Update: November 24, 2020
The Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) has launched a short public survey to gather feedback on the design concepts – take the survey today! The survey will be open for at least a month. If you live in the area, please share this link with your neighbors or forward this announcement and survey link to whomever you think would be interested. In the next couple weeks, OakDOT will be sending postcards, delivering posters, and putting sidewalk decals around the corridor to encourage residents and users to take the survey.
Ready for more of the sweet two-way protected bikeway at Lake Merritt​? Us too! Bike East Bay and the community’s vision for a continuous loop around Lake Merritt is coming one step closer: OakDOT is planning an extension of the lakeside cycle track! The new segment will connect south to 14th Street and then extend around the amphitheater area of Lake Merritt over the estuary channel bridge to E.12th Street. It’s part of a 2021 repaving project on Lakeside Drive and Lake Merritt Boulevard. Sign up to hear the latest from OakDOT on this project.
The current section of the Lake Merritt cycle track has bike turn lanes, bike traffic lights, designated ADA parking, and lush landscaping. The cycle track is a terrific example of what you can and should expect from well-designed bikeways. Just a few years ago, this project seemed fated for a paint-only treatment. Then, in 2016, Bike East Bay and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland successfully campaigned to upgrade the original project to protected bike lanes. OakDOT staff took our request one step further with a cycle track—those shiny two-way protected bike lanes. Thanks to Bike East Bay members’ outstanding emails of support, Oakland City Council unanimously approved those upgrades in early 2018.
COVID-19 has highlighted the need for more recreational space around Lake Merritt for safe social distancing. The new stretch of the Lake Merritt cycle track means that Oakland can answer that need on a short timeline, while providing a lasting benefit to residents traveling into downtown Oakland in the future. Sign up for OakDOT updates on the project.
Bike East Bay works to make fantastic projects like this a reality. Support visionary bike lanes in the East Bay: become a member today!