Case Study: Oakland's 8th & Webster Pedestrian
Scramble
The bustling heart of Oakland's Chinatown is at
the intersection of 8th and Webster streets. After an elderly
pedestrian was hit and killed by a car there in January of 2002, Asian
Health Services, a community health clinic, began a pedestrian safety
campaign. Youth from Asian Health Services' REPLAY leadership program
counted and graphed the percentage of people who tried to cross key
streets but were unable to reach the other side before the signal
changed. They also mapped the number of accidents at key
intersections, and photographed pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, such as
cars turning in front of people or blocking the crosswalk. Asian
Health Services created a fact sheet and a mural, and displayed them
in one of the clinic's large street-level windows. Using this
information, the youth from Asian Health Services' program made a
presentation to the City Council. In response, City Council member
Danny Wan, Chinatown's council representative, secured funding to plan
street improvements in through Caltrans' Environmental Justice grant
program.
Asian Health Services worked with the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of
Commerce, the Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project, City of Oakland
Council members and Public Works staff to develop solutions to address
the traffic and pedestrian safety problems in Chinatown. After much
debate, they decided to pilot a pedestrian scramble. A scramble is
essentially a traffic light that turns red in all directions to allow
pedestrians full access to the street. This means pedestrians can
cross in any way they choose including diagonally. Scrambles are
especially effective at reducing collisions between turning vehicles
and pedestrians.
As the scramble was implemented, Asian Health Services produced
multi-lingual brochures on pedestrian safety, driver safety, and the
scramble and held workshops and presentations to explain to residents
how the scramble would work. Asian Health Services and the Chinatown
Chamber of Commerce also held a large community meeting to announce
the scramble and discuss residents' concerns. This event attracted
coverage from local newspapers, radio, and television stations, which
served to further educate the public about pedestrian safety issues.
During the first six weeks of scramble implementation, volunteers at
the intersection gave out brochures and tips on using the scramble and
modeled how to use the scramble system. The Police Department also
increased enforcement of pedestrian and vehicle traffic laws during
peak times. Finally, researchers from the University of California at
Berkeley Traffic Safety Center analyzed the number of conflicts
between pedestrians and vehicles before and after the scramble, and
found that the scramble reduced conflicts by almost one-half.[8] This,
along with the results of a multi-lingual survey of pedestrians'
feelings about the scramble, has shown Asian Health Services' efforts
to be a success.
Keys to success: research, political support, outreach, evaluation.
Contact: Julia Liou, Asian Health Services: (510) 986-6830 x267,
jliou@ahschc.org
8 Allyson K. Bechtel, Kara E. MacLeod, and David R. Ragland,
"Oakland Chinatown Pedestrian Scramble: An Evaluation"
(August 1, 2003). U.C. Berkeley Traffic Safety Center. Paper
UCB-TSC-RR-2003-06.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/its/tsc/UCB-TSC-RR-2003-06
Case Study: Oakland Fruitvale Main Street Program
Oakland's Fruitvale commercial district is home to a vibrant mix of
local stores, restaurants, and sidewalk vendors. It is also home to
some of the most dangerous streets in Oakland for pedestrians. The
intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Fruitvale Avenue has the
highest number of pedestrian collisions of any intersection in the
city.[9] International Boulevard, Fruitvale, and Foothill are the first,
second, and fourth most dangerous streets in the city for pedestrians,
based on collisions per road mile.[10] Making the streets safer for
pedestrians is a key element of making the commercial district a more
enjoyable place to shop. With improved crossings, slower traffic, and
more beautiful streets, more people will walk to the local stores that
make the Fruitvale such a unique destination.
The Unity Council, a community-based development corporation in the
Fruitvale neighborhood, worked with the City of Oakland's Neighborhood
Commercial Revitalization program and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's Main Street Program to create a more
pedestrian-friendly commercial district.
The project includes creation of a Business Improvement District,
façade improvements for stores, public art, and street improvements. A
major streetscape project on International Boulevard between 33rd and
35th avenues includes narrowing traffic lanes, adding a center median
with trees, widening sidewalks, creating bulbouts at pedestrian
crossings, and adding benches, lighting, and kiosks. This project
also includes closing 34th Avenue to vehicle traffic to create a
pedestrian route to the new Fruitvale Transit Village.
To raise awareness about pedestrian issues, the Unity Council also
spearheaded a pedestrian safety campaign in the Fruitvale. This
included educating community members about pedestrian safety,
organizing a rally at the corner of Fruitvale and Foothill, and
creating a pedestrian safety poster that was distributed to community
organizations and local merchants to display in their
windows. Finally, the Unity Council's Main Street Program converted a
blighted and abandoned pocket park at International and 35th Avenue
into a plaza park, with public art, a tile mosaic, and an information
kiosk decorated with images of the neighborhood's historical past.
Already, the combination of street improvements, merchant
organizing, and community education has had a major effect on the
neighborhood. Since the program began in 1996, over 120 local
storefronts have been improved, and 214 new jobs and 65 new businesses
have been created. In addition, the neighborhood now has more art and
public space. Most importantly, the additional street improvements
will encourage more people to walk while reducing the number of
collisions on Fruitvale, Foothill, and International Boulevard, making
the district a safer place to walk and shop.
Keys to success: Business Improvement District, merchant outreach,
media/publicity, Main Street Program funding
Contact: Jenny Kassan, Program Coordinator, Unity Council: (510) 535-6924,
jkassan@unitycouncil.org
9 Oakland Pedestrian Master Plan, p. 25
10 Oakland Pedestrian Master Plan, p. 27
Case Study: Pedestrian Master Plans
Many cities, towns and regions around the country are developing
comprehensive plans for improving pedestrian infrastructure. Examples
are the Portland
City Pedestrian Master Plan, Marin
County Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan 2000 and the Oakland
Pedestrian Master Plan. Descriptions of the last two plans are
below.
Oakland
Pedestrian Master Plan. The vision behind the Pedestrian
Master Plan, adopted in 2002 by the city of Oakland is to "offer
a level of convenience, safety and attractiveness to the pedestrian
that will encourage and reward the choice to walk." The plan was
built on the basis of the existing condition of pedestrian
infrastructure and traffic collision data. Some of the infrastructure
issues that came up during the community outreach process were:
