The Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is working on many projects and programs to improve access to sustainable mobility options and improve safety throughout the city. One of these projects is focused on Grand Avenue between Broadway and Elwood Avenue. This portion of Grand Avenue connects residents of Adams Point, Lakeshore, and other neighborhoods along MacArthur Boulevard to Downtown Oakland. It’s a vibrant commercial corridor and gateway to Lake Merritt.

Grand Avenue between Broadway and Elwood Avenue is included in Oakland’s Five-Year Paving Plan. The corridor is set to be repaved by 2024. OakDOT is designing safety improvements alongside the community so that the street can be holistically upgraded along with planned repaving. 

People walking and biking along Grand Avenue today may experience conflicts between different modes of travel and circumstances that allow for high vehicle speeds, especially during non-commute hours. If you have biked or ridden a scooter on Grand Avenue, you have surely seen cars or delivery vehicles blocking the bike lane. If you have walked on Grand Avenue, you may have witnessed cars traveling above the speed limit, cutting corners quickly, making illegal U-turns, and using the bike lane or center median space as a passing lane. Collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists are higher on Grand Avenue compared to the City of Oakland as a whole. Between 2016–2020, 47% of collisions on the Grand Avenue corridor involved people walking or biking compared to 20% citywide (data source: UC Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System).  

OakDOT is working to improve safety on Grand Avenue so that the corridor is safer for everyone, especially people who live near or visit Grand Avenue. Staff have been working on preliminary designs for protected bicycle lanes, transit improvements, and traffic calming improvements. To learn more and to view the preliminary designs, please visit our website: https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/grand

OakDOT staff will be discussing the preliminary designs and sharing project information at upcoming events:

• Adams Point Neighbors Virtual Neighborhood Council monthly meeting on October 6, 2022, 6:30-8:00pm
• Grand Lake Farmers’ Market on Saturday, October 15, 2022 – we’ll have a table there. Come say hi and tell us your thoughts about improving Grand Avenue!
• Grand Lake Neighbors Virtual Neighborhood Council monthly meeting on October 19, 2022, 7:00-8:30pm

If you and your neighbors cannot attend one of the upcoming events and would like to learn more about the project, please reach out to Celina Chan at cchan@oaklandca.gov or Charlie Ream at cream@oaklandca.gov to schedule a virtual meeting. 

In October 2022, we’ll also be mailing postcards to people who live near the Grand Avenue corridor with a link to a survey to provide feedback on the designs. We’d love to hear your feedback on the project.

Sign up for email updates (including an email notification when the online survey is live) at: https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/grand

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