Lake Merritt BART Station Area Plan: Community Recreation Center The Oakland City Planning Department, BART, Peralta Colleges, and the surrounding community have been participating in a planning process that commenced in 2009 to rethink the future of the Lake Merritt BART Station area.

Through the public engagement process, the community has expressed a desire for a local recreation center to serve the neighborhood’s children and the large elderly population. The center would include a multipurpose facility, outdoor recreation areas, and a community garden.

This project analyzes five opportunity sites - potential locations for a new recreation center - given the social, environmental, and security factors in the area.

We identified and digitized five opportunity sites, based on the productivity of current use. Productivity was determined through research and data derived from interviews, as well as data on vacant lots within the project area.

OpportunitiesParks (Buffer)

Bikeways (Buffer)

Lake Merritt BART Station (Service Area)

Constraints

Population - Age

Schools (Service Area)

Freeway - Pollution (Buffer)

Building Heights

Bike and Pedestrian Collisions (IDW)

Crime

Conclusions

Introduction

It is important to consider the presence of criminal activity as a constraint, particularly given the vulnerable populations (children and the elderly) that the center will serve. Using the City of Oakland’s Crimeview interactive website, we digitized all crimes in the past 90 days (ending 5/1/11). We then created aggregate points at intersections representing all crimes within a half-block radius, (values equal to the total number of crimes). Sample points were placed at relatively even intervals throughout the area. Intersections with no crimes in their vicinity were given a value of zero. These points were then used to create a field of “criminal activity presence.” Using the IDW interpolation method, the four nearest sample points were used to determine the presence of crime at any given point in the field, with a maximum radius of 1000 feet.

The Lake Merritt BART Station Area plan addresses a neighborhood within a one-half mile radius of the Lake Merritt Station, including historic Oakland Chinatown, Laney College, the Oakland Museum, and the site of the former BART headquarters building. The planning process has involved extensive community engagement programs. In February, 2011, the Planning Department held two public workshops,that focused on land use, transportation and streetscapes. Among participants, there was clear demand for

When all factors had been accounted for, our suitability analysis showed large areas in the northeast and eastern areas that appeared highly desirable. These areas are occupied but Laney College, the Oakland Museum, and the park areas around Lake Merritt and the Channel, and are thus excluded from the sites of opportunity.

As the demographics data shows, most of the population that will use the recreation center lives in the western half of the planning area. The central location of the former BART building will better serve these residents. Furthermore, a central public space will help to link the residential population with the open space amenities around Lake Merritt and the Channel.

Construction of a community recreation on this site will build on and strengthen the neighboring Madison Park, which is currently underutilized. Together, these community amenties will help to build a strong central public space, bringing more activity to this area, providing increased business for local retail, and stimulating development in the surrounding blocks.

Source: City of Oakland, “Existing and Proposed Bikelanes,” 2011.

Source: U.C. Berkeley, Oakland Dataset, “Streets,” 2001.

Source: ESRI TIGER 2000, “Census Block Demographics, SF1.”

Source: U.C. Berkeley, Oakland Dataset, “Schools,” 2001.

Source: City of Oakland Crimeview, 2/1/2011-4/30/2011.

Source: City of Oakland Crimeview, 2/1/2011-4/30/2011.

Source: U.C. Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System, 2000-2008

Source: 2011 Zoning Update, City of Oakland Planning and Zoning Division.

Source: U.C. Berkeley, Oakland Dataset, “Freeways,” 2001.Source: U.C. Berkeley, Oakland Dataset, “Parks,” 2001.

Assumptions, uncertainty, and challengesParks buffer: By assigning all areas outside of the 300-foot boundary of a park a zero value, we are assuming that there are no plans for future park construction. Demographics: The demographics analysis is based on 2000 census data, now outdated. Recent 2010 census data was not available.Schools service area: Data used to determine proximity to schools did not account for type of school or number of students. BART Station service area: Our data does not include walking paths, such as routes through Laney College campus, which provide increased pedestrian access.I-880 buffer: The I-880 buffer did not rely on a rigorous scientific assessment accounting for noise and air pollution levels at variable distances from I-880. Such an assessment would have to account for wind direction, temperature, and historical data, which was beyond the scope of this analysis. Additionally, policies such as transportation demand management and congestion pricing could potentially improve air quality and decrease noise pollution near the freeway. Height areas: Our analysis assumes that zoning for the area is already in place. The 2011 Zoning Update for this planning area, however, is provisional. Final zoning classification is contingent on the outcome of the Lake Merritt planning process. Should this result in changes to the zoning code, our analysis will have to be updated. Bike/Pedestrian accidents: Bicycle and pedestrian accidents are significantly under-reported (studies indicate that on average 90% of non-serious bicycle accidents are not reported). The number of accidents over eight years is thus a more realistic estimate for the number of bicycle and pedestrian accidents annually.Crime: Crime data was only available for the more recent 90 days. Deeper historical data would provide a more reliable account of the presence of crime. Furthermore, our analysis does not account for the severity of crimes, which range from alcohol and drug possession to murder and aggravated assault. Data from U.C. Berkeley’s Oakland Dataset is from 2001, thus possibly outdated.

increased open space and public facilities, and participants specifically highlighted the desire for a new multi-purpose and inter-generational community center. This analysis considers a number of social, environmental, and security factors relevant to the future community center, in order to identify the most suitable site. It is important to identify a site at this time: while funding for the center is not currently available, there are significant development plans in progress, and a case must be made for the protection of valuable community assets from the outset, during the development of plan alternatives in Summer and Fall 2011.

Opportunity Sites

Crime (IDW)

A series of community workshops conducted in February and March 2011 identified a public consensus to add bicycle lanes to key streets within the Lake Merritt BART Plan study area. A community recreation center serving local and regional users will benefit from both the traffic-calming effects of street treatments made to accommodate bikes and the increased accessibility from being located on a bikeway.

Distance from bikeway Value<139 feet 2139-278 feet 1>278 feet 0

A community center will benefit from proximity to local schools. Given concerns about pedestrian safety, short walking times between the Center and schools is a valuable opportunity. This illustration shows the service area of each opportunity site, at distances of 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 feet. There were no schools within less than 500 feet of any opportunity site.

Value = Number of schools * 0.5Range: 0 to 2

Population under 18 or over 65 Value68-399 323-67 21-22 1

The Center will primarily serve children and the elderly, so the relative presence of these populations is a significant opportunity consideration in selecting a site. Within the planning area, census blocks had a range of 0 to 399 residents under 18 or over 65 years. These values were normalized to a scale from 0 to 3. This layer represents the relative presence of the target group.

Community members have expressed a desire for continuous park space, possibly a ‘green corridor’ or beltway park. Proximity to other parks is thus considered a significant opportunity. The buffer layer was created from an Oakland City Parks shapefile (2005). A buffer of 300 feet, about half a long block, was determined to be a manageable distance for creating continuous or insignificantly interrupted continuous park space, connecting across the street or within the same block.

Distance from park ValuePark 1<300 feet from park 1>300 feet from park 0

During community meetings, participants expressed a need for a community recreation center as the existing facility in the area is oversubscribed. A consensus was that such a facility be located with access to a BART station. Using a service area analysis will help identify optimal sites within a seven minute (1/4-mile) or 15-minute (1/2-mile) walking radius of a BART Station.

Distance from BART station Value<1/4 mile 21/2 - 1/4 mile 1>1/2 mile 0

Distance from highway Value>225 feet 0<225 feet -3

Several community members have expressed discomfort in areas near major thoroughfares, particularly I-880. Bad air quality and noise pollution around I-880 make sites close to the freeway undesirable for a recreation center. Pollution from traffic also leads to negative health and environmental impacts, and would negatively effect community gardens. We created a buffer around the freeway (I-880) and included the surrounding area up until 225 feet.

Height limit Value<6 stories 0 6-8 stories -2 9-15 stories -3

There are plans for new, high-density development in the planning area. For the community garden to flourish it will need sunlight. Areas where the buildings are low will be acceptable, but areas where zoning allows for high-rise buildings are not optimal for gardening. Seven height areas, based on stories, have been categoriezed into three height groups.

Residents have expressed significant concerns around traffic safety in the Lake Merritt area. Traffic safety issues could result in fewer cycling or walking trips than would be expected in an area with a compact street grid. Many of the community recreation center users will be local youth or senior citizens who will be dependent on a safe bicycle and pedestrian travel for access to the center.

Total collisions (2000-2008) ValueZero 0 One -1Two -2Three -3

Range: 0 - 6 accidents

Value = Number of crimes * 0.5Range: 0 to -3

Site 1 - Surface parking14th & 13th Street/Jackson & Alice StreetArea: 74,678 square feet

Site 2 - Vacant8th Street & I-880/Franklin Street & BroadwayArea: 68,640 square feet

Site 3 - Harrison Square7th Street & I-880/Alice & Harrison StreetArea: 75,245 square feet

Site 4 - Former BART Building9th Street & 8th Street/Oak & Madison StreetArea: 69,299 square feet

Site 5 - VacantInternational Blvd. & 12th Street/1st & 3rd AvenueArea: 70,208 square feet

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