Wood street is bad. It has many pot holes and tracks that are dangerous.

Very glad someone submitted this. I fell off my bike in this very area and fractured my elbow.

This road is the easiest route directly to Emeryville from West Oakland on Wood Street. It's very unclear which side of the road you are driving on and the pot holes and old train tracks are ruining my car.

City of Oakland Public Works Agency addressed this issue on 08/24/2013, service request # 463372.

The road is still bad. Pot holes, train tracks that don't need to be there anymore and a telephone pole in the middle of the road.

The City of Oakland Public Works Agency has received this issue. It is registered as service request # 477200. Please check back for status updates or contact us directly at (510) 615-5566.

I'll second the reopening of this ticket: this problem has not been addressed at all. Wood Street between 17th Street to the Emeryville border is unsafe for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. The road surface is uneven, utility poles spring out of the middle of intersections, abandoned train tracks force northbound traffic into the southbound lane, sidewalks are littered with debris and homeless encampments at best—non-existent at worst. I could go on and on. As more and more people move into West Oakland, these problems are affecting more and more residents.

Perhaps some of this money could be used to improve Wood:

August 22, 2013
Oakland Transportation Grants Win Big $20 Million in Federal Funds Will Improve City Streets
Oakland, CA – The City of Oakland was recently awarded over $20 million in federal transportation funds to improve streets throughout the City. These grant awards represent 37 percent of the $54 million in One Bay Area Grant program funds awarded in Alameda County.
“Oakland is on the rise, with our economy and our population both projecting steady growth over the next few years. That means more people walking our beautiful city, more people biking to work and more cars on the road. These grants will help us improve our transportation infrastructure to accommodate those new residents and businesses,” Mayor Jean Quan said.
Under the One Bay Area Grant program, regional funding authorities are aligning transportation funds to projects that support projected infill development in areas formally designated for priority development. Oakland received funds for projects located in three priority development areas: Downtown, West Oakland and the Lake Merritt BART Station area. These areas are expected to support additional housing and job growth in the coming years, and will require infrastructure upgrades and transportation project development in order to accommodate that growth. The projects will improve bicycle and pedestrian access to transit, encourage infill development, and maintain roadway and transit-supportive infrastructure, such as pavement. The overall goals of the grant program are to maintain existing infrastructure while investing in projects that decrease air pollution in the region.
Oakland is receiving funding for five projects:
Lakeside Green Street Project ($7 M): Continuing Oakland’s successful efforts to improve Lake Merritt, Oakland will reconstruct 20th Street, Harrison Street and Lakeside Drive at Snow Park to calm traffic, improve bicycle and pedestrian access to and around the lake and increase usable park space.
Peralta Street/Martin Luther King Jr. Streetscape Project ($5.45 M): These two West Oakland neighborhood streets will receive new bike lanes, sidewalks, enhanced crosswalks, pedestrian bulb-outs and improved transit stops. On MLK, the number of traffic lanes will be reduced. This “road diet” is intended to calm traffic and make the street more hospitable for pedestrians and cyclists without impacting motor vehicle traffic flow. These streets are near both the West Oakland and MacArthur BART stations.

I'll third the reopening of this ticket - this is a well traveled road from Emeryville to the West Oakland residential area west of Mandela, and between the potholes caused by the retained abandoned rail tracks and non-maintained streets (note the one near 32nd and Wood that can eat a Fiat), this is a serious accident waiting to happen, primarily between Grand to 34th St. on Wood.

Eileen, please note that the One Bay Area grant funding is directed toward specific projects only, as you noted, so Wood Street would not be eligible for this funding source. However, the Alameda Countywide Measure B 1/2 cent sales tax increase will likely be back on the ballot within the next few years which, if passed, would make it somewhat more likely for streets like Wood to be fixed.

I wouldn't hold my breath on this one, though, as train track removal and repaving of streets this bad is hugely expensive, and since Wood is not in the city's bike master plan it won't be prioritized for safety improvements aimed toward cyclists. It will more likely be improved piecemeal as new buildings go in and the developers cover the cost of fixing the street around their properties.

Absolutely correct on all points, and let's face it: this was me writing a few sentences on the Internet, not taking time out of my day every other week to voice my opinion at city council. I'm not under any delusion that this action will directly cause road surface renewal on Wood, but at the same time, if the City of Oakland is going to use this as an official channel for really-easy-to-use engagement (and it is! This is a great tool), I want it on record that the city is triaging it and deferring action to...never.

This is still easily the segment of municipal road in the worst/most dangerous road surface in the city I've seen (Broadway by 51st wins, if you're taking into account actual usage), and as mentioned, with an increase in population, it's almost a certainty that someone will eventually get seriously hurt on account of the road surface, and sue the city (regardless of outcome).

Agreed that this is a MAJOR safety issue...cars constantly drive on the "wrong" side of the street, since it is unsafe to drive on the tracks.

The street can be resurfaced, but the railroad tracks mark a legal right-of-way and cannot be removed without affecting the right-of-way, which the owner may not wish to give up.

My office is at Wood and 26th. We sit in our offices and here the sounds of trucks and cars driving over the exposed railroad tracks and we wait for the pop and the hiss of a flat tire. We hear at least 3-5 every day. The problem is worse because the pot holes have gotten bigger every year, they are like sink holes now. We've also had to administer first aid to cyclists who have fallen and crashed with broken wrists, shoulders and arms. One of these days someone will fall and hit their head!

Dangerous road!!!

Thanks for the multiple reports (over the years!) Due to the danger to cyclists, this issue is being submitted to Oakland as a "TOP 10" for immediate attention under an agreement with the Bike East Bay Hazard Elimination program. The railroad tracks and overall repaving of Wood St are beyond the scope of the pothole repair program, hopefully this will get the most hazardous ones addressed.

It is likely that the railroad tracks are there to mark a right-of-way that the owner does not want to give up. Perhaps an agreement can be reached between the City of Oakland and the owner of the right-of-way, allowing the owner to keep the right-of-way without the tracks having to be there to mark it? Then the tracks could be removed and the street leveled and repaved, and marked for traffic (including bike traffic) so that it is safe.

I attended a WOCA (West Oakland Commerce Association meeting last week. Councilwoman McElhaney, Public Works, Reps from Senator Hancock and Assemblymember Bonta's offices were present along with 6 OPD officers and their supervisor. It was standing room only with local businesses and concerned neighbors and citizens. Of course the only people NOT present was the railroad company. The city is making efforts to address the railroad spurs, potholes, homelessness and graffiti. City representatives promised they would organize a walk through on Wood St. They know this is the hot spot . . . wait some more and see what happens. WOCA meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 2525 Mandela Pkwy at SF Enterprises.

City of Oakland Public Works Department addressed this issue on 11/04/2015, service request # 477200.