The City Of Oakland’s 4th Of July Plans as explained by the District Two Office Of Nkki Fortunado Bas.
Hello all,
We are writing to keep you apprised of the city’s updated plan for Lake Merritt during the July 4th holiday weekend.
With our input, the City Administration developed an enhanced plan (below) that we hope will help keep things safe and fun at the Lake this weekend.
We are aware of at least two demonstrations that will take place this weekend. One will take place at Lake Merritt (we believe at the amphitheater) from 1-6pm on Saturday 7/4. To address these crowds, the city is planning the following efforts:
PARKING RESTRICTIONS: No parking restrictions around the entire lake will be in effect. The city will deploy a larger enforcement team to be present for a longer period of time, including 11 enforcement officers working a shift that will extend from 8:30am to 7pm.
PARKING ENFORCEMENT (PE): The OPD traffic unit will be placing cones in the morning as well to demarcate the “no parking” areas. The city will close El Embarcadero and the library parking lot again and OPD will make a decision as to whether to close Lakeshore southbound depending on the outlook and staff resources during the day. Please note that last Saturday, the city closed Lakeshore southbound in the early evening which was effective. OPD’s capacity is limited this weekend due to expected events across the city, however they expect to have a greater presence after 3:30pm.
FIREWORKS AND FIRE SAFETY: OFD will have three two-person teams riding Gators around the lake and providing medical assistance, masks, guidance and a presence from 12 noon to 10pm with emphasis on areas where people are known to launch fireworks in the evening hours. The city recently installed “no fireworks signs” to help mitigate these issues around the Lake. The Emergency Operations Center is being activated from 2pm to 2am based on citywide activities but with an emphasis on Lake Merritt and high fire danger areas for the entire day due to high fire danger.
AMBASSADORS: OPRYD will have a team of Ambassadors at the Lake handing out masks and promoting social distancing.
VENDING: Municipal Code Officers will be deployed on Sunday to address vending at the Lake.
TRASH AND ILLEGAL DUMPING: OPW has diverted 2 additional park maintenance crews to be cleaning on both Saturday and Sunday and Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful (KOCB) has added a crew as well for both days. This should help to see faster garbage removal. The Excess Litter Fleet has been assigned to come through Monday morning for litter removal on Lakeshore.
We hope this information helps. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Wishing you a pleasant and safe holiday weekend.
Lia Azul Salaverry
Policy Analyst & Community Liaison
Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas
City of Oakland, District 2
Stay tuned.