I was returning from a grocery run last month, when I came to the signalized crosswalk at 11th Street and Lake Merritt Boulevard on the way to my home in Jack London Square.
That intersection is a ridiculous eight lanes wide, despite the fact that it's used by only a handful of motorists each light cycle. Like so many streets in Oakland, the excessive width encourages motorists to speed and run the light. I pushed the "beg" button and waited and waited through multiple cycles that allowed drivers to turn every which way. When I finally got the "go" signal, I started to walk my bike, and got past the first two lanes. I could see a white Honda moving really fast towards me—I wasn't sure if he was going to stop. He blew through the red light at at least 60 mph, inches from my body.
You all know the feeling—I got a shot of adrenaline and my hair stood on end. It was terrifying to experience, yet again, being a footstep away from becoming the next statistic in Oakland's ongoing vehicular bloodbath.
The part that's especially infuriating is there shouldn't be a need to cross Lake Merritt Boulevard by foot or bike in the first place. The city built a lovely bike and pedestrian path over a decade ago along the channel that goes under both Lake Merritt Boulevard and the Nimitz Freeway.
Unfortunately, it's been unusable for a couple of years now. The path is completely blocked by encampments, discarded trash, and even parked cars (see lead image where the path passes under Lake Merritt Boulevard).
Long-time readers may recall that back in January of 2019 I wrote a piece called "Oakland’s Saddest Bike Path" about the issue. I had also written to my representative, then District 3 councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney. A few days after that piece came out, the city of Oakland started the process of relocating the encampment and cleaning up the trash. Soon afterwards, the channel path was usable again. Thanks Oakland Public Works.
I used it, almost every week, for grocery runs. So did many other cyclists, including families with cargo bikes. The path was still far from perfect—I even managed to crash on it in November of 2020 on the portion that goes under I-880 (which is Caltrans's responsibility to maintain). But it was definitely usable for at least a few years.
And then, in 2022, redistricting happened. Suddenly, my neighborhood was switched from District 3 to District 2. Over time there was more flooding, more tents, and more garbage on the path until it once again became completely impassible.
I started writing to District 2 Nikki Fortunato Bas's office in September of 2023. I also spoke with her directly at an event. She referred me to her staff. I heard back from her deputy, Jennifer Amaya-Lin:
We are in discussion with the city about the encampments that line the path. With over 900 encampments across the city, the encampment management team is working to address the encampments closest to schools and playgrounds and other sensitive areas.
Nothing happened on the path. In January, I spoke with Bas again at the ground-breaking ceremony for the 14th Street bike lane project about the total lack of progress. She again referred me to Amaya-Lin, who emailed to claim they're trying. She sent a list of excuses in February, ending with:
We know once the area is cleared/fixed, it will take a larger community effort to keep the area usable and accessible to the public by bike, walking, and other programming and collaboration in/around Peralta Park and the channel.
But most if not all of the excuses existed before redistricting. I started to reply with "you know, safe streets and good governance takes hard work?" but never sent it.
There's still no visible evidence that anything has been done to clear the path. I emailed the council office again, angrily, after my near-deadly experience crossing Lake Merritt Boulevard. That time I asked why the previous councilmembers were able to clear and maintain the path but they could not.
That email got no response.
In speaking to advocates, I've often heard that Bas "says the right things" about safe streets. She votes, shows up at ground breakings, and poses for cameras. But the fact is that good governance takes more than that. Her predecessors were, at least sometimes, willing to make the calls, harass the right departments, crack heads together, and get shit done.
That kind of tedious, often thankless, behind-the-scenes work is essential. The city can build all the bike lanes it wants, but if they just fall into total disrepair because of lawmaker indifference or incompetence, it's all pointless.
It's a matter of time before a cyclist or pedestrian—maybe a child—is killed crossing Lake Merritt Boulevard or I-880's ramps and frontage roads because the channel path is blocked. When that happens the responsibility will fall, in large part, on Bas.
