71 City of Oakland - Street Issues not due to lack of resources. Time to review the spending of $$ used for our infrastructure

May 2016
Oakland streets already worst and getting worse (East Bay Times My Word)

Inadequate pavement maintenance:

All over Oakland one finds streets that have been neglected for decades and left to deteriorate. Examples can be seen and experienced almost anywhere in the city, but the problem especially acute in Oakland’s less affluent neighborhoods. Nowhere else in Alameda County or in the Bay Area are the streets as deteriorated and torn up as they are in Oakland.

Fanciful street planning:
Instead of making Oakland’s streets drivable, Oakland’s traffic planners increasingly opt for politically-correct street “enhancements” that often don’t work.

Almost $2 million was spent near the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park with little to show for the money spent and a 10-year implementation period. Recent traffic-lane closures along Grand Avenue are causing 2-mile long afternoon traffic backups. El Embarcadero at the north end of Lake Merritt used to consist of two well-functioning streets between Grand Avenue and Lakeshore. That ended when the city replaced the two streets with a single two-lane street, which now adds greatly to the traffic congestion at the north end of Lake Merritt. A recent city street improvement project at MacArthur and Telegraph backed up traffic for a period of eight months. When the traffic barriers were finally removed, it was apparent that nothing much of consequence had resulted.

AC Transit reports that planned reductions in traffic lanes elsewhere along Telegraph Avenue will slow down and otherwise impede AC Transit’s important No. 1 and 1R lines.

Heavy Alameda-bound traffic heading south on Webster Street adds significantly to the traffic congestion now interfering with Oakland’s once vibrant but now struggling Chinatown. Ill-conceived street enhancement can be worse than doing nothing, especially if it takes resources away from street maintenance.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/05/31/oakland-streets-already-worst-and-getting-worse-east-bay-times-my-word/

70 City of Oakland - $60m of Measure BB funds being used to build Coliseum City rather than fixing East Oakland roads?

March 2016
Coliseum Authority Approves Another One-Year Lease for Raiders in Oakland

In addition, she said, infrastructure costs for Coliseum City could partially be paid by $40 million in funds from Measure BB, the transportation sales tax approved by voters last fall. “We didn’t have that last year,” said Kaplan, who along with Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty pushed for the inclusion of Coliseum City in the measure. She believes Measure BB tax dollars can be leveraged into state and federal funding for infrastructure needed for the project.


http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/03/06/coliseum-authority-approves-another-one-year-lease-for-raiders-in-oakland

July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads

She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.

Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.

McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/

East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets

The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”

The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.

“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.

The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.

http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2015/09/18/east-oakland-residents-take-mayor-schaaf-tour-neglected-flatland-streets/

69 City of Oakland - Road Repair/Paving Strategy the 80/20 rule and the impact on East Oakland's roads

Oakland Streets FAQ Sheet 

Q. How do you determine which streets are going to be paved?                               

A. It’s much cheaper to preserve a street by resurfacing it than it is to rebuild a damaged street ($20 per square yard to resurface vs. $140 per square yard to reconstruct). So for the same amount of money we can raise the condition of one city block from Poor to Excellent (pavement reconstruction), or we can improve seven city blocks from Fair to Excellent (pavement preservation). 

For this reason, we spend 80% of our scarce resources on Fair streets and only 20% on Poor streets.  It's not so different from everything else in life--an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And, perhaps, the rich get richer (or at least stay the same) while the poor get poorer. Also: 

Preserving what we have must continue until additional paving money becomes available.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/pwa/documents/report/oak029773.pdf



July  2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs

Public Works is also limited on how much it can invest annually to badly damaged roads.

Oakland’s paving strategy earmarks 80 percent of funding to streets in fair condition and 20 percent to older streets and those in worst condition, which often have repairs with a bigger price tag.

The mayor’s office, which met with the East Oakland residents last month, said that it shares “their frustration that the city of Oakland does not currently have adequate resources to immediately address all of the repairs and improvements that are needed.”

It said it will continue to seek more funding for infrastructure improvements.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/

However in 2014, voters passed Measure BB .. to fund these types of repairs

http://www.alamedactc.org/2014Plan


East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets

The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”

The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.

“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.

“But the places where more people of color and lower-income families live, where the streets are crumbling more and more and cars are torn up more, they don’t get prioritization,” said Wilson.

The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.

During the event on Saturday, neighbors shared personal accounts with Mayor Schaaf about the difficulties of living in their community caused by the safety risks associated with poor street conditions.

“It is difficult to leave our houses, and we have to take long detours to find a good path to reach our destinations,” said East Oakland resident and ACCE chair member José Paranguero.

“Our elderly can easily trip on the uneven sidewalks, our neighborhood is not wheelchair accessible, and mothers cannot walk through their own streets with their baby strollers,” said Paranguero.

The group led Mayor Schaaf on a short walking tour of an adjacent street, pointing out large potholes, crumbling asphalt on the streets and even a large hole that was big enough to hold an entire upside-down traffic cone.

Mayor Schaaf refused to sign the letter and was given the opportunity to respond in front of the crowd.

“I encourage you to become educated yourself about how you can better utilize the levers of government,” she said. “The systems of government are difficult and complicated to control because of how bureaucratic they are.”

\
Mayor Schaaf promised that the city would not enter into a development contract on Coliseum City without a community benefits agreement.

“The City of Oakland needs a public lands policy that must be approved by City Council, and I am happy to work with you on it before it is proposed,” she said.

The mayor also said she is willing to take a new look “80-20” funding model for allocating repair funds.

“We can open up and re-explore Oakland’s 80-20 policy to see if you really want to change the policy,” she said. “I think you want to look at the data to make sure it’s what you want.”

Members of ACCE said they had looked at the data and were certain they would like to the policy to change.

http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2015/09/18/east-oakland-residents-take-mayor-schaaf-tour-neglected-flatland-streets/

68 City of Oakland - SF and Oakland Road Conditions are the WORST in the country - In 2011 this resulted in a $3.25m lawsuit in Oakland

March 2014
Oakland Cyclist Wins $3.25 Million Pothole Payday

The city of Oakland (and its insurance carrier) has agreed to payout $3.25 million to a woman who was seriously injured after she slammed into a pothole while riding her bike on Mountain Boulevard in the Oakland Hills in 2011.

According to her lawsuit filed in Alameda County, 35-year-old crash victim Dulcey Bower was wearing a helmet at the time, but the pitfall sent her head-first over the handlebars, sailing 21 feet before crashing into the pavement. The impact left her in a medically-induced coma for four days and she had to have seven operations to repair the damage to her head, face, teeth and jaw. She now sports titanium plates in her mouth.

The lawsuit also stated that the city of Oakland had failed to repair potholes along the stretch of Mountain Boulevard even though other cyclists had been complaining for years. The pothole was repaired four months after Bower's crash.

http://sfist.com/2014/03/21/oakland_cyclist_wins_325_million_po.php

November 2016
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country

A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.

All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.

And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.

http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php

November 2016 
Bumpy Roads Ahead:
America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to make our Roads Smoother

http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf

San Francisco and Oakland roads deemed worst in nation again
December 2016

http://sf.curbed.com/2016/12/22/14057652/sf-roads-worst-nation-trip


Oakland Potholes.. a history
Time was when, Oakland was able to properly, and promptly, maintain its infrastructure … or not:

https://localwiki.org/oakland/Potholes

September 2013
Sloppy Ridgemont repaving irks Oakland neighbors
Uneven surface, globs of pavement dot neighborhood

Oakland resident Jeff Franzen waited more than two decades to see his Ridgemont neighborhood streets repaved, and when the trucks arrived this month he thought he was in for a smooth ride

Shaff said the Ridgemont job was pushed up the list after vociferous complaints from residents. The industry standard for cities to repave roads is once every 25 to 30 years, but in Oakland that wait is often closer to 80 years, Shaff said.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sloppy-Ridgemont-repaving-irks-Oakland-neighbors-4843702.php

67 City of Oakland - Measures KK and BB were passed to fund road repairs, yet Oakland's roads continue to go unfixed.

November 2016
SF And Oakland Road Conditions Are The Worst In The Country

A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.

All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.

And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.

http://sfist.com/2016/11/02/report_sf_and_oakland_road_conditio.php

http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Urban_Roads_TRIP_Report_November_2016.pdf



Why SF and Oakland have America's worst-maintained streets
December 2016
http://www.sfgate.com/news/articleComments/Why-SF-and-Oakland-Have-America-s-10813772.php

Planning > 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan
Measure BB passed with 70 percent voter support: funds 30-year Transportation Expenditure Plan

Measure BB, approved by Alameda County voters on November 4, 2014, will generate nearly $8 billion over 30 years for essential transportation improvements in every city throughout Alameda County. See election results map. Funds began flowing to municipalities and transit agencies in July 2015. See Measure BB sales tax revenue allocations.

Measure BB funds the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan (2014 Plan), which was unanimously approved by the Alameda County Transportation Commission at its January 2014 meeting. An economic analysis by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute reports that the Plan will yield $20 billion in total economic activity in the Bay Area and 150,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

Strict accountability and performance measures ensure delivery. The 30-year Plan includes strict accountability measures to ensure all $8 billion for County transportation improvements are spent on approved projects. It requires open and transparent public processes to allocate funds, annual independent audits, an independent watchdog committee made up of people who live in Alameda County and annual compliance reports distributed to the public that detail costs and how specific performance measures are met.

Alameda CTC sought and received unanimous approval of the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan by each of Alameda County's 14 cities, an

http://www.alamedactc.org/2014plan

October 2014
Transportation fund sales tax increase on ballot
How does Measure BB work?

Measure BB, said Richardson of Oakland United Democratic Campaign, would lead to the long-overdue maintenance of some 50 miles of roads and 250 neighborhood blocks in Oakland alone. The measure’s failure would further a “state of disrepair,” said Colin Piethe of Bike East Bay, since Measure BB funds would provide 2/3 of the projected local transportation budget over the next three decades. The increased tax funding would also improve the quality of life “drastically,” he said in an email.

https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/10/29/transportation-fund-sales-tax-increase-on-ballot/

August 2016
Oakland's Street-Repair Deficit is Deep. The Mayor Says a $600 Million Bond Needed to Address the Problem. 

Measure KK would also approve bonds for affordable housing.

Here in the East Bay, it's no secret that Oakland's streets are rough — as in riddled with potholes, busted sidewalks, and dubiously safe bike lanes. In fact, the mayor's office informed the Express last week that there's a $450 million service backlog of street-paving and repair work. That's not a minor to-do list.

Enter Measure KK. If two-thirds voters pass KK on Election Day, it will greenlight some $350 million in bonds to make a dent in that road-repair deficit.

But proponents tout that the initiative will do more than just fix streets. The measure also earmarks $150 million in bonds to upgrade city facilities, such as libraries, parks, and fire stations; and another $100 million in bonds to invest in affordable housing.

Measure KK is being presented as a complementary measure to the county's $580 million low-income-housing bond, Measure A1. Both initiatives would permit local governments to acquire and fix-up property, so as to increase affordable-housing stock.

But the meat of Measure KK would be spent on mending roads — this despite ballot language that portrays the measure as a solution to Oakland's affordability crisis.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oaklands-street-repair-deficit-is-deep-the-mayor-says-a-600-million-bond-needed-to-address-the-problem/Content?oid=4947689


From the comments..

I couldn't help but notice that street repairs in my already-adequately-paved neighborhood near Lake Merritt are ongoing, while West Grand Ave. is like the surface of the freaking moon, nearly shaking apart the bus I take to work every day.

Could it be that there's a resource allocation problem? Are "nicer" neighborhoods with more lobbying power grabbing more of the money away from the torn-up neighborhoods that actually need it? It sure looks like it from here.
report

July 2015
East Oakland residents organize to demand cleaner streets, road repairs

Even when the trash and debris aren’t blocking the roadways, the amount of potholes on the streets makes driving near his home like navigating a minefield.

“It’s in a bad state,” Paranguero said, adding that these conditions only add to the bad reputation this area of the city already has.

Using chalk and spray paint, the neighbors circled each pothole and wrote messages such as “fix me” and “measure BB funds.”

Holloway said the march was not only to get attention from city officials, but to remind fellow residents who have grown complacent after being ignored for so long that they shouldn’t have to put up with these conditions.

“We pay taxes … and we deserve the same service that everyone else in Oakland is getting, and that’s better streets and for our streets to be clean,” Holloway said.

Illegal dumping and rundown roads are problems that can be found in other neighborhoods in Oakland, said Kristine Shaff, Public Works public information officer.

As for road maintenance, Shaff said each district receives equal road treatment to address potholes and improve road surfaces for the same amount of blocks annually.

Shaff suspects a reason why it appears that less funding is going to East Oakland is because there are fewer commercial streets there.

Not only do commercial streets such at 98th Street and International Boulevard have a greater amount of traffic, which make them a higher priority, but some are repaved during construction projects paid for by city partners such as Kaiser Permanente.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2015/07/22/east-oakland-residents-organize-to-demand-cleaner-streets-road-repairs/

July 2015
East Oakland Residents Spray Paint ‘Fix Me’ On Potholes, Demand Repairs On Rough Roads

OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – Residents of an Oakland neighborhood said they’re getting a raw deal from the city when it comes to road repairs.

A 2013 study found 60 percent of Oakland’s streets are in poor or fair condition. Anthony McRae said it’s worst in East Oakland. “I myself have a claim against the city right now for $5,000 because I damaged my car driving through a pothole,” McRae told KPIX 5.

It’s hard not to notice driving down this street as potholes pockmark every piece of the road here. The city did come out to fix three blocks a couple of weeks ago as part of its citywide pothole blitz, but neighbors said they never finished the job.

On Wednesday, residents came out to circle the small craters with spray paint and wrote “fix me” next to the potholes.

Kamara Wilson, a volunteer with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, said the city has the money thanks to Measure BB, which is supposed to fund road improvements.

“We know that there are funds available to fix these streets and that’s why we’re here today,” Wilson said.

She says Oakland is funneling Measure BB funds into wealthier communities. A map of Oakland’s pavement prioritization plan shows purple lines indicating new streets. They’re just about everywhere, except a gaping hole in East Oakland.

Even more concerning, neighbors said a big chunk of Measure BB funds, up to $60 million, could be used to build Coliseum City while the streets of East Oakland are left in shambles.

McRae said it’s proof of what he already knows, that there are two Oaklands. “Over on this side, East Oakland in the flatlands, there’s no money coming over here,” he said.

A call by KPIX 5’s Christin Ayers to Oakland’s Department of Public Works about the potholes was not immediately returned.


http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/east-oakland-pothole-street-repairs-spray-paint-fix-me/

66 Oakland City Council - tried to make City Hall board members of new cannabis company (with a mandated 25% stake in ownership)

September 2016
Is Oakland idea on pot permits legal?

That’s not stopping council members Desley Brooks, Larry Reid and Noel Gallo from pushing their plan to force cannabis businesses to give the city one-quarter of their ownership and at least one seat on their boards of directors — in exchange for an operating permit. Such permits are required under the state Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act that established regulations for marijuana businesses as the state heads toward legalization of recreational pot.

“We’ll be able to use a resource that generates millions” of dollars, Gallo said, explaining his support for the proposal that would amend Oakland’s cannabis laws. The plan is to be discussed by the City Council’s Public Safety Committee next week. “I’ll be able to get specific services that I need in East Oakland. If I were to rely on the general budget, I would never get them.”

Gallo, Brooks and Reid say their proposal would generate revenue for the city to fund district activities, community beautification and loans for aspiring business owners who the council members say were hurt by the U.S. war on drugs. Additionally, the city would dole out some of the new revenue to three community job-training programs that are run by politically connected people. One of them, the Hispanic Engineers, Builders & Contractors of California, has no website or state records, and is run by a childhood friend of Gallo’s.

The friend, Rafael Zamora, said he is in the process of solidifying the group’s nonprofit status.

In a memo sent Friday to the Public Safety Committee, the council members say they came up with the proposal to “ensure equity and fairness” in a “burgeoning” cannabis industry. Brooks, who according to Gallo was the proposal’s main author, has previously claimed that systemic racism gives some cannabis operators a head start, while others are shut out.

In addition to requiring pot businesses to share revenue, the proposal would require business permits to be given to pot entrepreneurs who have lived in Oakland for at least five years.


http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Is-Oakland-idea-on-pot-permits-legal-9233106.php


December 2016
High on Green

In September, Oakland council members Desley Brooks, Noel Gallo, and Larry Reid hatched an idea: The city would require private marijuana businesses to fold them in — and kick them over a cut of the profits.

It's true: The trio floated policy that would make City Hall board members of new cannabis companies, giving them a seat on their board and mandating that it receive a 25 percent stake in ownership.

No surprise, outrage ensued, and the three electeds eventually ditched the plan. But the blowback is real: Canna-businesses hold little trust in Oakland leadership, and the slow-going permit program for medical-marijuana is actually hurting the above-the-board weed economy — and further fueling the underground trade.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/grinches-of-the-year-oakland-and-east-bay-residents-with-hearts-a-few-sizes-too-small/Content?oid=5064007

65 City of Oakland Housing Authority opts for mass evictions (hello homeless population boom)

Mass evictions from Oakland's public housing
Monday, May 15, 2006

Due to an Oakland housing official's acts of fraud, 34 poor families face eviction from Lockwood Gardens, by order of the Oakland Housing Authority.

https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Mass_evictions_from_Oakland's_public_housing

October 2007

Oakland -- Theres been a turning point in the affairs of the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), and a huge shift in the way the OHA wants to do business in the City of Oakland. As a result, thousands of low-income public housing tenants may face eviction during the next few years from their housing, and their housing units may be demolished or sold off to help raise revenue to cover the operating expenses of Oakland's public housing program.

Due to federal budget cuts in the OHA's housing programs totaling around a $24 million combined loss during FY 07 and FY 08, the OHA will be spending more money in FY 08 than it is bringing in and does not have enough funding to repair and maintain it's existing public housing stock.

The result of this crisis is that conversations are taking place to consider the demolition or dispossession of 1,463 public housing units in Oakland, in an effort to focus on a few of the OHA's public housing sites, while letting the rest of their public housing stock fall into a state of disrepair. The OHA may apply to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for permission to dispose of most of it's scattered public housing sites or demolish them, in exchange for Section 8 vouchers.

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/07/18452557.php