It is the job of the government to provide adequate sanitation facilities for its people. The city is full of litter. The majority of this litter would be thrown away properly if trash receptacles were present. We need a public works system that works. Install trash cans at all commercial zones and pedestrian thoroughfares.
The Broken window theory of Policing says, fix the little things, the bigger things follow. OPD currently writes a total of 3 speeding tix a day (OPD internal data). By comparison, Fresno (similar population) writes 600. No tickets = speeders = feeling of unsafe streets = more crime. Lets Start with a warning period (3-6 months) with the message that Oakland won't tolerate lawlessness (aka speeding) any more. It'll allow Police officers to learn how to talk to citizens and warn them (everyone loves NOT getting a ticket) and lets change the culture and our streets. We did it in Fresno (increased tickets led to statistically significant reductions in serious trauma, Journal of Trauma, Davis, et al). Don't like citations = DONT Speed. Thanks! (David Pepper MD)
Follow Karen Boyd's recommendations to bring technology and transparency to this antiquated office, and follow through with the City Auditor's recommendations as per Audit report and Matrix ASAP!! There are countless examples of how this office works as if they are stuck in the 1980's. KTOP staff has advised them how to be send files digitally instead of through the mail. As per Karen's Boyd Youtube presentation dated 10/6/15, Equity means also reaching and building trust with small Oakland property owners. As per her eloquent talk, she should apply all of these digital improvements and new tools such as digital front door project FIRST to the Rent Board. The Rent Board currently does not appear to want to offer any service to small property owners at all.
CA VC 27150, 27151, and 27200-02 explicitly define permissible exhaust certification, modifications and noise levels. Sadly, these laws are not enforced; at all. Illegally loud vehicles, mostly motorcycles, destroy our quality of life day and night, all over the city. Living in this city would be a lot more pleasant if these laws were enforced.
Fees for trash collection have gone up yet again. We're paying for more and getting less. One way to cut costs might be to collect every other week instead of every week. Many of us struggle to fill our 20 gallon trash bins every month let alone every week. In general, very few things we purchase are not recyclable or compostable.
The bookmark for this page is "City of Oakland." That's sloppy web design and it results in a confusing bookmark that gets lost amidst other Oakland-related bookmarksk.
There are many neighborhood groups that have started sponsoring trash can mosaics. But there are many many many more ugly trash cans to cover. Everyone loves them, so we need a simple way to match sponsors (businesses, neighbors, etc) with trash cans and mosaic artists. Old Oakland Neighbors has created a simple video and sponsorship page which has worked well to cover over a dozen trash cans in Old Oakland: https://www.gofundme.com/oldoaklandmosaics . But we need a way to scale this idea city wide!
https://www.facebook.com/OldOakDistrict/posts/10153941642742174
Please upload clean searchable color pdfs of staff reports and attachments. In particular, the architectural submittals to the Planning Commission are very hard to read when they are black and white scanned images. It is difficult for the community to give or gather feedback when the staff reports are so hard to consume. There are likely several ways to improve this process but at a minimum the staff reports should be searchable, the architectural renderings should be in color, and the pdfs should be original acrobat documents, not scanned files.
For example, the architectural drawings in this document are completely illegible:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/agenda/oak056266.pdf
Gas-powered leaf-blowers are extremely noisy and disruptive. They also burn gas far less efficiently than cars, and blow large amounts of dust and dirt into the air, decreasing air quality. They merely blow debris around, onto neighbors' properties or into the street. Many cities have banned them, including Berkeley. The weed whackers have the same problems of noise and inefficient gas-burning.
To the absolute maximum levy fines for all the illegal dumping in Oakland. It is heartbreaking to see piles and piles of garbage dumped on our streets. Can we increase surveillance on our hotspots by using one of the many wireless cameras now on the market?
Many decisions are made about city operations and services that affect the quality of life of residents. It would be helpful if residents had opportunities for public feedback and education at the earliest points of consideration - before matters are voted on by the Council.