CITY OF OAKLAND – LIST OF ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS

PHASE I PROJECT LIST:TOTAL : $8,200,000

Traffic Signal Improvements: $2,650,000 (2008 estimated cost)
Improve intersections in the project and surrounding on and off-ramp areas by installing new signals, making intersection geometric improvements, upgrading existing signals, to improve pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular access and safety. Locations include:

• Tunnel Road/Hiller Drive/Highway 13 intersection
• Caldecott Lane/Kay Overcrossing: New signal
• Caldecott Lane/SR24 ramps: New signal
• Broadway/Lawton: New signal
• Broadway/Keith, College/Keith. College/Miles, Telegraph on/offramps: Signal upgrades

Sidewalk Improvements $3,650,000 (2008 estimated cost)
• Tunnel Road: Install sidewalks along Tunnel Road between Berkeley border and the Tunnel Road/Hiller Drive/Highway 13 intersection as specified by the Oakland Pedestrian Master Plan.
• Broadway: Install sidewalks along Broadway between Golden Gate Ave. and Kay Overcrossing as specified by the Oakland Pedestrian Master Plan.
• Caldecott Lane: Install sidewalks-from Parkwoods condominiums to Tunnel Road.

Bicycle Improvements $500,000 (2008 estimated cost)
• Tunnel Road: Complete the bikeway between the Berkeley border and the Tunnel Road/Hiller Drive/Highway 13 intersection as specified in the Oakland Bicycle Master Plan
• Broadway/Overcrossing/Caldecott Lane: Complete bikeway between Broadway at: Golden Gate Ave and Caldecott Lane at Tunnel Road as specified in the Oakland Bicycle Master Plan
• Bike route signage improvements to BART stations
• High Capacity Bicycle Parking at Rockridge and MacArthur BART stations
• Replacement of on-street parking (i.e. bike racks) in commercial areas,  i.e. College Avenue, due to citywide parking meter removal program

LandvaleBridge: $200,000 (2008 estimated cost)
Complete an alternatives analysis of possible pedestrian and bicycle connections from the Tunnel Road/Hiller Dr/Highway 13 intersection to the Lake Temescal Path (at Broadway). The analysis should include cost estimates for the alternatives and identify a recommended alternative, as well as potential state, regional and local funding options;

Soundwalls: $1,200,000 (2008 estimated cost)
At priority locations, to be identified.

PHASE II PROJECT LIST:TOTAL : $4,000,000

On and off ramp improvements: $500,000 (2008 estimated cost): Improve access and safety for pedestrians, bicyclists & vehicles at all on/offramps to Highway 24, including full bike/ped actuation, ped countdown heads, signage and striping improvements, ped curb ramps, etc..

Bicycle safety and access improvements at the MacArthur and Rockridge BART Stations, including: $500,000 (2008 estimated cost): BART transit village on 40th and 41st St. Emeryville border to Piedmont Ave. and W. MacArthur Blvd, Hwy. 24 to Broadway, including median narrowing on 40th St. to accomodate bicycle lanes.

Traffic Signal Transit Coordination and Synchronization Program: $2,000,000 (2008 estimated cost): Along major (transit) corridors, interconnect and optimize for adaptive traffic signals system along Broadway, College and Claremont Ave. Include signal upgrades and transit priority system, pedestrian access improvements, bus and/or ped bulbs, shelters, and other amenities. Collaborate with AC Transit on Line 51 Task Force improvements.

After two three-and-a-half hour sessions of oral argument, the Fourth Bore Coalition’s lawsuit challenging Caltrans’ Caldecott Improvement Project has been submitted to Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch for a decision. With almost 90 pages of briefing and more than 32,000 pages of administrative documents to read through, that decision could be a while in coming.

The Fourth Bore Coalition (FBC) includes the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC) as well as the FROG Park Committee, East Bay Bicycle Coalition, and several other Oakland/Berkeley community groups. FBC sued Caltrans over its decision, made over a year ago, to add a fourth bore, or tunnel, to the Caldecott
Tunnel connecting Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

The suit is not about whether a fourth bore should be built. Rather, the Coalition asked reconsideration of how it would be built, how it should be operated, and what mitigation measures should have been included with the project. In the two hearings, the Coalition was represented by local attorneys Stuart Flashman and Antonio Rossmann. The hearings covered a wide range of issues from noise, lighting, traffic, bicycling and pedestrian safety impacts to whether Caltrans should have looked at having carpool/bus lanes as part of the project.

Judge Roesch listened attentively throughout and asked probing questions of both sides. The Judge seemed particularly skeptical of why Caltrans chose to limit the area it looked at for project impacts and to exclude consideration of impacts on Claremont Middle School and Chabot Elementary School – both located very close to Highway 24 and the traffic coming and going through the tunnel.

Under state law, the judge must issue his decision within 90 days. The case was submitted for decision on November 5.

Coalition volunteers have been working to make the Caldecott Improvement Project a better project since the environmental scoping phase in 2003. Many have donated their time and expertise to review technical reports, research, and prepare our position. But we cannot do this momentous task on volunteer labor alone. Please contribute generously to help this thoughtful effort.

Online donations may be made directly to the Fourth Bore Coalition, a California non-profit corporation. (We do not have 501(c)3 status, so these donations are not tax-deductible.)

Tax-deductible donations may be made via the Sierra Club Foundation, our fiscal sponsor and a 501(c) organization. Make your check payable to the Sierra Club Foundation, include “Caldecott 4th Bore Project” in the memo line, and mail to:

Formed in 2005 by concerned local community groups in Oakland and Berkeley centered around Highway 24, the Coalition sued Caltrans over its approval of the Fourth Bore Project last December. The Coalition believes environmental documents failed to identify and mitigate the effects on residents of the proposed bore, and filed a lawsuit to get them redone. The lawsuit settled in Spring 2009.

The Coalition is currently working with the Cities of Oakland and Berkeley, as well as Caltrans, to ensure the settlement provisions are followed and construction impacts minimized.