In December, Councilmember Carroll Fife introduced legislation to establish a 3-year pilot program that allows schools, businesses, and community centers that serve vulnerable populations to apply for temporary encroachment permits to install removable traffic safety treatments and create traffic calming zones in the city’s streets.

Between 2012-2016, there was a 76% increase in severe or fatal injuries from car accidents, causing devastation to those affected as well as economic ramifications for the City of Oakland to the tune of $900 million due to various associated costs. Observing these issues, the City’s Department of Transportation (OakDOT) was created in 2016, and in 2021, OakDOT developed a Safe Oakland Streets (SOS) program in order to prevent traffic incidents and to implement traffic safety programs. 

As part of SOS, OakDOT emphasized the importance of allocating resources to uplift communities residing in higher priority equity neighborhoods, and that street design plays a critical role in encouraging safe traffic behaviors and preventing severe and fatal crashes. The legislation I’ve introduced seeks to address these findings, by removing barriers and supporting community members to address the needs they are identifying.

In order to develop this pilot so it truly serves Oaklanders, two public community meetings were held. Oakland residents are still able to share their feedback through this form.

For ideas on what these community-driven traffic solutions could be, Transport Oakland shared this presentation at the community meetings.

OakDOT also shared this presentation for how these ideas could integrate with existing projects and programs.

Next Steps

Based on feedback and research, the City Administrator will present a report and recommendations at the Public Safety Committee meeting scheduled on April 23rd, 2024. It will include information on cities in California or the United States that have successfully implemented similar programs, as well as recommendations to Council about legislative or administrative changes needed in order to implement a similar program in Oakland.