As a service to our members, WOBO offered the candidates an opportunity to answer questions about walking and biking in Oakland. Below are the questions and the District 4 City Council candidates’ responses, in alphabetical order by first name. WOBO does not endorse candidates for public office.

The questions:

1. As a City Council Member, how would you improve safety and access for biking and walking in your district?
2. What transportation projects and policies will you work on?
3. How would you improve Oakland’s pavement conditions?
4. Please tell us about how you walk and bike, and/or why you support better walking and biking.

Skip to Anne Campbell Washington

Skip to Jill Broadhurst

Skip to Paul Lim

Anne Campbell Washington

1. As a ​City Council Member, how would you improve safety and access for biking and walking in y​our district?

Encouraging neighborhood centers with local, neighborhood serving retail is one way I would work to decrease auto reliance in district four. Where I live – near Montclair Village – there are great options for walking to grocery stores, restaurants and other local shopping needs. Other neighborhood commercial areas such as Dimond and the Laurel have some great shopping options as well. As an engaged Councilmember, I will work to bring investments and new development to these business districts that incorporates the City’s focus on complete streets – streets that provide easy access and safety to pedestrians, bikes and cars.

I will work with the commercial districts to make sure stores that serve the neighborhood can thrive and also work to create better pedestrian and bike access, especially around large busy streets such as Macarthur. Bike lanes and other traffic calming measures along roads leading to commercial areas would help increase accessibility and reduce car dependency. Additionally, many local residents rely on public transportation to get to work, and I would work with AC Transit to monitor any potential route changes and ensure local residents have the access they need to get to jobs, school and other activities.

2. What transportation projects and policies will you work on?

In my first year in office, I will also proactively focus on implementation of the transportation components of the City’s Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP). These include developing a comprehensive transportation policy plan, accelerating completion of bicycle and pedestrian plans identified in the ECAP, planning for electric vehicle infrastructure, requiring transit-oriented development performance for new development, and optimizing street design for transit, bicycle and walking.

I will be a strong advocate and partner on the transportation policies and issues supported by Transport Oakland, especially: 1) I will be strongly advocating for the passage of Measure BB during my campaign. 2) As Councilmember, I will be a strong advocate and will hold staff accountable for the delivery of parklets, bus rapid transit and bikeshare. 3) I support the idea of a Transportation Impact Fee and will hold staff accountable for getting the study done to move this forward. 4) I support the idea of a Transportation Commission and Transportation Director to ensure that we have a forum and staff to use our transportation dollars wisely and deliver on our projects.

3. How would you improve Oakland’s pavement conditions?

The need for pothole and street repair is one of the top issues that I hear at the doors every day during this campaign. Oaklanders are extremely unhappy with the poor quality of our streets. I am strongly advocating for Measure BB during this campaign because its passage is vital to so many important projects in Oakland, including $17M annually for street repair. The City must also continue its practice of seeking grant funds for this work as well.

As Councilmember I will ensure that we continue to prioritize funding for street and pothole repair with this variety of funding sources. I will advocate for these repairs to prioritize roads with bike lanes or the potential for bike lanes to continue to push forward implementation of the Bicycle Master Plan.

4. Please tell us about how you walk and bike, and/or why you support better walking and biking.

I live in a very walkable neighborhood so I spend a great deal of time out of my car on weekends and have the great fortune of being able to walk my children to school every day. During the week, I drive more often than I like to get to work. I am eager to expand the opportunities for safe biking in Oakland and a network of bike lanes to make it much more fun and safe to be biker in Oakland.

Many exciting things are happening in great cities around the world to encourage walking and biking. I support these efforts wholeheartedly in Oakland because they are great for our health, our environment and make our city a much more attractive place to live, work and play!

Jill Broadhurst

1. As a ​City Council Member, how would you improve safety and access for biking and walking in y​our district?

Due to District 4’s hilly geography we have a few more hurdles (blind corners and turns, hills, and overall variances). Traffic calming measures for all major thoroughfares where bike lanes could be located would be an added safety component to what we have now. The approved City Bicycle plan of 2007 calls for bike lanes, but to date none of these improvements in District 4 have been implemented. Therefore, first and foremost, ensuring all the enhancements per the plan are implemented. Additionally working with the Alameda County Transportation Commission to ensure that Oakland is well represented with leadership is critical. Advocating for upgrades to signs, lighting and crosswalks will also improve bike and walking access and safety.

2. What transportation projects and policies will you work on?

I am supportive of Transit Oriented Development and while that is not a huge component to District 4, it is something I can appreciate and make a priority to stimulate and enhance our city at large. I support the “Complete Streets” Initiative and in working with ACTC, residents can contribute their priorities for bus routes and walking/bikes paths. Looking for opportunities to install parklets and street dining, while focusing on a safe bike connection from Park Blvd and the Redwood Heights/Dimond/Laurel to Downtown Oakland is key to connecting all the neighborhoods safely.

3. How would you improve Oakland’s pavement conditions?

We certainly have an opportunity to allocate more funds to roads and paths should Measure BB pass this November. We need to make paving and/or repaving our roads are a priority instead of maintaining our 85 year paving schedule. This is a consistent message I hear from the voters in my district: fix the roads, they are dangerous! Potholes are a safety issue, especially for motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, skateboarders and walking. This is a core service that we need to value with more regard as to how it affects our residents and their daily routine. Additionally, I would advocate for any grants at the state and federal level that would allow us to address specific areas that are in need of safety enhancements. Additionally, the condition our of roads is a reflection of our city and we should be putting our best face forward.

4. Please tell us about how you walk and bike, and/or why you support better walking and biking.

We do all our local shopping on foot from home to our local markets with our children. We also have a neighborhood walk pool each morning, each parent takes a day, and walks the kids down to school. Unfortunately we are reluctant to let our children bike in the immediate neighborhood due to safety concerns (traffic), but once on the local trails we enjoy the outdoors and riding on school grounds. Not only for health and environmental reasons, but an overall appreciation for the environment we live in, and how truly fortunate we are, I advocate for taking the slow way somewhere.

Paul Lim

1. As ​a City Council Member, how would you improve safety and access for biking and walking in ​your district?

The solution to bike and pedestrian safety is interestingly maintenance and use. Streets and side walks that are properly maintained, ie. repaired, painted, clearly marked, and clear of visual obstructions are safer. Additionally streets that have a higher use tend to be crowded thus slowing traffic and prompting more attention to maintenance. Supplementary I want to add more accessibility and such as parking. As a driver if I know the street is popular for parking and pedestrians I am more alert and on the look out. Road maintenance needs to be re-evaluated for priority. Some streets are simply used more and are ruined at a higher rate than others. Those streets should be changed to a different cycle of repair while others that don’t need repair can wait. If it aint broke don’t fix it. I would also support increased responsibility for simple road maintenance such as cleaning and clearing taken on by private business or volunteer groups.

2. What transportation projects and policies will you work on?

I will work on getting our road repairs managed correctly and increasing accessibility to our businesses. Safety is important on our roads but the problem is coming from our roads are becoming the hazard. Dodging potholes and tree roots takes away from your attention. 100 units of attention and you’re devoting 50 units to avoiding potholes by making sudden moves is asking for trouble. Additionally road repair is being bogged down by a cash flow issue. Money flows where the cars go. Following traffic will show you where people want to go and spend both their hard earned time and money. Creating blocks such as bad roads and lack of parking deter people. Tying the issue into making Oakland walkable I would support building walk trails and parks that are easily accessible. Accessible as defined where people can easily drive, park in designated lots, and then go in and enjoy via walking or biking.

3. How would you improve Oakland’s pavement conditions?

It has always amazed me how quickly newly paved roads can become ruined. I would propose a grant to a technology industry to develop and test new methods and/or materials that can take the punishment Oakland dishes out. I also want to reprioritize the repair schedule. Some roads need repair more often than others. On top of all of those suggestions I want to review the operations on how repairs are being conducted. I’ve always noticed that a street will be closed for repair for many days and it seems like work is only being conducted for a couple hours. This is a gross waste of time, money, and inconveniences the public. Scheduling and contract work needs to be tighten and made more efficient. Decreasing the impact to the public while making the operation efficient to do more repairs.

4. Please tell us about how you walk and bike, and/or why you support better walking and biking.

I take my dog on walks daily throughout my neighborhood. I take my dog on main sidewalk streets and through back non side walked roads. I enjoy being able to take my dog for walks on trails but have been hard pressed to find areas where I can truly let my dog loose safely. My top concerns are poison oak, road dangers, visibility (lighting) and convenience.