The City Of Oakland and “OakDOT”, The Oakland Department of Transportation, emailed the following release to Zennie62Media.
Oakland, CA – The Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is improving pedestrian safety around schools across the City, by updating about 200 crosswalks to a safer “high-visibility” style that is more visible to drivers and will make Oakland students safer as they walk to and from school.
“The formation of the Department of Transportation has increased our staff’s capacity and opened up the opportunity to do these ‘easy win’ projects that make Oaklanders that much safer as we’re walking on our streets,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “This is one more example of why I made creating this department such an important priority, and this is only one of many projects of its kind.”
“OakDOT is committed to a higher standard for the safety of all Oaklanders, and this project reflects another step forward in that commitment,” OakDOT Director Ryan Russo said. “In the past the City has historically only installed these high-visibility crosswalks at uncontrolled crossings. We’re changing that practice to provide a higher level of safety in every vulnerable neighborhood. This project makes critical progress in our goal to paint high-visibility crosswalks at all school intersections.”
The OakDOT Safe Streets team works with the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools program to prioritize improvements based on safety, equity, and public health factors. This project will make improvements at 85 intersections and 35 schools, primarily at elementary schools, which will see crosswalk improvements made with highly durable materials. Improvements include:
The “high-visibility” crosswalk design, which has been studied and found to improve visibility and driver behavior.
Advanced limit lines prompting drivers to stop before entering a crosswalk. Crosswalk signage upgrades.
The project is funded primarily through Measure B and Measure BB. Work is already underway and the project is scheduled to be finished in April.
This project is the latest of many efforts OakDOT has undertaken to make the pedestrian environment safer for all Oaklanders. In August the department announced the rollout of six new pedestrian-activated crossing beacons that allow pedestrians to request controlled, stopped vehicle traffic at intersections where a traditional four-way traffic signal isn’t appropriate. Additionally, 17 pedestrian warning beacons have also been installed, with 57 more planned citywide. Much of this work is guided by the 2017 Pedestrian Plan, which is titled Oakland Walks! More information about Oakland Walks! is online at https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/pedestrian-plan-update.
Below please find a list of schools where these improvements will be made:
School
Acorn Woodland Elementary School
Allendale Elementary School
Alternatives in Action High School
ASCEND School
Aspire Triumph Technology Academy Elementary School
Aspire Monarch Academy Elementary School
Cox Academy Elementary School
East Oakland Pride Elementary School
Encompass Academy Elementary School
Esperanza Elementary School
Franklin Elementary School
Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy Elementary School
Frick Impact Academy Middle School
Fruitvale Elementary School
Garfield Elementary School
Global Family Elementary School
Greenleaf Elementary School
Horace Mann Elementary School
KIPP Bridge Academy Middle School
La Escuelita Elementary School
Lafayette Elementary School
Lazear Charter Academy
Learning Without Limits College Preparatory Elementary School
Madison Park Academy Primary School
Madison Park Academy Secondary School
Manzanita Community School Elementary
Manzanita SEED Elementary School
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School
MetWest High School
Parker Elementary School
Reach Academy Elementary School
Spectrum Center School, Oakland Campus
United Nation Child Development Center
Oakland Unity High School
West Oakland Middle School