UPDATE February 2025:
OakDOT has completed 100% Designs for safety improvements to Lakeshore Avenue from MacArthur Blvd to E18th Street. Please see these 100% plans available for download below. This project will install a completely separated two-way pathway for people biking on Lakeshore Avenue between El Embarcadero and E18th Street, along with traffic-calming and pedestrian safety improvements for this gateway street to the regional recreational destination of Lake Merritt. OakDOT is currently finalizing negotiations with our selected construction contractor and expects construction to begin in Late Spring 2025 with an expected construction duration of 8 months. Based on community feedback, the 100% plans now include the following updates in addition to the two-way bike connection, transit boarding islands, and pedestrian safety islands already proposed in earlier plan sets:
- Full-width repaving of Lakeshore between El Embarcadero and MacArthur with road diet from 4 to 2 lanes, buffered bike lanes, and intersection striping improvements at MacArthur Blvd.
- Pedestrian bulbouts and refuge islands at the SW and NW corners of El Embarcadero/Lakeshore to reduce crossing distances across Lakeshore.
- Concrete median islands to prohibit illegal passing and speeding in the center of the roadway.
If you have any questions about the project plans or construction schedule, please email Charlie Ream, Planning Manager of the project.
Updated: July 31, 2024
Construction of the Project is slated to begin in October 2024. Check back here for updates on construction including phasing and schedule.
The City of Oakland’s Department of Transportation (OakDOT) will be constructing a two-way separated bike lane on Lakeshore Avenue from E 18th Street to El Embarcadero. The two-way separated bike lanes will be located on the lake side of Lakeshore Avenue and separated from motor vehicle traffic by a physical barrier. On-street parking along that physical barrier will provide additional separation between bicyclists and drivers. See existing and proposed cross sections here.
Lakeshore Avenue is included in the City of Oakland’s 5-Year Paving Plan and scheduled for paving in Fiscal Year 2027. The funds allocated by the 5-Year Paving Plan in combination with the EBMUD project coordination creates an opportunity to coordinate construction of the separated bike lane project following that project, two years earlier than scheduled by the 5-Year Paving Plan.
Tell OakDOT What YOU Think
Thank you for joining us at the community meetings and pop-up events below. To provide further feedback please review project documents below and email Charlie Ream, Planning Manager of the project, with any questions.
Past Community Meetings
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (Infrastructure Subcommittee)
Thu, Mar 7, 2024 @ 3 pm - Cleveland Heights Neighborhood Council 15X
Tue, Mar 12, 2024 @ 6 pm - Measure DD Community Coalition
Mon, Mar 18, 2024 @ 7 pm
Pop-Ups by the Lake
- Cleveland Cascade
Wed 4/24 @ 4 pm - Lake Merritt at E 18 Street
Wed 5/1 @ 4 pm - The Pergola
Sat 5/4 @ 10 am
(CANCELLED due to rain) - Grand Lake Farmer’s Market
Sat 5/25 @ 10 am
Building for All Ages & Abilities
The urgency to advance the City's plans for separated bike lanes along Lakeshore Avenue was prompted by a tragic traffic fatality in August 2023. Four-year old Maia Correia and her father were bicycling on Lakeshore Avenue near Hanover Street when a driver opening their door into the bike lane caused them to crash. Maia suffered a head injury and in the following days succumbed to that injury at Children’s Hospital.
In immediate response to this tragedy, OakDOT developed and installed signs reminding motorists to “check for bikes” before opening car doors per California Vehicle Code 22517. The new signs along Lakeshore Ave were implemented by OakDOT's Rapid Response Program that investigates all traffic crashes fatal to pedestrians or bicyclists and seeks near-term design solutions.
“Dooring” poses a serious risk to bicyclists. As drivers and passengers, always check for bicyclists before opening a car door. Get in the habit of opening driver-side doors with your right hand. This will help you look over your left shoulder for oncoming bicyclists. As a bicyclist, always ride outside of the “door zone” – the area next to parked cars into which doors swing open. As a driver, be patient with bicyclists who are riding away from parked cars to stay clear of the door zone. Learn more about how to drive safely and considerately around bicyclists. Watch these short videos in English (https://www.youtube.com/playli...) and in Spanish (https://www.youtube.com/playli...) that were filmed around Lake Merritt by the League of American Bicyclists.
Improving Bicycling at Lake Merritt
The City of Oakland’s 2019 Bicycle Plan proposes separated bike lanes on Lakeshore Avenue along Lake Merritt. The existing bike lanes were built in 2009 along with the reconstruction of the pedestrian path at the water’s edge and the construction of a new mixed-use path adjacent to the street. These improvements were envisioned by the Lake Merritt Park Master Plan (2002) and funded by Measure DD (2002), a $198 million bond measure approved by Oakland voters to improve Oakland’s parks and water quality. At the time of the Lake Merritt Park Master Plan, the mixed-use path was intended to serve pedestrians and slower moving bicyclists, with faster cyclists using the on-street bike lanes and pedestrians using the additional path at the water’s edge. In the following years, the mixed-use path has become so popular with pedestrians that there is often no space for bicyclists. The proposed separated bike lanes will provide new space for bicyclists, reducing conflicts with drivers in the street and with pedestrians in the park.
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