Oakland Proposes Parking-Protected Bike Lanes on Telegraph Avenue

The City of Oakland has released preliminary design options [PDF] for a redesign of Telegraph Avenue, which include parking-protected bike lanes, improvements to speed up AC Transit lines, and pedestrian safety upgrades. Planners will hold open house meetings to collect input on the design options starting next week.

“We're very excited they've released a lot of different options,” said Dave Campbell, advocacy director for Bike East Bay. “It's a very robust set of choices and allows people to make an informed decision on the best ones.”

This is the first time Telegraph is being revisited for a redesign since it was taken out of the East Bay Bus Rapid Transit route that begins construction this fall. The proposal to extend BRT on Telegraph to Berkeley was dropped after merchants fought to preserve car parking.

The Telegraph Avenue Complete Streets Implementation Plan looks at the stretch from 57th Street to 20th Street, a few blocks short of Telegraph's end at Broadway in downtown Oakland, where the Latham Square pilot plaza was prematurely removed. Under some of the proposals, much of Telegraph could get parking-protected bike lanes (a.k.a. "cycle tracks") by re-purposing traffic lanes and preserving parking lanes.

Oakland's project website notes that "despite the lack of bike facilities, Telegraph Avenue is one of the most heavily traveled routes for cyclists, with over 1,200 daily cyclists."

Bike East Bay is “super delighted to see proposed cycle tracks for a good segment of the street, and think there are some good options as well through the section with the freeway underpass,” said Campbell.

“It is becoming more and more challenging to balance all the needs along Telegraph,” said Kristine Shaff, a spokesperson for the City of Oakland. "There are buses, delivery vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and cars. We have tried to come up with alternatives that can address this balance... we're looking forward to hearing people's responses to these concepts."

Shaff said the proposals incorporate feedback from public outreach already done, including a survey of 1,100 people [PDF] who use Telegraph. Bike East Bay noted in a blog post:

Planners presented options for Telegraph in three segments, which have different street widths and traffic volumes. The first is from 57th to Claremont Avenue and 52nd Street, the second through the Temescal neighborhood to 48th Street, and the third south of 48th to 20th downtown.

Each segment has several design options. The report doesn't name a “preferred option,” but it does include a table listing the “most likely” options for each segment of the street, based on existing conditions, engineering judgment, and public input.

“Every option is still open,” said Shaff. “We want to get these ideas out there, and we need everybody's perspective to improve walking and biking along the corridor, at the same time that we preserve transit and vehicle operations.”

The "most likely" options for the northern and southern segments include protected bike lanes, but the Temescal segment in the middle does not. Because of car traffic headed to and from nearby freeway ramps, the city's report says that removing traffic lanes there would delay drivers too much during rush hour, as determined by the car-centric transportation planning measurement Level of Service.

“I agree that Temescal is a challenge,” said Campbell. “But we still maintain that lane reduction through Temescal is feasible, and would allow us to preserve parking and loading zones, while creating good bikeways.”

Most of the people coming off the freeway in Temescal are cutting through to drive elsewhere, said Campbell. “They're not stopping or shopping in the area. I'm cautious about street design that gives priority to that traffic," he said. "The people who live, work, and shop in Temescal should be the ones who have the stronger voice in this discussion."

“We're looking forward to getting as much input as possible,” he said, urging all residents and travelers who use Telegraph to weigh in.

The City of Oakland will hold three open houses starting next week, where planners will collect input to inform a preferred option. That's scheduled to be presented this summer, along with a design and implementation plan, including cost estimates. From there, planners can seek funding.

Here are the three scheduled open houses:

• Thursday, April 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Beebe Memorial Cathedral, 3900 Telegraph Avenue.
• Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at Faith Presbyterian Church, 430 49th Street.
• Thursday, May 1, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street (accessible entrance at 411 28th Street).