Plan for protected bike lanes along Oakland’s Grand Avenue raising red flags for businesses

Oakland is about to expand its network of bike lanes, and, business owners are once again raising concerns.

This time, the changes are prompting questions along the Grand Avenue corridor, just off Lake Merritt. The pushback already has the city making some adjustments.

“My staff, each one of them has been smash-and-grabbed four times,” Gerry Mogg at Modigliani Cafe said.

Mogg’s acclaimed sandwich shop boasts five-star reviews. The problem, he said, is right outside his front door.

And that, he believes, is why his customers will be reluctant to walk from surrounding streets or parking lots, if 32 spaces, or about 40% of the parking on Grand, is ost to the installation of new protected bike lanes. 

“People don’t want to be away from their cars,” Mogg told KPIX. “Now, if the area was policed properly, they wouldn’t mind.”

“So here is Cava,” said Elizabeth MacDonald of Grand Lake Veterinary Hospital, introducing a patient. “Cava is a longtime client.”

For MacDonald, it’s a concern about accessibility for longtime clients, or people carrying animals. And she said the corridor itself is vulnerable. 

“So, I think that it’s no secret that a lot of small businesses in the Bay Area, brick and mortar businesses, are struggling a little bit right now,” she explained.

“We need to be thinking about how to prevent death on our streets,” Bike Safety Advocate Ben Kaufman told city leaders in 2022. “And we’re not doing a good enough job right now.”

Oakland started rolling out a bike safety plan in 2019. Advocates said the protected lanes, like those on Telegraph Avenue, offer the most protection for cyclists and pedestrians. But these changes have a mixed reputation among business owners. And there has been pushback in neighborhoods across town.

“We are all for biking in the community,” Oscar Edwards said of his neighborhood in 2022. “But I just don’t think it’s a good thing for 14th Street.”

Now, the discussion has come to Grand Avenue. Traffic planners have altered the plan to reduce the parking impacts, but some said it is still too much. 

“If you lose parking, less people come,” Mogg worried.

Neighbors are trying to organize and get the city to alter the plans further. KPIX was unable to reach anyone with the city of Oakland, but a website for the project indicates that they will be gathering input from the community through this summer.

Wilson Walker

Wilson Walker joined KPIX 5 in July 2007. After 10 years producing newscasts, Wilson became a Multimedia Journalist (MMJ) in 2012, meaning he shoots, writes and edits all of his own stories.