![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261021_205458894.MP_.jpg\")
Bike East Bay\u2019s Robert Prinz, BART\u2019s Victor Flores, Councilperson Carroll Fife, OakDOT\u2019s Josh Rowan, and Councilperson Charlene Wang cutting the ribbon. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\nOakland officials cut the ribbon Wednesday afternoon on new protected bike lanes connecting the 19th Street BART station to Lake Merritt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve almost been hit in unprotected bike lanes,\u201d said Victor Flores, District 7 BART Board Director, at an event held a block from the station. He pointed to the new infrastructure on 20th. \u201cThis is much safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bike East Bay\u2019s Robert Prinz, BART\u2019s Victor Flores, Councilperson Carroll Fife, OakDOT\u2019s Josh Rowan, and Councilperson Charlene Wang cutting the ribbon. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\n
\u201cStreets are more than a way to get from one place to another. They connect people to transit, local businesses, public spaces and other people. This project makes those connections safer and more comfortable by giving people more space to walk, adding protected bike lanes, and improving access to transit,\u201d said Josh Rowan, Director of OakDOT, in a statement. \u201cThis is how we build a transportation network that works for everyone, no matter how they get around.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261021_210331240.jpg\")
Where the new lane meets the 20th Street entrance to the 19th Street BART station. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\n
The project, which ties into the Harrison Street two-way protected bikeway along the west side of Lake Merritt, was a complicated, multi-tiered endeavor. \u201cIt\u2019s short, but it connects BART and the AC Transit hub to the lake,\u201d said Bike East Bay\u2019s Robert Prinz, who also spoke at the event. \u201cBike East Bay first wrote a letter in 2016 to get funding for this project.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, as Prinz and Rowan explained, everything turned out to be more complicated than anticipated. Under the streets, they found old trolley tracks with creosote-soaked railway ties. They also found old basements. \u201cAnd we found utilities nobody knew existed,\u201d said Rowan. \u201cThis was no easy project.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortunately, now that it\u2019s done, the street feels safer, with wider sidewalks, fewer car lanes, concrete curb-protected bike lanes, and plantings in the median. From an Oakland DOT release<\/a>:<\/p>\n The project introduces a range of improvements including:<\/p>\n Better access to BART: An enhanced passenger drop-off area and an accessible loading zone<\/p>\n Wider sidewalks and landscaping: Expanded pedestrian space at key bottlenecks makes walking along the corridor more comfortable<\/p>\n Safer pedestrian crossings: High-visibility crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, concrete sidewalk extensions, pedestrian refuge islands and improved signage help people cross streets more safely<\/p>\n Protected bike lanes: Bicycle lanes separated from vehicle traffic by raised concrete islands and parking lanes provide a more comfortable route for people biking<\/p>\n Improved lighting and signals: LED street lighting and traffic signal upgrades, including audible pedestrian push buttons, improve visibility and help people navigate the corridor, including at night<\/p>\n Better wayfinding: New signs provide clearer direction and help pedestrians navigate the area better<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the project also underscores the need for more robust concrete installations that physically stop cars. Right next to where the presser was held, a \u201csoft hit\u201d post was already blasted off by an errant driver.<\/p>\n The concrete curbs also still need parking enforcement, as this driver demonstrated when he parked in an exposed section of the bike lane for \u201cjust a minute<\/a>\u201d and walked over to a mailbox during the event:<\/p>\n That said, protected bike lanes with concrete curbs, lane reductions\u2014this is what can start to make a real improvement on safety.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw two children who lost their father not far from here to a reckless driver<\/a>,\u201d said District 3 Councilperson Carroll Fife, interrupted by a nearby driver blasting a horn and screaming expletives out the window at another motorist. \u201cWhen you have concrete, that\u2019s what makes the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n A few more photos below:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.oaklandca.gov\/files\/assets\/city\/v\/1\/transportation\/images\/projects\/19th-street-bart-to-lake-merritt-urban-greenway-locationmap.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA cyclist traveling east towards Lake Merritt. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\nMore evidence that plastic posts *just* *don\u2019t* *work* Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\nThis driver was apparently incapable of parking legally<\/a>. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\nTraffic Violence Rapid Response\u2019s Bryan Culbertson was also at the event. Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\nThe stairway at the end of the protected bike lane screams for a wheel runnel<\/a>. Photo: Streetsblog\/Rudick<\/p>\n