work of the bike patrol unit assigned to Downtown and Uptown. There are 5 officers in the bike/foot patrol unit. Two are in west Oakland, two downtown and one in north Oakland. They all spend time in the businesses districts. Thirty officers total in OPD are trained on bikes. Because of the loss of redevelopment, three foot patrol officers and seventeen neighborhood officers will likely be lost. Training for bike officers entails a 40 hour course that includes classroom hours as well as hours on bikes. The bike patrol unit also trains the fire department on bike use. There is only funding to hold trainings once every two to three years. Every year the bike patrol unit participates in Bike the Bridges, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. This year Bike the Bridges will be held on June 12. Officers also lead bike safety class at schools. Dave Campbell suggested that EBBC instructors paid by grants could supplement police officers at these trainings. There also could be an opportunity to partner and apply for grants together. Bike/foot patrol officers have some advantages because they are able to approach unnoticed. There is a trade off because bike patrol officers are taken off of regular patrol, where they can cover more ground. Bike officers are supplemental to beat officers. Bikes are repaired in house unless there’s a major problem. 4. E 12th St Bikeway, 14th to Fruitvale Aves, Draft Design Review See draft striping plan. This project started in 2006. The City was awarded a Measure B grant but soon after cancelled the agreement because the project was not sufficiently ready for construction within the grant deadlines. Now the project is being funded as part of a federal block grant for repaving. In this round of grants the funding was flexible between categories so it can be used for the bike improvements. Every street on this $3.6 million paving contract will have bike lanes or bike infrastructure added, including E 12th, Broadway, Lakeshore, Alcatraz and Skyline. Approval of the lane reduction is going to Council in May and the paving will begin in 2013. MTC is pushing for quick obligation of funds so they can’t be taken away so there is an expedited design schedule. Designs were due January 20th but can be tweaked and optimized. The BRT project includes bike lanes on the adjacent section of E 12th Street, 2nd to 14th Aves.. Going eastbound, turn pockets at small streets (which can’t be removed due to a lawsuit) constrain bike lane width to 5′ and parking lane to 7′. Dave Campbell suggested decreasing inside travel lane to increase the parking lane width. Because of LOS analysis, bike lanes have to be dropped at the intersection of 22nd Avenue. Bike lanes start up again immediately at far side of intersection. From 26th to 29th Avenue parking lanes increase to 8′. Approaching Fruitvale Avenue the bike lane stops and there is a hatched-off area where bicyclists proceeding straight on E 12th St can pause and wait for traffic before they cross two lanes to the left. Sharrows or warning signs will be added, as well as pavement legends and signage. Sharrows continue after Fruitvale (existing). Going westbound there are no turn pockets so there’s more room. Past 29th there are 9′ parking lanes, 6′ bike lanes and a 3′ buffer. The buffer will be light crosshatch of white stripes. The buffer will be phased out between 19th and 18th. At 16th widths go down to 8′ parking lanes and 5′ bike lanes. 5. Projects for FY 2012-13 TDA Article 3 Bike/Ped funding See attachment. Time line: Brainstorm at January BPAC meeting, refine at February meeting and finalize at March meeting. There is about $275,000 funding available from TDA. TDA funds tend to be spent more on bike projects because $300K of Measure B is for pedestrian projects. ADA curb ramps are prioritized by major transit streets, civic buildings and business districts. For Measure DD projects there is a large shortfall but BPAC could designate specific use. Robert Raburn: Restriping should be considered. Jason responded that there is a restriping effort and funds for it. Robert also recommended using funds for e-lockers at Grand/Lakeshore, near the ferry and Amtrak. Dave: Should prioritize 40th Street project and installing bike racks along pending bikeways as a way to create support for those bikeways. 6. Review of Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Program’s 2012 Work Plan See attachment. Striping projects for completion are divided into 100% plans (reading bikeways for construction) and 35% plans (design work needed before feasibility studies can be conducted). Staff is coordinating with TransForm to install bike racks at OUSD schools. 7. Announcements, suggestions for next meeting topics Jennifer: CA MUTCD came out – now “[BIKE] MAY USE FULL LANE” signs can be used. Dave: ACTC meeting for Measure B happening on Thursday, January 26th at 3pm. Jason: City sent thank you letter to Kaiser for the pedestrian crossing they installed from Mosswood Park. Emeryville stripped Hollis to Oakland border. 8. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.