Downtown has too many one way streets that create confusion, encourage high speeds and reduce access to some areas.
Streets above McArthur Blvd lack sidewalks. The path from Oakland Zoo to Foothill Square is a walkable distance, but the lack of sidewalks make it difficult to move locally. People use their cars because walking is not an option.
It's hard to attend community meetings when no end-time is published. It is a small detail but could result in more people attending.
We need to keep working families in Oakland and need to provide apartments and condos that are big enough for 4 people and maybe have outdoor balconies or common areas where kids can play. This is needed downtown as well as in the neighborhoods.
No matter what kind of civic improvement we have and how much money we spend, we will not change/impact the view of Oakland without addressing our homeless population. We need to triage them to appropriate housing, drug, alcohol and mental health facilities. I think there are many examples of doing this with proactive outreach not by the police but by people who work with and understand these issues. I am all for the police but they should be working on criminal activity and not those with mental illness. I am struck driving especially in downtown Oakland by the people camping under the freeways and on our streets. Of course there are some people gaming the system but I assure you that this is the great minority. This will do more to improve the City of Oakland than millions spent on new infrastructure.
One-ways were a terrible mistake. They make the city more dangerous and confusing to navigate, they encourage speeding, and there's solid evidence that they're bad for local businesses.
They also send a message. They say "this is a place to drive through, not a place to be." They say "we value the convenience of commuters over the lives of residents." Let's stop sending that message.
Green the streets by taking streets that need repaving and simulaneously creating new 'bulb outs' for new street tree planters that can also function as bioswale stormwater management for wet periods. This would lessen water runoff - both helping to recharge and clean local ground water and runoff, as well as create new shade and visual appeal to streets. (see image for example in Portland)
Just as retail needs an anchor tenant, Oakland needs a new anchor business F500 tenant now that it has virtually lost Clorox, an anchor for 100+ years. It's important to define the kind of industries, both large and small, you want to grow in Oakland and, then, attract a new F500 company to locate its headquarters here. Then, there will be an aggregate of small and independent businesses that grow up around that anchor. (Think Salesforce. Think UCSF Mission Bay. Etc.)
Dear Oakland City officials, you'd like your citizens to deposit litter into receptacles, yet you fail in the worst way to pick up that garbage. Case in point at the corner of Vernon and Lee Street overflowing with poop bags. Disgusting, please do your part!