Background
The improvements at Harrison and 23rd Streets were the first project in OakDOT’s new initiative to deliver traffic safety results more quickly and at lower costs than ever before. Harrison Street is a high injury corridor: where severe and fatal traffic crashes concentrate. This was partly due to the wide six-lane street that encouraged speeding, as well as a difficult left turn from 23rd on to Harrison that made pedestrians hard to see. The intersection is next to Oakland’s oldest and largest senior center, and the project was delivered in response to the death of 68-year-old Robert Bennett by a driver turning left from 23rd St onto Harrison St.
Improvements
- Converted one through-travel lane in each direction to a larger pedestrian median and bicycle lanes. This reduces vehicle speeds and makes crossing safer for pedestrians.
- Installed a purple pedestrian sidewalk extensions and a median to make pedestrians more visible, shorten the crossing distance, and slow turning vehicles
- Added bicycle lanes in each direction to create a safer connection from the Adams Point neighborhood to Downtown and Lake Merritt
- Constructed curb ramps at Harrison and 23rd Streets to ensure that people using wheelchairs, strollers, etc. can use the sidewalk and cross the street
- Removed the difficult left turn from Harrison to 23rd Street
Evaluation Results
To ensure that this project met safety goals, the City evaluated yielding and speeding before and after the project was installed. The results showed significant improvements in traffic safety:
- Speeding decreased by 7% along the corridor
- Drivers yielding to pedestrians increased by 82-89%
Next Steps
The improvements at Harrison and 23rd streets are temporary measures in advance of concrete improvements through the Lakeside Family Streets project. Lakeside Family Streets will:
- Create two-way, concrete median protected bike lanes on Harrison between Lakeside and Grand. The bikeway will continue on Grand to Bay Place
- Install a buffered bike lane on the west side of Harrison, south of Grand
- Create parking-protected bikeways on Harrison from Grand to 27th
- Install a protected intersection at Harrison and Grand, allowing bicyclists to turn left without crossing traffic.
- Buffered bike lanes help separate pedestrians walking along the lake from high-speed traffic
- Narrowed crossings at intersections improve pedestrian safety
- The project will make pedestrian improvements at 23rd and Harrison permanent while improving bike facilities.
Rendering of proposed improvements at Harrison and Grand, including protected intersection for bikes.
Project Materials
For more information on project materials, click here.
For more information, contact:
Nicole Ferrara, Project Manager nferrara@oaklandca.gov 510-238-4720