In Oakland, the shoreline of San Francisco Bay extends 19 miles, from the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge to the San Leandro Bay. At its northern end, the Port of Oakland’s marine terminals dominate the shoreline. At the southern end is the Oakland International Airport. Between the seaport and the airport is the nine-mile Estuary shoreline.

The Oakland Estuary is one of California’s most diverse shores, encompassing a variety of physical environments and settings, each with its own distinct quality and character. The estuary is a community resource that binds together the shorelines of Oakland and Alameda. Its linear form is contained, providing an environment that is intimate in scale and character.

In recent years, the citizens of Oakland have increasingly expressed a desire for improved waterfront public access and the use of the waterfront to enhance the City’s civic image and identity recognizing the incredible opportunity to transform the estuary into a recreational treasure by creating a continuous Bay Trail alignment from Jack London Square to the Oakland International Airport for jogging, biking and walking along the waterfront.

In 1996, the Port and the City of Oakland embarked on a co-operative effort to develop a plan focused specifically on the Estuary shoreline. The Plan was adopted by the City Council as an element of the City’s General Plan in June 1999.

A multi-disciplinary consultant team was selected by the City to prepare a detailed feasibility study, design for public access and other open space opportunities along the Oakland Waterfront with an emphasis on trying to locate the current Bay Trail alignment along the shoreline between Adeline Street and 66th Avenue.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE
The waterfront promenade feasibility study and design standards will provide a co-ordinated vision and detailed plan for the development of the Oakland Estuary and Bay Trail alignment through Oakland to its full potential as a recreational corridor into Oakland’s urban waterfront. The project team will work with a technical advisory committee and design a planning process that will include several opportunities for community participation and input.