PROJECT UPDATE: OakDOT's grant application was successful in winning $14.1M in Active Transportation Program (ATP) funds to complete design and construction of the 7th Street Connection Project! OakDOT is working to secure consultant support for design and community outreach activities, which will being in Summer 2022. The estimated start date for construction of this project is Spring 2025. Please check back as this page will be updated with upcoming opportunities for public input and comment.
In the early 1900s, 7th Street was the center of Black jazz and blues culture in the Bay area – lined with supper clubs and bisected by a streetcar line leading to the Oakland Mole freight and ferry terminal. Since then, 7th Street has seen decades of upheaval by large infrastructure and industrial projects, namely the overhead BART trackway, the Cypress Freeway, and the development of the Port of Oakland. The City of Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is excited to speak with the community about the opportunity to re-imagine 7th Street as both a great street for getting around and as a place for reflecting on the history of West Oakland.
7th Street from Mandela to Market Street is part of the City's Measure KK-funded 3-year paving program. As part of this paving project OakDOT will upgrade the striping on the roadway to install buffered bike lanes as called for by the West Oakland Specific Plan and the “Let’s Bike Oakland” 2019 Bike Plan.
The 7th Street Connection Project is an effort by OakDOT to target State or Local Transportation Grant funding to go above and beyond what is planned as part of repaving, and to extend the project limits to connect to Downtown Oakland. OakDOT is conducting outreach to the West Oakland community to gather input on potential improvements to 7th Street from Mandela Parkway to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. These improvements would only be possible through a successful State or Local transportation grant, which the City is working towards in Fall 2020.
Project Goals:
- Reconnect West Oakland and Downtown with upgraded facilities for people walking, biking, and taking the bus
- Reflect the and highlight the rich history of 7th Street
- Improve the pedestrian experience on 7th Street with safe crossings and accessible, well-lit sidewalks
- Provide a protected space for people of all ages and abilities to ride a bike between West Oakland and Downtown Oakland
- Increase transit reliability
- Improve the flow of large vehicles - including trucks - to reduce idling and emissions
- Create a beautiful street that improves air quality and provides green space
Corridor improvements may include:
- Widening sidewalks
- Shortening pedestrian crossings and installing other crosswalk improvements
- Providing an all-ages bicycling connection to Downtown that is fully separated from vehicle traffic
- Upgrading traffic signals and potentially installing new signals
- Installing improved pedestrian lighting
- Planting maximum carbon and PM-capturing street trees and landscaping
- Working with the community to provide artistic, cultural, and place-making elements
OakDOT is conducting outreach in the West Oakland Community! List of past/planned meetings:
- July 9, 2020 - Meeting with As-Salam Mosque
- July 20, 2020 - Presentation to the Howard Terminal CBA Working Group, Transportation Cohort
- July 29, 2020 - Presentation to the West Oakland Community Action Plan, Transit/Bike/Walk Subcommittee
- August 3, 2020 - Presentation to the Oak Center Neighborhood Association
- August 6, 2020 - Presentation to the OPD Beat 2X/5X NCPC group
- August 13, 2020 - Presentation to the Prescott/S Prescott Neighborhood Association
- August 20, 2020 - Presentation to the West Oakland Neighbors Association
If you would like to schedule a small-group online presentation/Q&A, please email CReam@staging.oaklandca.gov
