Power the People: MLK Jr. Shoreline Access Study

Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP)
Planning and Capacity Building Grant

City of Oakland Department of Transportation | Power the People: MLK Jr. Shoreline Access Study

City of Oakland Department of Transportation logo

June 2021 – March 2025

Power the People StoryMap

Final Report available by request

Project Details

In partnership with the East Oakland Collective, the City of Oakland Department of Transportation is initiating a community-driven planning study of clean mobility options that will remedy the barriers to accessing the waterfront nearest to East Oakland residents - the Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline - as identified in the East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative, Resilient by Design Estuary Common Plan, and East Oakland Mobility Action Plan. The study will create an advisory group made of local resident experts, partners, organizations, and agencies to inform the planning study, analysis, and design of shoreline access, as well as build cultural programming at the MLK Jr. Shoreline. Both the planning study and programming will further engage and collaborate with AC Transit and East Oakland communities, including youth and artists, to ensure deliverables and project outcomes reflect East Oakland culture and strategize anti-displacement efforts that improve access and quality of life for East Oaklanders, while keeping the existing culture and community in place.

The Road, Street and Highway Map covers several neighborhoods in East Oakland, California of Alameda County. The project area boundary is marked by a thick, solid line that extends through East Oakland neighborhoods along 73rd Avenue and Hegenberger Road to the Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline Park. For more map details, contact movingca@arb.ca.gov. — *Project Area Map, East Oakland, CA in Alameda County*

Funding Details

Grant Amount: $184,753

Resource Contributions: $13,383

Project Total: $198,136

By the Numbers

Estimated Quantifiable Benefits

Direct Jobs: 1
Induced Jobs: 1

Planned Community Engagement Activities

12-18 Transportation focused technical advisory committee convenings
Collaborative design workshops
Listening sessions

East Oakland Shoreline Park Image Resident walking bike on street

Community Details

The East Oakland community surrounds the 73rd Ave/Hegenberger corridor, where roughly 30,000 residents live. The community is composed of 6,000 families, almost half of which are led by single mothers. The poverty rate of the community is 26%, the average income is $41,000, and 10% of the community has a college degree). The community is 54% Hispanic/Latinx, 34% Black/African American, and 12% Asian, White, and Other, in equal parts (4% each). In addition, 20% of homes are without a vehicle and of the households with a vehicle, more than half often commute alone to work. 13% of the community also uses public transportation for commuting. Most workers in this community are in food service, construction, and cleaning and maintenance jobs.

Demographics of Community Served by Project

37% Black or African American, 25% White, 22% Hispanic/Latino, 12% Asian, and 4% Other
Median Household Income: $52,008

Community Benefits

The goal of this planning effort is to develop solutions to better connect the East Oakland neighborhoods along 73rd Avenue and Hegenberger Road to the MLK Jr. Shoreline Park, as well as jobs, shopping centers, health clinics, social service offices, an elementary school, and important transit connections to BART and the new International Blvd Bus Rapid Transit service. The only way to access this shoreline is by using a highway overpass (Hegenberger Road), which has no bike lanes and only one narrow (six feet wide) sidewalk on one side of an eight-lane, high-speed road.

Per the East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative Community Plan (a 2019, yearlong community-led planning process), “Oakland’s history of racial apartheid, injustice, and divestment is responsible for East Oakland being among the communities most impacted by poverty and pollution in California.” As envisioned by the community, this project represents one small step towards enhancing equity and bringing investment back.

Outreach & Engagement Strategies

Project webpage
Transportation Focused Technical Advisory Committee
Virtual porch chats
Interviews and focus groups
Creative competition program
Bus design from community feedback
Social media
Flyers and mailers

Target Populations

Single Mothers
Low-income Black residents
Older Black adults
Unhoused residents
Black male youth
East Oakland Creatives

Partnership Structure

Grantee

The City of Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is the local government that will manage the planning and capacity building grant process including report, invoice, reimbursement, and coordination with CARB. OakDOT will also manage the contract with Social Good Fund, Inc., the fiscal sponsor for East Oakland Collective, the community-based organization leading plan development.