Oakland

Creating a New Department of Transportation Oakland

CitiesOaklandCreating a New Department of Transportation for Oakland

Bloomberg Associates helped the City of Oakland create a dedicated Department of Transportation for the growing city.

The City’s first-ever transportation strategic plan is a bold vision statement for Oakland’s streets, a road map for achieving it, and an action plan to get there.

Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland

Relevant Expertise

Transform Streets and Mobility

Bike Share and Cycling Infrastructure
Modern Transportation Solutions
Road Safety
Walkable Streets

Challenge

Oakland needed to have a dedicated department of transportation in order to deliver a 21st-century vision for safer, more livable, and more accessible streets and sidewalks. Mayor Libby Schaaf made it a vital component of her platform, and Bloomberg Associates was enlisted to help the City realize this bold vision.

Approach

Working closely with the Mayor’s Office and city staff, Bloomberg Associates helped to establish Oakland’s first Department of Transportation, recruit a world-class director and to develop and adopt a strong vision and strategic plan. The plan focused on an equitable transportation decision-making framework for investment and resource allocation, along with a set of agency-wide protocols to promote genuine community empowerment. The new agency is now positioned to spearhead everything from world-class BRT projects and bike share to stronger safety programs, focusing on communities that have experienced current or historic disparities.

Impact

The creation of OakDOT was an important accomplishment in convincing voters that the City was ready to begin work on the City’s streets and sidewalks. A $350 million transportation bond measure was overwhelmingly approved by the public in November 2016, capturing 82% of the vote. This vote of confidence set up the new agency for long-term success, so it could begin delivering on transportation that was more equitable for all.

These efforts paved the way for a commitment to reduce the number of traffic deaths by half by 2030, improve data on pedestrian injuries and fatalities, target safety resources to high crash locations, and set benchmarks for safety.

Community empowerment initiatives included “Paint the Town,” a pilot street mural program that invited community members to paint murals on local street; “Let’s Bike Oakland,” a city bicycle plan that better reflects the diversity of people who bike in Oakland; and East Oakland Planning for Paving, which made safety improvements to the streets.