Flex Streets Initiative

The City of Oakland is exploring how streets and sidewalks might be used to help impacted businesses recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overview
Goals
Use the Sidewalks or Parking Lane
Use a Traffic Lane
Use a Private Parking Lot or Other Private Outdoor Areas
Vend from a Food Truck, Trailer or Pushcart
Use City-owned Outdoor Property
Help Us Craft the Initiative
Re-opening Resources

Date Posted: May 25th, 2020 @ 4:19 PM
Last Updated: September 3rd, 2020 @ 12:14 PM

Overview

Effective Friday, September 4, updated Alameda County Health Orders allow:

Hair salons and barbershops to operate indoors Indoor Hair Salon and Barbershop reopening guidance
Outdoor dance classes as part of outdoor non-contact fitness classes
Mini-golf, batting cages, driving ranges, and kart racing, as allowed by the State’s Family Entertainment Center Guidance
Retail stores remain at a 25% capacity limit
Grocery stores with a 50% capacity limit
Alameda County Openings at a Glance

Effective Monday, August 31, the State’s Blueprint once again permits retail in shopping malls. However, it places additional restrictions on retail. Starting August 31, all indoor retail must limit capacity to a maximum of 25%, except for grocery stores, which must limit capacity to a maximum of 50%. Please visit https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/ and find “Retail” for reference.

Effective 8:00 a.m. on Friday, August 28, Alameda County Health Orders allow for the reopening of outdoor swimming pools and outdoor hair salons, nail salons, barbershops, waxing services, skin care and non-medical massages. These Orders exclude services that may require a client to remove their face covering, as well as eyebrow threading and waxing and eyelash treatments. Tattoos, piercings and electrolysis are not allowed to operate indoors or outdoors in alignment with the State of California’s Health Officer Orders issued on July 13.

Updated Site-Specific Protection Plans
California COVID-19 Employer Playbook: when and how an employer must report a COVID-19 positive employee; what is defined as an outbreak; and guidance for employers who may be considering whether to suspend operations due to COVID-19 spread in the workplace.
Industry-Specific Reopening Guidance

Restaurant Operating Procedures
English | Chinese | Spanish

Outdoor Hair, Barber, Nail, Skin Care, Waxing, and Non-Medical Massage Guidance
English

Outdoor Pool Guidance
English

July 15 Update: Outdoor Dining Now Allowed to Resume, Indoor Worship Services and Indoor Malls are Required to Close

The City of Oakland is exploring how to provide opportunities for economic revitalization and community engagement through creative and flexible uses of sidewalks, parking lanes and streets. The initiative seeks opportunities to streamline permitting requirements to provide additional space for Oakland businesses to operate as allowed by recent modifications to Alameda County's Shelter-in-Place Order.

City of Oakland Launches Flex Streets Initiative Allowing Businesses to Use City Sidewalks and Streets Under COVID-19

City of Oakland Encourages Businesses to Temporarily Convert Parking Lots & Other Private Spaces for Dining & Retail

City Continues Expansion of Flex Streets Initiative to allow use of City-Owned Property to help businesses meet Physical Distancing Requirements

Read the Information Memorandum on the Flex Streets Initiative.

Watch a video of a press event on the Flex Streets Initiative

Download a flyer on the Flex Street Initiative in English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.

ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Businesses Participating in the Flex Streets Program

Fire Safety Tips for Businesses Operating Outdoors under the Flex Streets Initiative

Goals

Support local restaurants, retailers and allowed personal care service providers

Provide quick response to businesses who want to use public rights of way to accommodate COVID-19 physical distance guidelines

Support Oakland residents

Increase outdoor activity for Oakland residents and visitors while maintaining physical distancing
Provide much needed public open space to encourage physical and mental health and to prevent overcrowding within green space
Foster renewed community spirit, connection and engagement within Oakland neighborhoods

Support local performers and artists

Provide new spaces for performing arts
Activate the street, and help get our performing arts sector back to work

Improve traffic safety

Encourage safe traffic behavior in residential neighborhoods, business corridors and other areas of high-volume pedestrian activity
Improve safety for vulnerable road users-- including bikes, peds, scooters, children, elderly, and disabled--in high volume commercial corridors
Maintain and improve accessibility compliance on public rights of way

Ensure and advance racial equity

Advance racial equity for and prioritize vulnerable businesses of color
Ensure business owners receive necessary technical support to take advantage of proposed city initiatives
Reduce administrative barriers to participate in City program

Use the Sidewalks or Parking Lane

Learn the five steps to apply for use of sidewalks or parking lanes to meet Alameda County's Social Distancing Requirements.

Use a Traffic Lane

Based on feedback from meetings with business owners and community leaders, our engineers are developing a roster of potential street closures that represent what our engineers feel may be suitable to maintain transit access, traffic flow and emergency response.

If you represent a group of businesses and are interested in closing a street for outdoor dining or retail, please complete the Flex Streets Initiative Street Closure interest form.

Learn the steps required to apply for use of vehicle travel lanes to meet Alameda County's Social Distancing Requirements.

Use a Private Parking Lot or Other Private Outdoor Areas

The City of Oakland is exploring how to provide opportunities for economic revitalization and community engagement through creative and flexible uses of privately-owned parking lots and other open outdoor areas. The initiative provides opportunities to streamline permitting requirements to provide additional space for Oakland businesses to operate as allowed by modifications to Alameda County's Shelter-in-Place order.

Learn more on this Planning & Building web page.

Vend from a Food Truck, Trailer or Pushcart

As part of the Flex Streets Program’s efforts to support businesses to operate safely and to provide the public with additional opportunities to consume food while physically distancing from others during the Covid-19 Emergency, the Special Activity Permits Division is now accepting mobile food vending permit applications from food trucks, trailers and sidewalk vendors.

Learn more on the City’s mobile food vending web page.

Use City-owned Outdoor Property

The City of Oakland is making available unutilized City-owned outdoor properties to retail businesses and restaurants which are unable to operate in the public right of way or on private property as provided under the FlexStreets program.

For more details on the use of City-owned property under the FlexStreets program see Section 2 of Emergency Order No. 4 issued on June 19, 2020.

Learn more on this Real Estate web page.

Help Us Craft the Initiative

Businesses

Help inform the initiative by taking the Sidewalk and Curbside Use Survey for Restaurants & Retailers

Help promote the text-based Flex Streets survey by posting a flyer in your windows.

Community

Share your thoughts either by taking this online survey in four languages or text FLEX to (510) 380-7360

Re-opening Resources

For planning resources and guidelines, please visit the Business Re-opening web page.

COVID-19 Business and Worker Resources

Take the COVID-19 Business Impact Data Survey, which services as the City’s intake pathway to request one-on-one business assistance