Eyes on the Street: 14th Street Bike Lane Taking Shape

There are now concrete curb-protected bike lanes and protective islands on 14th Street in Oakland from Castro to Jefferson eastbound and from Oak/Lakeside to Jackson westbound. Crews are busy working from end to end, to eventually turn 14th Street from the Lake to I-980 into a fully protected bike route.

Streetsblog readers will recall this project broke ground in January and should be finished in the fall of next year. But sections of it should be usable before then. In fact, Streetsblog was already able to ride a few blocks in it.

It’s already showing how well protected intersections work, as in the photo below of a motorist rounding the turn onto Martin Luther King from 14th. The tight radius of the turn forced the driver to turn slowly enough to give plenty of time to react, which is the whole point of the protective islands.

One of the excuses often given for why protected bike lanes aren’t feasible is that they push disabled people who drive away from the curb. Note there are regular breaks in the protective curbs for deliveries and wheelchair access. The ramp to the sidewalk in the lead image isn’t a driveway—it’s a route for people to roll from the street and bike lane onto the sidewalk.

In the midst of construction, and on a quiet Friday afternoon, the bike lanes—and the car lanes—were not heavily trafficked. But the gentleman in the mobility scooter in the photo below was able to make use of it, evidence that protected bike lanes bring a safer street to everyone.

Tim Courtney, a safe streets advocate who lives nearby, told Streetsblog the ongoing construction is a testament to the power of advocates working with a supportive councilmember, in this case Carroll Fife. Courtney recalled Fife’s emotional response to the death of Dmitry Putilov, who was killed on 14th while cycling with his two sons in 2022, crediting her help in finally getting the project approved and construction under way.

That said, Oakland and other cities clearly have to find a way to get temporary protection into the ground faster while they work out the details of permanent installations. It took almost 25 years of advocacy, legislative debates, and prep to get this project started, and that delay probably cost a man his life. In the five years from 2016-2021, collisions injured 189 people, 38 of them severely according to the Oakland project page. Bay Area cities must start building protective bike lanes and other measures as if lives depend on it, because they do.

More photos below: