Thanks for reporting this, and I agree wholeheartedly that murals or some other artistic treatment would make the freeway underpasses less dangerous and more inviting for bicyclists and pedestrians alike. Underpasses are usually difficult to address, though, as they are managed by the state organization Caltrans and not the City of Oakland, and Caltrans is a notoriously slow and complicated organization to work with on improvements like this.

For instance, the artist who is responsible for the artwork on the underpass of 52nd Street west of Shattuck has also raised money to paint a mural on the underpass of Shattuck Ave south of 55th Street. However, even though the funding has already been secured and the mural has community support, Caltrans has stalled on giving the artist permission to paint simply because of "maintenance" concerns.

The particular underpass you referenced on Telegraph will have the curbside parking removed to make space for bike lanes in early 2015, although those bike lanes won't be extended further south until a later phase of the Telegraph Ave bikeway project. This later phase seems like a good time to address the issues with the underpasses and get enough support from the community and the city to actually do something about it, at the same time as a number of other projects are installed. To learn more and be notified of upcoming opportunities regarding the Telegraph Ave project you can visit https://bikeeastbay.org/campaigns/telegraph.

City of Oakland Public Works Department referred this issue to service request # 557933.Please contact that department to follow-up, see “Other Helpful Links” at:
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/Connect/ReportaProblem/index.htm#Links.

Here are some important City of Oakland contact points:

Abandoned Autos: (510) 777-8622 (abandoned vehicles on the public street after 3 days)

Animal Control (510) 535-5602 (live animals); (510) 535-4888 (dead animals)

Code Enforcement: (510) 238-3381 (blighted private properties, deteriorated buildings, inoperable vehicles on private property)

Drug Hotline: (510) 238-3784 (tips); (510) 777-3211 (in progress)

Parking Citations (800) 500-6484 (parking citation assistance center, pay or appeal a citation); (510) 238-3099 (enforcement)

Prostitution Hotline: (510) 238-2373 (tips); (510) 777-3211 (in progress)

Thank you.

Thank you Robert, and City of Oakland. Robert's response got me laughing, realizing just how naive a "fix" I had suggested. Blank white walls, what could possibly go wrong? Murals though would indeed be great.