A Whole Lane Devoted to Buses on Oakland, CA's Busiest Street

"Oakland’s busiest street — downtown Broadway between 11th and 20th streets — could be getting bus-only lanes by next summer, making bus trips an estimated 30 percent faster and 20 percent more on-time," reports Ali Tadayon.

After breaking that news, Tadayon immediately switches focus to a report that predicts the new lane will cause congestion on the corridor. "An analysis found that southbound traffic would be backed up one block at the intersections of 13th and 14th streets and three blocks at 17th street [from 5 to 6 pm] because of the loss of traffic lanes."

The Broadway section is part of the larger East Bay Bus Rapid Transit, under development by AC Transit. The entire bus rapid transit line will travel from San Leandro "up East 14th Street and International Boulevard to East 12th street, and onto Broadway, ending at 20th Street," according to Tadayon.

Oakland is preparing for its portion of the new BRT line by allocating $4 million to paint a red carpet for the bus on the particularly busy stretch of Broadway. "The City Council unanimously approved the plan Oct. 1, and directed city staff to use funds from Alameda County’s Measure BB to pay for it," reports Tadayon.