Background
Like many other streets renamed “King” across the United States, Oakland’s Martin Luther King Jr. Way corridor, which is inhabited by a large percent of Oakland’s remaining Black population, suffers from underinvestment characteristic of neighborhoods facing racial and economic discrimination. Today, Martin Luther King Jr. Way is a four-lane roadway with truck traffic and no bikeway. The Martin Luther King Jr. Way Streetscape Improvements aims to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in a high priority equity community in West Oakland, Old Oakland, and the Jack London district.
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Project Scope
- Install pedestrian-scale lighting, seating and other amenities, address sidewalk hazards, and extend sidewalks at the intersections with updated ADA curb-ramps to implement this segment of the City's Green Loop.
- Install a new raised, two-way cycle track on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between 2nd Street and 14th Street to provide a safe and comfortable bike route for all ages. This cycle track will connect with several other existing and planned bike facilities connecting West Oakland, Old Oakland, Downtown, and the Jack London District.
- Install high-visibility crosswalk markings and pedestrian lighting to increase visibility for pedestrians in crosswalks and improve pedestrian safety, particularly for pedestrians crossing under I-880.
- Plant new street trees to make the city more climate resilient by regulating extreme temperatures, sequestering carbon, and mitigating air pollution in the area.
- Install fiber optic cable between Embarcadero West and 7th Street to enable the expansion of OAK WiFi, a program that provides free internet to Oaklanders to help close the digital divide, and to improve traffic signal coordination along the corridor.
- New traffic signal mast arms, protected left turns, bike signals, and pedestrian countdown heads to increase traffic safety
- Repave the road
This project is currently in the final design phase.
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Past Engagement and Outcomes
Several prior planning efforts have called for improvements on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. These include the 2017 Pedestrian Plan, 2019 Bike Plan, West Oakland Community Action Plan, Draft Downtown Oakland Specific Plan, and the Capital Improvement Program. As part of this prior planning work, engagement took place in the form of community and stakeholder meetings, workshops, surveys, and more. A summary of this previous engagement can be found in the MLK Jr. Way Community Engagement Summary (2015-2022).
Building on past engagement, the project team conducted additional engagement in Summer 2023 to ensure that the project scope was in line with current stakeholder needs and to inform the conceptual plans. The Martin Luther King Jr. Way Streetscape Engagement Summary (Summer 2023) describes the engagement approach, the feedback received, and explains how this feedback will be used to shape this project.
During Fall and Winter 2023, the project team conducted additional engagement to refine the project designs. This engagement included presentations, meetings, and an open house event. Click here to learn more about the Community Streetscape Project Open House. You can also watch a video of the event by clicking here.
A final report that describes all engagement leading up to the final designs is coming soon! This report will describe how feedback informed the project designs.
Page last updated: March 15, 2024
