PROJECT BACKGROUND
Franklin Street from 6th Street to Broadway is scheduled to be repaved in late 2024/early 2025. This project is funded by Measure U, an infrastructure bond measure passed by Oakland voters in November 2022. The Measure U bond language, section 3A.2(a) states that $290 million dollars of the bond measure shall be used for "street paving and reconstruction, which must implement City of Oakland pedestrian and bicycle safety plans wherever and whenever street repaving and reconstruction is performed, with priority to be given to high-injury network streets..." The City of Oakland Department of Transportation is seeking to improve Franklin Street along with planned repaving, taking into account the recommendations of the 2019 Let's Bike Oakland Bike Plan which calls for protected bike lanes in the northbound direction on Franklin between 6th and Broadway.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
From 6th Street to 11th Street, this project will replace Franklin roadway striping and pavement markings as-is. The ongoing Chinatown Complete Streets Plan is currently (2024) conducting outreach and engagement related to street improvements within Oakland's core Chinatown neighborhood that will inform any future capital improvements and roadway changes on this portion of Franklin Street.
From 11th Street to Broadway, this project will remove one lane of vehicle traffic to shorten pedestrian crossing distances, reduce vehicle speeds and narrow the roadway to reduce the space available for vehicles to make illegal and dangerous driving maneuvers - red-light running, street-racing, etc. This project will also implement the recommendations of the 2019 Oakland Bike Plan to install a curb-side protected bike lane in the northbound direction on the east side of Franklin Street from 11th Street to Broadway. This paving project will make these improvements using a combination of concrete islands, roadway striping/paint, and concrete wheel-stops. Existing on-street parking and loading activities on the east side of Franklin will be preserved. These improvements will target aggressive speeding which led to vehicles crashing into Wise Sons Deli (Franklin and 17th Streets) two times in 2023 and 2022.
To view the proposed project plans, please see link at bottom of page "Franklin Street Paving Project Concept Plans."
This project bisects two of Oakland's Highest Equity Priority Census Tracts per the City's Geographic Equity Toolbox, which takes several demographic factors into account to target investment in the highest-need neighborhoods in the City. This project will connect to several ongoing projects including the 14th Street Safety Project and the 19th Street BART to Lake Merritt Urban Greenway Project (on 20th Street). these connections will strengthen the Downtown network of slow, calm streets that are prioritized for people walking, biking and taking transit.
Note: This project takes design direction from the more intensive and longer-term Franklin Street Complete Streets Project, which is a complete streets project that is applying for the grant funding necessary to construct major capital improvements on Franklin Street. These improvements include a two-way separated bikeway connection, new traffic signals, new pedestrian-scale lighting, raised crosswalks, and other improvements. The Franklin Complete Streets Project applied for construction funding in June 2024 and would potentially start construction in 2028-29. This Paving Project provides an opportunity to improve safety on Franklin Street in the near-term while the City applies for funding for the larger Complete Streets Project.