Oakland Updates: Best of the East Bay, Uptown Unveiled, Oakland Airport Connector & Pay-Go

There’s so much going on in Oakland lately that it’s kind of impossible to keep up with here so I decided I’d just lump a bunch of brief updates into one post.

Still time to vote for Best of the East Bay: For some reason, the East Bay Express decided to extend voting for its Best of the East Bay Awards. Earlier this week I recommended voting for Damon and the Heathens as best band and Sean Sullivan as rising political figure. You have through Monday, June 22 to vote, so vote now if you haven’t already.

More Uptown Unveiled Photos: I posted my iPhone photos yesterday and Chris Kidd asked where he could find some more professional photos. Luckily, there are TONS on Flickr. My favorite photo sets come from The Inadvertent Gardener, psilocybes, vision63, amicicara, and Ken L. Katz. Enjoy!

What really happened at the Port? The Tribune covered the Oakland Airport Connector vote at the Port Commission, but unfortunately got it very wrong. V Smoothe wrote a blog post correcting all the mistakes and adding more background so that’s where you should go for the whole story. (The short version is that the Port voted to move ahead to apply to be able to give money to BART, and they’ll later have to vote on whether to actually give this funding or not. Also, they directed BART to look into other alternatives – yay!) So I called the Tribune reporter, Janis Mara, and discussed the mistakes in her story since I knew this was not a story that she had covered before. She went ahead and issued a correction. Thanks to V for bringing this to my attention and to Janis for making the correction.

Other Oakland Airport Connector updates: The City Council Rules Committee was supposed to vote this past Thursday on whether to agendize an update on the OAC, but Rules Committee got canceled, so it will be before them this Thursday, June 25th. That means there’s still time to contact the Council about this. Later on Thursday, ACTIA will also be discussing the OAC. It’s unclear at this point if they’ll just be receiving an update or if it will be an action item, but advocates will be there to encourage ACTIA to direct BART to study alternatives. If you need a good refresher on the OAC, check out the debate KPFA held on Friday between John Knox White of Transform and Linton Johnson of BART  (about 10 minutes in):

Terra Verde – June 19, 2009 at 1:00pm

Click to listen (or download)

And some good personal news – TransForm just hired me to work part time for the next several weeks on the OAC campaign. Since I already have another full time job, that means I’ll be very busy so posting here might be lighter than usual. (If you’re interested in filling in by writing a guest post, please contact me.)

How do you feel about pay-go? In response to Dellums saying he thought pay-go should be entirely eliminated, Debby at Today in Montclair set up a survey to find out about how Oaklanders feel about pay-go. Whether you have strong feelings or not, please take her very brief survey – I know I’m interested to see the results.

That’s it for now – if you have questions about other Oakland issues I’ve written about (or haven’t), feel free to ask them below.

Don Perata on Oakland Airport Connector: “Too much money for too little transit”

Last week, Don Perata joined the effort to stop the wasteful overhead Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) by sending a hard-hitting letter to Metropolitian Transportation Commissioner and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty. On July 8, the MTC will be voting on providing even more funding to the OAC from Regional Measure 2 funds, and Perata is not pleased about this:

As the author of SB 916 – which placed regional Measure 2 on the ballot-, I must oppose the Oakland Airport Connector project. In short, the proposal is too much money for too little transit and economic value.

While the connector was included in the menu of RM2 transportation projects, that election was in 2004. The world has since changed dramatically. And so has the project. In 2003 when the project was proposed, only $30M was needed to complete funding for the $230M connector. In fact, we told the voters (in the ballot pamphlet) that this was “the final portion of funds needed for direct BART service” to the airport. Project costs have now increased by over $300M and the RM2 dollars needed have quadrupled. Even more damning, the ridership predicted in 2003 has fallen substantially from 13,540 to fewer than 4500 by 2020. This fails any cost-benefit analysis on its face.

Advocates have been making these arguments for months, to the MTC, BART, and the Port Commision, and most of our pleas for reason have fallen on deaf ears. But I’m hopeful that these elected officials will find it more difficult to ignore the former State Senate Democratic leader and the likely future mayor of Oakland.

Perata continues:

Elected representatives everywhere act as consistent with today’s realities; we cannot conduct public affairs as if the weak economy is simply a market correction. There is less tax dollars available and more competition than our generation has ever known. This requires strong fiscal discipline and hard choices. Whether the money comes from taxes, tolls or fees, it’s the same pair of pants, only different pockets!

I am unconvinced an Oakland Airport Connector is the highest and best use of available transit money – even assuming potential millions from the federal government stimulus program. Washington bureaucrats don’t know any better; we should.

In the coming weeks, the Port Commission, MTC, the Oakland City Council, and ultimately BART will all have opportunities to prove that they do know better.

Today, the full Port Commission will vote on taking the first step on funding the OAC to the tune of $44 million. (Two weeks ago, the Aviation Committee of the Port Commission voted to move move the OAC funding issue onto the full committee, and then for some reason the full commission delayed the hearing.) Just as BART has gone back to MTC again and again for increasingly larger amounts of RM2 funding, they have asked the Port for more and more. The Port has the opportunity to leverage its contribution to require BART to study a rapid bus alternative that would save hundreds of million of dollars.

Then, on Thursday, the Rules Committee of the Oakland City Council will vote on a request from Councilmember Nancy Nadel to bring the OAC project before the Public Works Committee and ultimately the full Council. There are a multitude of reasons that the City Council should review the project again, as dto510 explains:

A lot is at stake for Oakland. On one hand, project supporters claim that it will improve the Oakland Airport area, attracting more airline passengers and perhaps more businesses to Airport and surrounding area. For the reality-based community, however, there are enormous costs to the City of Oakland to moving ahead with the project. ACTIA funds that would otherwise go to East Oakland bike/ped/transit improvements, such as a mooted transit village at the Coliseum BART station, would be lost. The Port of Oakland will have to use funds that would otherwise go to airport renovation and expansion. Regional stimulus funds would go to this instead of to shoring up AC Transit and BART service. And the City of Oakland will lose the opportunity to improve transit service that would serve the workers and businesses in the Hegenberger Corridor, since the RFP for the Airport Connector does not include any intermediate stops. Many of these problems are a result of changes to the project, and many former supporters are now opponents.

Unfortunately, it is possible that OAC proponent and Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid will urge the Rules Committee not to agendize this item because he fears that when the City Council finds out how drastically this project has changed, they will no longer support it. So if you’re an Oakland resident, please contact Rules Committee members to ask them to support a public Council hearing on the OAC:

Council President Jane Brunner, District 1
JBrunner@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7001

Jean Quan, District 4
JQuan@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7004

Ignacio De La Fuente, District 5
IDeLaFuente@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7005

A half billion dollars, affordable access to the Oakland Airport, and so much more are at stake in the OAC project. In the coming weeks, let’s hope that our elected officials show as much leadership and reasoned skepticism as Don Perata and save our region from this boondoggle.

Previous posts on the Oakland Airport Connector:

• 5/29/09: Oakland Airport Connector now in the hands of the Port Commission
• 5/13/09: BART staff coordinate Oakland Airport Connector astroturf campaign
• 5/8/09: Take Action: Turn Oakland Airport Connector into RapidBART
• 4/27/09: Advocates secure temporary win on the Oakland Airport Connector
• 4/22/09: BART’s brilliant plant for financing the Oakland Airport Connector
• 2/23/09: Protect Bay Area Transit: Stop MTC from Wasting Stimulus Funds

June 15-21 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, June 15th – Musical Mondays at Jack London Square – Jump City

Last week, Jack London Square started its two month series of Musical Mondays. Jack London Square hosts live musical entertainment to enjoy while playing favorite board games. Check out chess, checkers, scrabble and much more. Build up an appetite and check out the prefix dinner menus that the JLS restaurants will feature to help you ease into another work week. This event will be held from 5:30-8:00 pm at Palm Tree Plaza (yes, they really call it that) in Jack London Square.

Tuesday, June 16th – Port Commission Hearing on Oakland Airport Connector Funding

Two weeks ago, the Aviation Committee of the Port Commission voted to move move the OAC funding issue onto the full committee, and then for some reason the full commission delayed the hearing. On Tuesday, the full commission will vote on taking the first step on funding the OAC to the tune of $44 million. You can read all about this issue in my post about this hearing. The meeting starts at 4:30 pm and will be held at 530 Water Street in Oakland (accessible by the 72, 72M, or 72R buses).

Tuesday, June 16th – Oakland City Council Meeting on Budget (note special time)

Tuesday’s Council meeting, which starts in the afternoon and should be very long, is all about the budget. Councilmembers Jane Brunner, Ignacio De La Fuente, Pat Kernighan, and Jean Quan will be presenting their alternative budget proposal to Mayor Dellums’ proposal, and I think it’s a huge improvement.  They’ll be discussing a mix of taxes, fees, and cuts, which is a refreshingly well-rounded approach compared to what’s going on in Sacramento. See the full meeting agenda and check out my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The meeting starts at 3pm at the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Wednesday, June 17th – Special Community Meeting for Zoning Issues in the Oakland Hills

The City is updating its zoning regulations, which govern the physical development of land.  Zoning regulations affect many people living and working in Oakland. We urge you to become familiar with the zoning update process and get involved. The purpose of the meeting is to familiarize you with the issues and zoning in the Oakland hills as well as to obtain input about additional issues with development in the hills, and the preliminary zoning outline for the Oakland hills. This meeting will be held from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard.

Thursday, April 18th – Uptown Unveiled & Taste of Uptown

On Thursday night, several blocks in Uptown will be closed to car traffic and instead filled with music, food, and tons of people. There are going to be three stages on Telegraph from 16th to 20th featuring incredible music, including Damon and the Heathens, The Kev Choice Ensemble, and John Santos. Franklin will also be closed to traffic between 21st and 22nd and will be showcasing Uptown’s finest food. And if you haven’t checked out the Fox Theater, they’ll be doing tours for the public. I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else on Thursday night. So head to Uptown from 5-10pm to enjoy what the area has to offer. More details can be found here (PDF) and I’ll likely be writing a more detailed post about it early this week because there’s far too much to cover here.

Thursday, April 18th – Central Estuary Plan Community Workshop #3

If for some bizarre reason you’d rather stay inside than hang out on the street in Uptown, you can check out the third second meeting for the Central Estuary Plan, which is designed to build a vision and provide a framework to support development and enhancement of the Estuary from Adeline Street to 66th Avenue.  The workshop will be in an “open house” format where project staff will be available to answer questions and discuss information gathered on Plan Area existing conditions. You can read about the first meet at Oakland Streets or at A Better Oakland. (The CEDA website also includes meeting presentations and other materials.) Please drop by any time between 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. to visit the open house information stations at your leisure. Light refreshments will be served. This workshop will be held at The Unity Council, Fruitvale-San Antonio Senior Center, 3301 East 12th Street, Suite 201 (Fruitvale Transit Village).

Friday, June 19th – Dancing Under the Stars at Jack London Square

Via Angela Woodall: “Free Outdoor Classes from May 1 to July so you can Dance the Night Away on Oakland’s Waterfront. On Friday nights this Spring and Summer, Jack London Square will see sizzling salsa, tight turns, and elegant waltzes. But on this dance floor, there will be no judges and no one will be voted out. Jack London Square today announced Dancing Under the Stars, a summer of free outdoor dance classes open to the public. Over ten Friday night sessions, visitors will be treated to professional instruction in a range of popular steps, all on Oakland’s waterfront and by the light of the stars. Dancing Under the Stars will begin at 8:30 PM each Friday at the foot of Broadway from May 1st to July 3rd.” This Friday, they’ll be teaching the Hustle.

Saturday, June 20th – 4th Annual Laurel Summer Solstice Festival

For the fourth year in a row, the Laurel Village Association is coordinating a Summer Solstice Music Festival on June 20, 2009.  Amateur and professional musicians perform for free in unconventional public spaces such as street corners, merchant parking lots, and residential driveways.  Join us at numerous sites along MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland’s Laurel neighborhood from 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. on June 20th! Find more details at their website.

Saturday & Sunday, June 20th & 21st -The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus Presents: Cabaret – Zoot Suit!

The Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus and Swing Fever of San Francisco is proud to present Cabaret-Zoot Suit! on Saturday, June 20th, 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 21, 5 pm at First Christian Church of Oakland, 111 Fairmount Ave., Oakland, CA.  Proceeds from this event are used to produce the chorus’s concerts and community projects throughout the year.  Visit their website for map, directions, tickets and more!

Follow Port Commission OAC hearing today on Twitter

UPDATE: The OAC funding item was just pulled from today’s Port Commission agenda and will be discussed at their June 16th meeting instead. Why? I can’t tell you yet, but I’m trying to find out.

So there were lots of ups and downs at yesterday’s Port Commission Aviation Committee meeting. The short story is that they passed the item on to the full Port Commission, which meets today at 4:30. At this meeting, they’ll be further discussing whether to apply to use passenger fees to pay for $70 million ($44 million in project funds and $26 million in interest) to help fund the Oakland Airport Connector. They’ll also be discussing whether to mandate that BART study a rapid bus option before the Port will provide funding, or as Stuart Cohen from TransForm said, “No study, no money.”

I won’t be able to make it to today’s meeting, but you can follow the meeting live via dto510 on Twitter. Tomorrow, I’ll post a probably extremely lengthy post about both meetings.

June 1-7 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, June 1st – Port Commission Hearing on Oakland Airport Connector Funding

On Monday the Port Commission will vote on taking the first step on funding the OAC to the tune of $44 million. You can read all about this issue in my post about this hearing. The meeting starts at 3:30 pm and will be held at 530 Water Street in Oakland (accessible by the 72, 72M, or 72R buses).

Monday, June 1st – City Council Budget Workshop

The Council will be meeting again this week to discuss the budget in further detail. For background, I highly recommend checking out V Smoothe’s coverage of the budget, which is really the only in depth budget coverage you’ll find anywhere. This workshop will be held at 4pm in the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Tuesday, June 2nd – Oakland City Council Meeting

Though many items have been scratched from the agenda, there’s still a lot less to discuss. Among other items, the Council will discuss several applications for stimulus funds, a few different grants for youth services, and the proposed municipal ID card, which V Smoothe isn’t too excited about. See the full meeting agenda and check out my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The non-ceremonial parts of the meeting start at 7pm at the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Wednesday, June 3rd – Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Meeting

Every month, the Central Committee meets to discuss party business and to make plans for the future of the Democratic Party in Alameda County. This month, among other items, we’ll be voting on whether to endorse each of the four Oakland measures, C, D, F & H. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Democratic Party, this is a great way to do so. I’m an associate member for the 16th Assembly District, so you can find me at this meeting every month. The meeting will be held from 7-9pm in the San Leandro Main Library, Dave Karp Room, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577.

Wednesday, June 3rd – Planning Commission Hearing on the Housing Element

This week, the Oakland City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider whether to recommend adoption of the proposed 2007-2014 Housing Element, an Element of the General Plan. The Housing Element is a five-year blueprint for housing Oakland’s residents, at all economic levels, including low-income and households with special needs. It provides an update on housing prices and rents, housing conditions and market trends. For background on the Housing Element, read Tom Thurston’s coverage here, here, and here, and read the Planning Commission staff report. This hearing will be held at 6:00 p.m. in Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 1, One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.

Friday, May 29th – Dancing Under the Stars at Jack London Square

Via Angela Woodall: “Free Outdoor Classes from May 1 to July so you can Dance the Night Away on Oakland’s Waterfront. On Friday nights this Spring and Summer, Jack London Square will see sizzling salsa, tight turns, and elegant waltzes. But on this dance floor, there will be no judges and no one will be voted out. Jack London Square today announced Dancing Under the Stars, a summer of free outdoor dance classes open to the public. Over ten Friday night sessions, visitors will be treated to professional instruction in a range of popular steps, all on Oakland’s waterfront and by the light of the stars. Dancing Under the Stars will begin at 8:30 PM each Friday at the foot of Broadway from May 1st to July 3rd.” This Friday, they’ll be teaching the Foxtrot.

Friday & Saturday, June 5th & 6th – WOBO Successful Campaigns Training

Walk Oakland Bike Oakland is holding a training on choosing, directing, and winning campaigns to increase bicycling and walking. You’ll come away with the tools and confidence to not only advocate for improvements, but win them! The course will be instructed by SF Bicycle Coalition’s founding Executive Director Dave Snyder and WOBO Board members. The training will be held Friday 6:30pm-9:30pm & Saturday 8:30am-5pm at theoffices of Bay Area Wilderness Training at 2301 Broadway, #B off 23rd. You can find all the details at WOBO’s site.

Saturday, June 6th – West Oakland’s Green Scene

This will be celebration of both the new park and the many organizations that are creating healthy and sustainable communities in Oakland. There will be several activities geared towards kids, and plenty to do for adults as well. If you’ve never been to Middle Harbor Park, this is a great chance to check it out (read my review of the park to find out how amazing it is). The event will be held at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park from 11:00am-4:00pm. Parking is limited: ride a bike or take the hydrogen fuel-celled AC Transit Bus #13 (departs every ½ hour from West Oakland BART). You can read all the details here.

Sunday, June 7th – Temescal Street Fair

The annual Temescal Street Fair will be held Sunday (note day change). Enjoy delicious food and drink from local restaurants including Lanesplitter Pizza and Pub, La Calaca Loca Taqueria, Burma Superstar, Bear Naked Burgers, Bakesale Betty, The Avenue and much more. Music at the Main Stage at 51st will feature: Fito Reynoso y su Ritmo y Harmonia (salsa), Cataracs (rock), Destiny Arts Youth Performance Troupe (hip-hop),  Zanza (sassy bossa nova). There are special activities for kids, a fashion show, plenty of opportunities to buy local, and valet bike parking. The fair will be held 12-6pm with an expansion this year from 45th-51st Telegraph Avenue, North Oakland. You can find more info at the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District’s website and you can see some photos from last year’s fair here.

Oakland Airport Connector now in the hands of the Port Commission

UPDATE: There’s an excellent column about this issue in Saturday’s Contra Costa Times.

A couple weeks ago, the BART board made a terrible decision by approving the wasteful overhead Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). As dto510 wrote, quoting Director Radulovich, they mortgaged the system for “blingfrastructure.” But the OAC is still not a done deal because several sources of funding need to fall into place for the project to be fully funded.

The next stop for the OAC is the Oakland Port Commission Aviation Committee meeting this Monday, June 1st. The committee will vote on taking the first step on funding the OAC to the tune of $44 million. In the grand scheme of this half billion dollar project, $44 million might not sound like that much, but let’s look at this amount in context.

When the OAC project was first proposed, it was touted as a $130 million project. I couldn’t find out how much BART had hoped the Port would commit at the time (if anything), but it was clearly less than $44 million. Colleagues who have been involved in this process longer than I have told me that as the price tag of the OAC rose, BART kept going back to the Port, asking them for more and more money. The Port Director kept saying yes, but the Commission never actually voted on the $44 million, and I guess BART just assumed they’d come through in the end.

The Port Commission should emphatically vote no on this funding. A lot has changed in the past few years. Traffic is down both at the airport and at the port, which means that the Port is in a much worse financial position today. To pay this $44 million to BART, the Port will have to borrow the money, and with interest, the total cost to the Port will be $70 million. Ultimately, this $70 million will come from the $4.50 per passenger fee that they currently charge to airport travelers.

This might sound reasonable, except that the Port has other projects for which it needs funds from those passenger fees. One major project is the renovation of Terminal 1, which right now is set for a five year renovation schedule. Shifting the $70 million to the OAC would push this back to a seven year schedule. The Terminal 2 (Southwest) renovation project has been a huge success, and there’s no reason we should have to wait 7 years before Terminal 1 looks like this:

Besides the economic reasons for rejecting this project, the Port commissioners should look at how the project has dramatically changed. The Port has a fact sheet up on its website from 2002 about the OAC, which has these fun facts:

• The Connector will be a seamless connection between BART and the Airport. What that means is that the Connector is part of the BART system, so riders don’t have to pay a separate fare when transferring between BART and the Connector.
• Riders will save a considerable amount of time over the current bus connector between BART and the airport, especially when there are major events at the Coliseum complex and during peak travel periods at the Airport…
• A design/build contract for the Connector is scheduled for award in 2004 and the system should begin operation in 2008.

These facts were true in 2002, but they’re no longer true. The connection won’t be seamless and will cost an additional $6 fare, paid separately from the BART fare. At its best projections, riders would save a few minutes with the OAC, and when factoring in the long walks, it could even take longer than the current bus. And I think it’s pretty clear why the last fact isn’t true.

The Port Commission should vote no on funding the OAC and should recommend that BART do a serious study into a rapid bus option, like the one TransForm proposed. The Oakland Airport could benefit from an improved BART connection, but the OAC is not the right choice.

Here is the info for the Port Commission meeting, if you’d like to attend and speak:

What: Port Commission Meeting on the Oakland Airport Connector

When: Monday, June 1st @ 3:30pm

Where: 530 Water Street in Oakland (accessible by the 72, 72M, or 72R buses)

If you cannot make it to the meeting, but want to tell the Port Commissioners to vote against OAC funding, please send an email via TransForm’s action page. You can find a pre-written message there, but I encourage you to take the time to personalize the email, as non-form letters are always more effective.

Previous posts on the Oakland Airport Connector:

• 5/13/09: BART staff coordinate Oakland Airport Connector astroturf campaign
• 5/8/09: Take Action: Turn Oakland Airport Connector into RapidBART
• 4/27/09: Advocates secure temporary win on the Oakland Airport Connector
• 4/22/09: BART’s brilliant plant for financing the Oakland Airport Connector
• 2/23/09: Protect Bay Area Transit: Stop MTC from Wasting Stimulus Funds