Repave/Redesign of Telegraph – starting March 2, 2020

telegraph road repairsMarch 3rd Update: The contractor will be demoing and replacing concrete on Telegraph Ave northbound (eastern) sidewalks, 38th-42nd St, March 4th – 13th.

Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) has announced that the construction for the Telegraph Ave paving and redesign will start March  2nd, 2020. In December 2018, the Repair Telegraph Ave. finalized design proposed by OakDOT staff was approved by Oakland City Council. The approved redesign of Telegraph Ave. between West MacArthur and 52nd St (aka Repair Telegraph) includes a road diet, parking protected bike lanes and a pedestrian plaza on Shattuck Ave. between 45th and 46th St.

The Construction will occur in 3 phases:

  • 1

    Concrete Construction (8-12 weeks): construct concrete raised bus waiting platforms and replace non-compliant curb ramps and broken sidewalks, curbs, and gutters. This work will be specific to certain locations; concrete construction will not impact the entire corridor. Expect: temporary sidewalk access restrictions as sidewalks and curb ramps are repaired (alternate access will be provided), and parking restrictions as bus islands and other miscellaneous concrete work is constructed at certain locations

  • 2

    Paving (8-12 weeks): grind down existing asphalt and replace with new asphalt. This process will be done one to three lanes at a time over several blocks. This will not cause a full closure of Telegraph, unless there is an unforeseen emergency. After paving, temporary lane delineations will be used on the surface of the roadway. The temporary lane delineations will reflect the prior lane configuration. Additionally, any necessary minor electrical work may be done at this time. Expect: Additional traffic congestion due to lane closures, Temporary access restrictions to driveways and side streets as the street is milled and repaved, and Short-term parking restrictions as grinding, and paving is performed

  • 3

    Striping of travel lanes, pedestrian refuges & bike lanes (4-6 weeks): Prior lane delineations will be removed and replaced with temporary markings on the surface of the roadway. Once these are inspected and approved, final striping will be placed on the street. Any additional minor electrical work may also be done at this time. Expect: Short-term parking restrictions as striping work is performed

Please subscribe to our email list for twice monthly emails HERE

We urge all of you to stay engaged with the Temescal Telegraph BID and be involved in the process to repave and redesign Telegraph Ave! 

Help us keep the city accountable to follow through on their promise to repave Telegraph in Spring/Summer 2019.

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Notice

Throughout the construction, one to three travel lanes may be closed at a time, but cars will always have through access along Telegraph. Pedestrian access to businesses will be prioritized and maintained. ALL timeframes are only preliminary estimates. Unforeseen field conditions such as buried utilities may extend any of the phases.

Construction Contact: The City will make every effort to minimize inconveniences. Should you have any questions concerning this project, please call the project resident engineer, Amit Salwan, at (510) 774-4078 or Asalwan@oaklandca.gov. If emergency problems occur after normal business hours, please contact the Oakland Public Works Call Center:510-615-5566

History & Past Meetings

October 2019 Detailed Update: Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) has announced that after the lengthy design process, and discussion with the City’s paving contractor throughout Summer 2019, the paving contractor has communicated that they will not have crews available until December 2019. Because of the negative impact paving would have on Temescal businesses during the holiday season, there will be no paving in December. The City anticipates construction beginning in the first quarter of 2020 subject to weather and other considerations. If you have further questions, please contact Hank Phan: hphan@oaklandca.gov.

Oakland Department of Transportation will be presenting at the Temescal BID Board meeting on Wednesday, October 23rd at 6pm on the delay of the Telegraph Ave repave and redesign, and answering any questions. The meeting will be held at Temescal Works at 490 43rd St. The public is welcome to attend.

The Temescal BID will communicate to all stakeholders when the exact dates for repaving are known. Additionally, the Temescal BID is planning a small business workshop in January to help support Temescal’s small businesses both during and after the redesign of Telegraph Ave.

Since December 2018 , OakDOT staff finalized the design for Telegraph Ave between 42nd and 52nd Streets, and conducted additional merchant outreach, which was presented as an informational report to the PublicWorks Committee, and accepted on June 25th, 2019.

Previously, OakDOT staff announced that the repaving and redesign (road diet and protected bike lanes) of Telegraph Ave from 42nd St to 52nd St will be completed in 2019.

The road diet and protected bike lanes planned for Telegraph Ave from 42nd St to West MacArthur Blvd will also be installed at the same time as the bike lanes from 42nd to 52nd. You can view the DRAFT Design plan for Telegraph Ave from West MacArthur Blvd to 42nd St HERE. Telegraph Ave from West MacArthur Blvd to 29th St will be redesigned in 2020.

You can view the 35% Design plan for Telegraph Ave between 42nd to 52nd St HERE.

As part of the December 2018 Telegraph Ave. redesign approval, Oakland City Council instituted the following conditions:

    • Additional merchant outreach to Temescal merchants (February 13th meeting)
    • City staff will finalize a design to close the bike lane gap between KONO and 42nd St. Attend the Public Meeting on March 6th and/or Take the Survey HERE to provide feedback on your priorities for Telegraph Ave b/t 42nd & 29th and to select your preference for the type of bike lane on this segment
    • City staff will create a plan to act concurrently to fix the KONO bike lanes. More info here.
    • An informational report regarding all outreach be presented to the Publics Works Committee

Connecting KONO & Temescal with Bike Lanes & Pedestrian Safety Improvements Public Meeting | Wednesday, March 6 | 6-8pm | Providence House | 540 23rd St | Open to all

Survey – Click HERE | Deadline: March 8th

The Oakland Department of Transportation(OakDOT) is working on a plan to redesign Telegraph Ave from 29th to 42nd St, to connect the Koreantown/Northgate (KONO) and Temescal Districts with a continuous bikeway and pedestrian safety improvements. OakDOT is collecting feedback on these designs until March 8th, 2019. The estimated project completion is 2021.  Please come to the OakDOT public meeting on Wednesday, March 6th and/or take the survey HERE to voice your thoughts and opinions regarding  your priorities for safety improvements and the type of bike lanes you would prefer., please join OakDOT’s workshop at the Providence House, 540 23rd Street, March 6, 6-8pm. If you are unable to attend the event the workshop but would still like to submit your feedback, you can take the online survey here. If you have any further questions, contact Hank Phan, hphan@oaklandca.gov or (510) 238-6109.

Wednesday, February 13 | Temescal Merchant Outreach Meeting for Repair Telegraph Design | 5-6pm | 490 43rd St. Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is holding a merchant meeting on Wednesday, February 13th at 5pm to hear additional feedback on the 35% Design Plan for Telegraph Ave between 42nd & 52nd. Specifically, OakDOT staff will be reviewing the curbside management plan (loading zones, green zones, metered parking), to make sure that the kind of parking/loading outside of each business best matches the Temescal merchants’ needs. If a merchant cannot attend, please contact info@temescaldistrict.org to coordinate a time to review the draft parking map and request changes to parking outside your business.

The repaving and redesign of Telegraph Ave in Temescal will occur Summer 2019. For updates on the repaving and redesign of Telegraph Ave, bookmark repavetelegraph.org and subscribe to our enews HERE.

In Spring 2018, our campaign to get the City of Oakland to recognize the paving that needed on Telegraph Ave was successful. With over 600 signatures of the petition, the mass numbers of calls and emails and the overall support of sharing our campaign, the City of Oakland decided it was time to take action. The city of Oakland sent us a letter recognizing a “clerical error” in the paving list and committed to repaving Telegraph Ave in Spring 2019 (please see full letter Here).

OakDOT initiated the process to redesign Telegraph Ave (aka Repair Telegraph) in Summer 2018, as part of the process to repave Telegraph Ave. Over the past five months, the City of Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) has been collecting input on community and business priorities for the street and evaluating strategies to improve safety, equity and vibrancy along the corridor.

 

Background

For over 10 years, the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District (TTBID) has been trying to get the City of Oakland to repave Telegraph Ave. between 45th and 51st Streets.  The City itself has ranked this street as one of the worst streets in the city (ranked as Poor/Failing at <30, when 100 is the top score).  Now this stretch of Telegraph Ave is barely passable, with pedestrians and bicyclists hurt frequently, and causing costly repairs to vehicles. The hazardous state of the road is a threat to the safety of the Oakland community.

Telegraph Street Repairs

Telegraph Ave between 45th Street and 51st St., one of Oakland’s major thoroughfares, is in the heart of a bustling commercial district.  The crumbling street has over 25,000 cars per day, 4 freeway on and off ramps, thousands of bicyclists and pedestrians and a major AC Transit bus line.

The State just increased gas taxes to increase funding for things like street repair, and a year ago Oakland’s voters approved a $600 million bond issue for the same purpose. It is simply inexcusable that this key part of a major thoroughfare is left to crumble year after year after year. It’s time to pave this section of Telegraph now.

 

How can you Help?

Sign the Petition HERE: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/repave-telegraph-ave?source=c.em.cp&r_by=19902435

Write an email or make a phone call to Key Decision makers at the city:

Director of the Department of Transportation
Ryan Russo
510-238-2967
Mayor
Libby Schaaf
510-238-3141
Councilmember – District 1
Dan Kalb
510-238-7001