Oak to Ninth Avenue

The University of California Berkeley Health Impact Group conducted an HIA on the ‘Oak to Ninth’ waterfront development project. The proposed project includes residential units, commercial space, parking facilities, public open space, renovated marinas and a wetlands restoration area on approximately 64 acres of waterfront property owned by the Port of Oakland. The HIA focused on several health factors including parks and natural spaces, pedestrian injuries, healthy housing and social integration, and air quality. The HIA found that although the project will result in a new residential neighborhood rich in park resources, elements of the project and existing physical barriers may limit the potential health benefits of the project to greater Oakland residents. The HIA also found that future residents of the Oak to Ninth area may be at risk for chronic and acute respiratory diseases due to proximity to the I-880 freeway. The HIA made several recommendations, including that the City of Oakland convene an independently facilitated multi-stakeholder consensus process to address unresolved controversies associated with the Oak to Ninth Development and implementing a traffic calming program in adjacent residential neighborhoods to include vehicle lane narrowing, raised crosswalks, raised intersections, and traffic circles to mitigate the risk of pedestrian injuries.