Category Archives: Walking

Return of the 2nd Annual Love Our Neighborhood Day

May 27, 2015Biking, Events, Oaklavia, Walkingchris

It’s WOBO’s fourth year producing open streets events in Oakland (and in collaboration with Berkeley and Emeryville). On Saturday May 30, San Pablo Avenue between Ashby and Stanford transforms from a state route into a community space filled with activities, music, performances, and best of all, a car-free roadway for people to enjoy on foot or on pedal power.

See what we’ve planned for you! Love Our Neighborhood Day activity and event map 2015

For media: MEDIA ADVISORY

May 26, 2015

East Bay Open Streets to Launch with Love Our Neighborhood Day this Saturday, 5/30

Press Conference slated for this Thursday, 5/28, 1:00 pm; details below

Oakland/Berkeley, CA — Thousands are expected to take to the streets of North Oakland and Southwest Berkeley this Saturday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for car-free family fun at the 2^nd Annual Love Our Neighborhood Day in North Oakland/Southwest Berkeley. It is the first of three events presented by East Bay Open Streets, a new multi-city open streets program of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO), in association with the Downtown Berkeley Association, North Shattuck Association and Livable Berkeley.

A one-mile stretch of San Pablo Avenue from Ashby to Stanford will be closed to vehicle traffic to make way for the public to walk, bike, skate, dance, stroll, play and experience the evolving neighborhoods of North Oakland’s Golden Gate and Southwest Berkeley in a whole new way. More than 60 activities are being hosted by neighborhood groups, nonprofits, community organizations and area businesses. The main focus of the free community-driven open streets events is to bring residents and visitors out for exercise, movement and cultural enrichment on car-free, carefree city streets.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb (North Oakland) will join with community leaders and event sponsors for a press conference this Thursday, 5/28 at 1:00 pm (details below).

More information on East Bay Open Streets/Love Our Neighborhood Day can be found in the Press Release – East Bay Open Streets – May 30 Love Our Neighborhood Day.

WHAT:

East Bay Open Streets Press Conference

Press conference to launch East Bay Open Streets, a regional program of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) that kicks off this Saturday, May 30 with the 2^nd Annual Love Our Neighborhood Day in North Oakland/Southwest Berkeley.

DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 28 at 1:00 pm

WHERE: In front of the Marchant Building, 3100 San Pablo @ 67^th Street, on the border of Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville. Tenants of the building include Clif Bar and TCHO Chocolate.

WHO: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates; Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb (District One – North Oakland); Henry Hilken, Director of Planning, Bay Area Air Quality Management District; Sal Bednarz, owner, Actual Café; Chris Hwang, Board President, WOBO.

# # #

Media Contact:

Samee Roberts, East Bay Open Streets openstreetsdirector@gmail.com, 510-220-8140

Mayor Schaaf Proposes New Department of Transportation

May 9, 2015Action Alert, Advocacy, Biking, Blog, Campaigns, Oakland Bikeways Campaign, Walkingdave campbell

As expected, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has proposed a new full-service, vertically integrated Department of Transportation (DOT) separate from Public Works. It’s part of Mayor Schaaf’s budget proposal that needs City Council approval by July 1, 2015, the start of Oakland’s next 2-year budget cycle. A new DOT is good news because it will make Oakland deliver street improvements quicker and avoid miscommunications that have resulted in missed opportunities to fix the streets you use everyday.

Sign on to support the DOT by Friday May 29, 2015

Read the Full Letter of Support from WOBO

A new DOT will help Oakland be smart and responsive about leveraging outside funding to integrate walking, bicycling and transit together rather than treat these modes as step children to the all-mighty car.

Details of the proposed DOT include reorganizing existing staff and resources from several departments to create a new full- service, vertically integrated Department of Transportation to expand Oakland’s ability to deliver repaving and other Measure BB funded capital projects, as well as leverage new and existing transportation funds to develop a project pipeline to build the transportation infrastructure needed to support community safety, housing and economic development.

Also of note, Mayor Schaaf is interested in developing support for additional revenue for city improvements. She is proposing to use $150,000 to develop and prepare an infrastructure bond initiative as well as a Wildfire Prevention District initiative for the voters to consider in 2016. The City has numerous unfunded capital needs along with deferred maintenance of infrastructure, buildings and technology exceeding $2 billion. The budget includes funding for conducting a professional poll for a potential bond measure to secure a funding stream in the next general election. The Mayor’s recent survey of Oakland residents shows that a majority favor raising new revenue rather than cutting existing services.

We are encouraged to see the new Mayor’s commitment to investing in the City of Oakland and her recognition that Oakland has long neglected many city upgrades and improvements. We will work closely with Bike East Bay and Transport Oakland to ensure this becomes a robust department with a new visionary leader. You can learn more about the proposed Oakland DOT at an upcoming neighborhood budget forum:

https://localwiki.org/oakland/Community_Budget_Forums_2015

More on Mayor Schaaf’s 2015-2017 Budget Proposal to City Council

LPE Budget Release – 4/30/15 from KTOP TV10 on Vimeo.

Oaklavia – Love Our Lake Day September 14, 2014

September 6, 2014Advocacy, Biking, Blog, Events, Oaklavia, Walkingchris

What began as a WOBO pilot project in 2010 has grown into a delightful annual rite of passage going into its third & fourth iterations in 2014. Oaklavia (oaklavia.org) is produced by Walk Oakland Bike Oakland to bring car-free streets to Oakland. The main objective of Oaklavia is to invite the public to “Come Play in the Streets.” The first Oaklavia created an event route that stretched from Broadway in Downtown Oakland into Old Oakland, and terminated at 7th and Brush Streets in West Oakland.

On Sunday, September 14, 2014, 11am to 4pm, Oaklavia – Love Our Lake Day returns to Lake Merritt. Why?

The streets belong to the people! We are encouraging friends, neighbors, co-workers and visitors to experience the streets as they should be, demanding that we re-think, and advocate for how we build and use our roadways to support healthy, vibrant, livable and sustainable places for Oakland. We want to share with you the incredible diversity of resources along the route, the vastly improved Lake Merritt as a result of a voter-approved tax measure (that’s right, Oaklanders are paying for these improvements), and the joy of reconnecting with each other in order to realize how far we’ve come in fostering a strong and resilient Oakland, and how far we have yet to go.

Oaklavia – Love Our Lake Day brings back some of the same energy from last year’s event. But this time, we’re lining up even more community resources on a 3-mile (mostly) car-free route that spans Lakeshore Avenue on the eastern flank of Lake Merritt to Downtown Oakland, Latham Square.

Get ready to dance, stroll, scoot, bike and kickbox your way through 3 stages, an Eritrean/Ethiopian New Year Festival, a yoga class, acupuncture sessions, information booths to help you learn how to adjust your daily routines to become part of the solution for creating a sustainable Oakland. Through movement, exercise, experience, WOBO hopes event participants will walk more, and maybe try bicycling more as a viable way to exercise, to run errands, and to commute. And best of all, WOBO hopes you will feel energized to help shepherd Oakland into a bright future.

Click HERE for an early snapshot of what we’ve got planned for you.

Catch you at Oaklavia!

Walk to Work Day is Thursday April 3rd!

March 19, 2014Advocacy, Blog, Events, WalkingWOBO

Walk Oakland Bike Oakland and our partners California Walks and Transition Berkeley are excited to announce that East Bay Walk to Work Day will be on Thursday, April 3rd! Walk and take transit to work, and encourage your employer to become a walk-friendly workplace!

WOBO will provide coffee and stickers at Latham Square to pedestrians on the morning of Walk to Work Day. Find out more at WalkToWorkDayEastBay.com!

25 Organizations Call for Further Study of Proposed “When Children Are Present” Signage Amendment

February 11, 2014Action Alert, Advocacy, Blog, Walkingpolicy, walkingWOBO

WOBO and 24 other organizations across the state have signed a comment letter formally requesting that the California Traffic Control Devices Committee postpone an amendment of the interpretation of the “WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT” sign due to concern about potential impacts.

Details of the concerns are outlined in the letter here. Due to the unique traffic safety conditions for children, any changes must be evaluated extensively. Thus our coalition of organizations including CalWALKS, PolicyLink, Safe Routes to School, and many others are asking for further study of the proposed amendment.