Safe Streets: Golden Gate School Zone Initiative
Community Plan

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Wishful thinking: Alcatraz and Baker improvements in Berkeley overlaid on Oakland's intersection at Alcatraz and Herzog
Our Mission 
We envision a community where all pedestrians feel safe to walk about the neighborhood.  In collaboration with neighbors, the school community, City of Oakland staff and other supporting allies, we seek to develop and implement safety strategies for students, school community and neighborhood residents in order to reduce the risk of injuries, accidents and death in our neighborhood streets.  
Community Stakeholders:  Community Partners
  • Paul Cirolia Oakland Police Department Traffic Safety (crossing guard)
  • Dan Kalb, District 1 City Council member 
  • Peter Chen, City of Oakland, Transportation Services
  • Felicia Verdin, Neighborhood Services
  • Robert Prinz, Robert@bikeeastbay.org (also Education Director for Bike East Bay),  
  • Oakland Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) 
  • TransForm - Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) Alameda County Program
Who is Impacted? 
  • Yu Ming Alcatraz students, (Alcatraz and Herzog), 200+ K-4th graders, plus staff, parents
  • Yu Ming Herzog students, (Herzog and 63rd) 80 5th and 6th graders, plus staff, parents 
  • Aspire Berkley Maynard, K-8, (63rd St and Herzog) 560 students, plus staff, parents
  • Visitors to Golden Gate Rec Center and fields (62nd and Herzog) 
  • Residents, including Seniors in 44 units at Percy Abrams, Jr (Alcatraz and Salem) 
  • Over 4,300 Commuters, Drivers and Bicyclists who travel along Alcatraz each day
  • Public Works - Street Sweeping crew
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Compare intersections between Sacramento and San Pablo and read more to learn why Berkeley's are better.

Top Safety Concerns

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Existing Pick up and Drop off Traffic Patterns: Drop-off, Pick-up Traffic Patterns (1) Yu Ming Alcatraz campus (Alcatraz and Herzog), Drop-off, Pick-up; (2) Yu Ming Herzog campus, (Herzog and 63rd) Drop-off, Pick-up; (3) Aspire Berkley Maynard, K-8, (63rd St and Herzog) Drop-off, Pick-up; (A/B) AC Transit Bus Stops

​1. High volume of cars dropping off to 3 locations in a short amount of time

  • Parent, caregiver, and commuter behavior is sometimes reckless and puts students at further risk 
  • Left turn onto Alcatraz from Herzog heading North is particularly troublesome, with several very close calls. 
  • Many families have children at both YM campuses, so need to cross Alcatraz routinely
“We have been almost hit once crossing Alcatraz when the traffic coming from Alcatraz [Heading East] stopped and as we started crossing, a car turning from Herzog [Heading West] assumed the cars stopped for them and began to turn.  They almost ran into us but stopped with just a few feet to spare.” 
- Yu Ming Parent

2. Unsafe Intersection and Crosswalks at Herzog and Alcatraz

  • School-provided crossing guard is working 3 crosswalks, but cannot help students that arrive late.
  • Unaccompanied students crossing Alcatraz alone
  • No crosswalks at certain intersections w/in one block of school
  • Alcatraz is wide street with no narrowing or sidewalk extensions 
  • Students, pedestrians not trained on how to properly cross streets safely. Many students are also too young to cross an uncontrolled crosswalk on their own.
  • Crosswalk on Alcatraz at Herzog  is hard to see heading towards San Pablo, due to downward slope of hill. ​
“I won't let mine cross the road, even with a crossing guard.” 
- Yu Ming Parent 
"4,300 cars pass by on Alcatraz each day, making it a major thoroughfare for commuters and residents. The 85th percentile speed profile is 7 mph over the posted speed limit of 25 mph." 
 - Family Friendly Oakland Summary from City of Berkeley Report 

3. A lot of Speeding Cars on Alcatraz

  • Commuters are rushing to work
  • Parents, caregivers are rushing to drop off on time 
  • Drivers have been rear-ended when they have slowed for crossing pedestrians 
  • Parents and school crossing guard have concerns for own safety
  • Majority of cars going 32 mph 
  • No posted speed limit signs

“The high volume of cars traveling on Alcatraz near San Pablo and the speed at which these cars travel makes this incredibly unsafe for the school children and families that need to cross this street multiple times each day Mon-Fri. Something has to be done by Oakland Public Works before someone is injured.” - See Click Fix comment
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One block from Yu Ming School, there are no crosswalks at Essex and Alcatraz. Winter flooding makes crossing dangerous and unsafe.
Secondary Neighborhood Safety Issues
  • Pickup at Berkley Maynard happens at the same time as YM, so it is also a congested time. YM students are all escorted to Alcatraz campus for pickup. YM K-4 after school students are escorted from Alcatraz campus to Golden Gate Rec Center. 
  • Street sweeping corresponds with the afternoon pickup times, can they be re-routed so the streets are not all blocked off?  For example, instead of no parking 12:30pm - 3:30pm, move to 12pm-3pm so parents can park at 3 when picking up children
  • Adjacent crosswalks within one block are frequently used but are not well marked. Salem is on the direct path to the bus stop. 
  • Several crosswalks flood in the rain, requiring detours into Alcatraz or side streets
  • Street sweeping signs are heavily faded 
  • Rec Center curbs are not painted yet
Suggested Engineering Solutions
  • Next Step: Have principles at both schools meet with engineers to create plan for improvement.
  • Consider moving drop off to Herzog (and parking to Alcatraz) 
  • Permanent mid-crosswalk signage
  • Flexible post sidewalk extensions
  • Additional Laddered side crosswalks
  • Sharks teeth or other pre-emptive warnings 
  • Raised crosswalks, Improved drainage 
  • Extend red curbs near crosswalks (and educate and enforce) 
  • Bulbouts, painted, concrete flexposts
  • Improved signage (school zone, street sweeping, speed limit)
  • Additional crosswalks (Essex, Herzog/65th) 
  • Re-route street sweeping and trash pickup so they don’t interfere 
  • Playful painted crosswalk or intersection Pilot  
  • Pilot other improvements
  • Review timing of lights at 65th it seems off-timed 
  • “Your Speed Is” sign OR temporary trailer with custom message
Florida-based artist Cecilia Lueza creates vibrant public art, using playful color in crosswalks​. ​
Non-Engineering Suggestions
  • Make sure City of Oakland knows about Yu Ming’s two sites when updating pedestrian master plan. Current plan does not include either school site, even though they have always been a school 
  • Update written pick-up and drop off guidance for parents (In Progress) 
  • Engage teachers and students using bi-lingual pedestrian safety curriculum (In Progress) 
  • Identify priority traffic issues/solutions for Berkeley Aspire Maynard, Herzog YM campus, Rec Center and Seniors
  • Develop and share parent training and guidelines for traffic safety 
  • More Tactical Urbanist strategies (use own cones, sidewalk chalk)
  • Yellow safety vest for crossing guard
  • Request crossing guard from OPD 
  • Have signed written safety agreement with parents and remind constantly
  • Train teachers or other parents to help with enforcement
  • Reach out to staff at Golden Gate Rec Center
  • Reach out to City of Berkeley to better understand their traffic calming programs and criteria

What has been done? 

​Experimentation
  • Instruct staff to serve as crossing guard during drop-off
  • Curbside supervision by Principal Park (opening doors, moving traffic)
  • Use our own cone at the corner of Alcatraz/Herzog and moveable mid-crosswalk sign on Alcatraz 
  • Eliminate parking on entire Alcatraz block in front of Yu Ming Alcatraz campus
  • Ticketing parents with warning flyers
​Education
  • Shared YouTube safety videos with parent community 
  • Researched Berkeley improvements on Alcatraz and wrote Family Friendly Oakland blog: http://www.familyoakland.org/blog/lets-make-our-streets-and-sidewalks-safer-for-our-students-and-seniors 
  • Trained YM school staff as crossing guard 
  • Discussed with Rob Prinz, BPAC, and attended public meeting 
  • Joined County Safe Routes to School program and had discussions with TransForm regarding possible solutions and strategies
  • Learned from Longfellow and Santa Fe Plan
  • Reviewed 2002 Oakland Pedestrian Plan (Yu Ming 2 sites were excluded from study) 
Engagement
  • Met with Yu Ming and Berkley Maynard leadership, City of Oakland and community advocates to present this plan, observe and discuss next steps. Four Yu Ming students shared their experiences.  
  • Discussed with neighbors at NCPC meeting, Fall 2016
  • Collected feedback on See-Click-Fix ticket - http://www.gov.seeclickfix.com/issues/2817960-unsafe-crosswalk-at-herzog-and-alcatraz 
  • Encouraged City to include “playful infrastructure” in new OakDOT strategy to promote a more playful Oakland via #PlayOakland Campaign 
  • Engaged parents and students in campaign by inviting to share stories and comments, and participate in planning and strategy development
  • Discussed with teachers and older students and incorporated a letter writing campaign into curriculum 
  • Invited Berkley Aspire Maynard to collaborate with us on neighborhood safety 
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Engineering
  • Some new paint at existing crosswalks
  • Some signs repaired 
  • ​Traffic studies completed on Alcatraz, by City of Berkeley: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Clerk/Level_3_-_City_Council/2011/11Nov/2011-11-08_Item_32_Evaluation_of_Speed_Tables.pdf 

Site Map

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(1) Yu Ming Alcatraz campus (Alcatraz and Herzog) 
(2) Yu Ming Herzog campus, (Herzog and 63rd)
(3) Aspire Berkley Maynard, K-8, (63rd St and Herzog)
(A) Golden Gate Rec Center and fields (62nd and Herzog) 
(B) Percy Abrams, Jr Senior Housing (Alcatraz and Salem) 
Resources