Your Grand, Your Vision
The Grand Avenue Mobility Plan is a collaboration between OakDOT, AC Transit, community-based organizations, and Oaklanders along the corridor to conceptualize an implementable plan that will enhance transit service and improve traffic safety on this high injury corridor without impeding goods movement. The corridor study spans from Mandela Parkway to MacArthur Boulevard, including distinct neighborhoods along Grand Avenue. In addition, UC Berkeley students in Research Seminar in Urban Studies partnered with OakDOT to look into the historical racial and social injustices in Oakland neighborhoods along Grand Avenue. Check out their research here!
Goals of the Planning Process
- Engagement
- Educate about Project Goals and Timeline – Convey information to stakeholders about the Grand Avenue Mobility Plan in a way that is accessible, meaningful, and linguistically appropriate, including a timeline for the project and milestones at which people can provide feedback.
- Build Relationships and Shared Language of Goals and Vision– The project process has been amplified by the support of local community-based organizations, stakeholders, and youth. The process aims to build local champions and ensure the plan and identified alternatives have community buy-in and support.
- Gather Input on the Diverse Needs and Uses of Grand Avenue – The process aims to capture and integrate how residents and other stakeholders use and envision Grand Avenue. The project team aims to seamlessly integrate the engagement process with the technical process to ensure community and stakeholder input is reflected in the final product.
- Comprehensive Corridor Plan
- Final Product – After listening and collaborating with community and agency stakeholders, the project team put together a comprehensive plan including data collection/analysis, reflections from engagement process, corridor concepts, funding opportunities, and implementation plan.
Community-Based Organization Team
To better reach historically underserved and underrepresented West Oakland community members, we contracted with the three Community-Based Organization Team below to help capture the voices of disadvantaged groups and inform the overall planning process:
- West Oakland Environmental Indicator Project
- Black Film Guild: https://blackfilmguild.com/
- East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation: https://ebaldc.org/
Outreach
The community-based organization and OakDOT team led focus group meetings with historically underserved and underrepresented West Oaklanders including:
- People with Disabilities
- Seniors
- Transit riders
- Multi-generational West Oakland families and neighbors
- Affordable housing sites
- Businesses
To listen in on focus groups, check out the recordings and notes, here: https://drive.google.com/drive...
To see the Black Film Guild artist contributions, visit: https://blackfilmguild.com/oaklandgrandave/
Staff also attended formal gatherings of neighborhood stakeholders:
- 6/3/2021: NCPC 2x5x
- 5/4/2021: Hoover RAC
- 3/30/2021: West Oakland St. Mary's Seniors focus group meeting
- 3/17/2021: West Oakland, People with Disabilities focus group meeting
- 12/16/2021: West Oakland, Transit riders focus group meeting
- 10/29/2020: The community-based organization team led a West Oakland focused orientation meeting to introduce the effort, how it came about, and discussed the planning process with community stakeholders. Check out the recorded virtual meeting at https://youtu.be/Y05_kF1OkT8 (no need to watch the whole meeting, click the desired time stamp links in the video description). You can also find the presentation at Grand Ave Mobility Plan Orientation Meeting Presentation
OakDOT and the consultant team launched virtual open houses and other engagement from August 2020 - August 2021 to help gather feedback during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team promoted the online survey and interactive map through flyers, sidewalk stickers, Facebook, Instagram, and NextDoor.
Other Projects in the Area
West Grand Avenue Repaving & Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project: OakDOT is implementing safety improvements on West Grand Avenue between Mandela Parkway and Market Street. Please visit West Grand Avenue Repaving & Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project website to learn more.
7th Street Connection Project: The 7th Street Connection Project provides a bike connection, pedestrian crossing improvements, transit-only lanes, and street trees along 7th Street between Mandela Parkway and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Please visit 7th Street Connection Project website to learn more information and provide feedback.
MTC Bay Bridge Forward: The Bay Bridge Forward seeks to improve efficiency in crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Please visit Bay Bridge Forward website to learn more information.
AC Transit Rapid Corridors Project: In response to AC Transit's Major Corridors Study, the Rapid Corridors Project is the first step towards implementing the short-term recommendations on the Telegraph, San Pablo and West Grand/Grand Avenue corridors. Information on W. Grand and Grand Avenue portion of the project can be found here: https://www.actransit.org/rapi...
