Crime in Rockridge

A member of Rockridge Residents, the somewhat more affluent neighborhood to the northeast, did an analysis on crime in their hood. Here is the report: "Oh. My. God. Rockridge OPD crime reports are at a 2.5 year high, and that’s only because I only went as far back as 10/31/05. 2008 Crime reports are running over double the '06 & '07 average."

In HarriOak the numbers are not so bad as community organizing efforts by the Darries Project, Harpo and others are paying off, after a scary few months at the beginning of 2007. Please consider helping out these organizations as the situation throughout Oakland remains pretty tenuous, thanks to lack of action by the mayor and city council.

Report from the Bicycle Committee

The good people over at BPAC, the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, continue to fight for improvements to Oakland's distinctly unfriendly streets. Ron Bishop, one of the stalwart advocates for a more livable city, sent over a report from the meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21.

The committee discussed several options for improving the area around Whole Foods (27th Street and Bay Place). One is to have a 7' parking and 7' bike lane with the parking Ts extending into the bike lane as a warning to cyclists not to ride in the door zone. The second is to have 9' parking and a 5' bike lane. The third is to use sharrows, or shared-lane pavement markings. (For a positive article on sharrows in Portland see here.)

What solution to support? Bishop points out that the 9' parking could become a magnet for larger vehicles.

The committee also discussed the transition from the bike lane on Bay Place to no bike lane on 27th at the slip turn area. There are no provisions in the current budget to modify the island.

Dead ending 24th St and removing the slip turn at 27th and Harrison were dismissed because of budget priorities. The intersection at Broadway has a similar problem as the pork chop does not allow for a bike lane.

Bishop flagged the problem of the lack of a turn lane from the Westlake Middle School onto 27th Street -- a serious problem that the city has yet to deal with after more than a year of talks! "They seemed unaware," Bishop said.

IMAGE BY Robert Kurtz

Couples Relay on Feb. 24, Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders

The Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders are holding their 30th Couples Relay on February 24. Each person will run 5K around Lake Merritt. There is a pre-registration fee of $16 for members of LMJS and $22 for non-members. Registration on race day is $28 at the Sailboat House, 568 Bellevue Avenue, starting at 8 a.m. Register online here.
For more info call 510-339-2430 or email lgoldman at pacbell dot net.

Bay-Friendly Gardening

A new round of gardening workshops is being offered by the Bay Friendly Gardening Folks. You can register at their Web site BayFriendly.org

Here's an abbreviated schedule:


Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bay Friendly Gardening Basics: An overview of design and maintenance practices
Location: StopWaste.org at 1537 Webster Street, Oakland

Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Gardening from the Ground Up (about healthy soil)
Location: Bay-friendly demonstration garden at Lakeside Park, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland

Go Native. Attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects.
Location: Marin Elementary School, 1001 Santa Fe Ave., Albany

Saturday, April 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
High-performing plans for low-water gardens: Discover the best-suited drought tolerant native plans.
Location: StopWaste.org at 1537 Webster Street, Oakland

Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Design a Bay-Friendly Garden (Gardening basics is a prerequisite and there is a $15 fee.)
Location: StopWaste.org at 1537 Webster Street, Oakland