Paving projects are still underway during shelter in place, and the slew of new smooth lanes all over Oakland show it.

Thanks to paving season, brand new bike lanes are on the ground on International Boulevard, Havenscourt Boulevard, E 12th Street, Jefferson Street, 11th Street, and 51st Street. New lanes on E 12th Street closed the final mile-long bikeway gap between Fruitvale and Lake Merritt. Elsewhere, repaving included traffic-calmed neighborhood bikeways on Plymouth Avenue, Church Street, A Street, 52nd Street, and Lowell Street.

#TheSmoothening has also brought wider and more continuous bike lanes to Hollis Street, 14th Street, Bancroft Avenue, and MacArthur Boulevard. (Check out the map!)

Paving is often the most cost-effective way to get bike lanes on the ground. Measure KK, passed by Oakland voters in 2016, funds and accelerates bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements like repaving, pothole removal, rebuilding sidewalks and curb ramps, in addition to affordable housing and neighborhood facilities. 

There’s a long list of streets slated for “smoothening” (and improved bike lanes) still to come in 2020, including Telegraph Avenue. Delays can be common in the world of street changes, but Bike East Bay continues to monitor and push for improvements to nudge street designs in a more progressive direction, all the way up until the paint hits the pavement.

Are you seeing #TheSmoothening in your East Bay neighborhood? (We see you, Milvia Street!). Tag us in your photos: @BikeEastBay!