Oakland Receives $1 Million to Construct Safer Routes to Schools

The City of Oakland has been awarded a $920,300 federal grant to improve safety on pedestrian and bicycle routes to neighborhood schools, according to Mayor Ron Dellums. The project, “The Neighborhood Connection: Improving Oakland School Walking and Bicycling Routes,” is funded by the Federal Safe Routes to School Program and will focus on Bret Harte Middle School, Manzanita Elementary, Manzanita SEED, Peralta Elementary, La Escuela Internacional de la Comunidad (International Community School) and the Pacific Boychoir Academy. “Providing our children with safe routes to school is vital to their educational success,” said Mayor Ron Dellums. “Wrapping our arms around our young people by addressing their needs simultaneously is a significant investment in the future of this city and the future of all urban areas throughout this country,” he said. This project is designed to remedy concerns frequently raised by parents, principals and students that speeding traffic poses safety issues and discourages walking and bicycling.  The project will include ADA-compliant pedestrian “bulb-outs” and ramps, crosswalks, pushbuttons and countdown signals, closes gaps and widens sidewalks at identified locations. Bicycling safety will be improved by adding new bike lanes on Alcatraz Avenue from Dover Street to College Avenue. The project also realigns traffic lanes on Hopkins Place to improve safety for vehicular traffic, as well as students walking or bicycling to school. Hopkins Place connects MacArthur Boulevard bicycle lanes with the front of Bret Harte Middle School. “This is a tremendous collaboration that addresses our vision for Oakland as a Model City, and I look forward to working with the Federal Government to ensure that we continue to comprehensively support our children,” Dellums said. This latest grant is the largest Safe Routes to School award that Oakland has received to date. Previously, the city received $700,00 for seven elementary and junior high schools, as well as $804,000 for coordinated pedestrian and transit improvements at Oakland Technical High School and the Castlemont Community of Schools.