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Record of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works & Transportation Committee Summary - February 24, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, February 24, 2026

BodyOakland, California

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, February 24, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:14:00

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:14

We're waiting for one more council member to join us so we can have quorum.

1:50

Um, yeah.

2:23

Okay.

2:30

Okay.

4:33

And this meeting has come to order.

4:34

Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker's card for items on this agenda.

4:40

If you're here with us in chambers, you would like to submit a speaker's card, please fill one out and turn it to a clerk representative.

4:45

My left here right before the item is read into record.

4:48

Online speaker requests were due 24 hours prior to this meeting, making it time yesterday at 11 30.

4:45

The meeting came to order at 11 34.

4:56

Speaker cards were no longer be accepted 10 minutes after the meeting has begun, making it time 11 44.

5:01

With that, we now proceed to take roll.

5:03

Councilmember Gaio.

5:04

So thank you, Councilmember Houston.

5:07

Present.

5:08

And Councilmember Wong.

5:10

Present.

5:11

Deferring to the parliamentarian.

5:12

Thank you.

5:15

Councilmember Wong, I believe that you're participating remotely.

5:18

If you could just state the general circumstances for your remote participation, and then also specify whether there's any adult in the room with you, and if so, the nature of their relationship to you.

5:32

Yes, um, I am recovering from a cold, and there is no adult in the room with me.

5:38

Thank you.

5:39

Councilmember Wong is present, and Chair Unger.

5:42

Present.

5:43

We have four members present.

5:44

And Chair Unger, before we begin, do you have any announcements for us today?

5:49

No announcements.

5:50

Thank you.

5:51

Moving to our first item of the day.

5:53

Approval of the draft minutes for the committee meeting held on February 10, 2026.

5:58

And you do not have any figures for this item.

6:02

We have a motion made by Councilmember Gallo, seconded by Councilmember Houston, to accept the draft minutes of the committee meeting held on February 10th, 2026 as is on the roll.

6:13

Councilmember Gaio.

6:14

Councilmember Houston.

6:16

Aye.

6:16

Thank you, Councilmember Wong.

6:18

Aye.

6:19

Thank you.

6:20

And Chair Unger.

6:21

Aye.

6:22

This is with four eyes to accept the draft minutes of the committee meeting on February 10th, 2026, as is moving to item two.

6:29

Determination termination, excuse me, of a schedule of outstanding committee items.

6:33

This is also known as your pending list.

6:35

And you do have one speaker for this item.

6:38

Okay, any amendments from colleagues or staff on the pending list?

6:43

All right, let's hear from our speakers, please.

6:54

Um, there needs to be a report on why where white lines are supposed to be put down but with paint.

7:03

They're putting tape on the ground.

7:05

So outside here, instead of the white lines being painted, they have tape.

7:11

And what has happened is the tape has started to come up, and any engaging person can just step up and just rip the tape off, and we no longer have access for crossing all where cars know where to stop.

7:26

I don't know why we don't have white paint outside.

7:30

Not only that, where I live on Keller and throughout the city, white uh painted areas for the dividing of the streets are non-existent.

7:40

And what is happening that we haven't been able to replace the white lines?

7:45

Uh, but over here, you need to fix that right away because something's gonna happen, and I know somebody's gonna pull that tape up.

7:53

Um, you need a report on uh ticketing of stolen vehicles.

7:58

Uh that's something that should have been taken care of.

8:01

You need to have a report of how the city stores once illegal dumping is uh hazardous waste materials.

8:09

Uh you need to have a report on the use of parks and recs.

8:14

We have some uh park areas that are completely not being used.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████████████████████████39%

Homelessness███████████████████19%

Contracting And Procurement██████████10%

Procedural███████7%

Transportation Safety████4%

Active Transportation████4%

Fiscal Sustainability███3%

Affordable Housing███3%

Economic Development███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works & Transportation Committee Meeting Summary - February 24, 2026

The Public Works and Transportation Committee of the Oakland City Council met on February 24, 2026, at 11:34 a.m. to consider six agenda items. Four members were present (Gaio, Houston, Wong, Unger). The committee approved minutes from February 10, adopted the pending list, moved several resolutions forward to the March 3 City Council meeting, and continued one item to March 10 due to unresolved concerns about encampment management.

Consent Calendar

Unanimously approved the draft minutes of the February 10, 2026 committee meeting (4-0).
Unanimously accepted the schedule of outstanding committee items (pending list) as presented, with a public comment from a speaker (4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

Item 2: Ms. Asada requested reports on white line markings (tape vs. paint), stolen vehicle ticketing, illegal dumping storage, park usage (specifically Buck Halter Park), protected bike lanes, and turf installation by Oakland School of the Arts.
Item 3: Ms. Asada argued the item was incomplete, questioned the race equity statement, and urged the city to require Caltrans to handle encampments on its property.
Item 4: Ms. Asada questioned the equity statement, noting that the new homes (listed on Zillow at $1.82M to $2.1M) would not benefit low-income or disabled seniors.
Item 5: Kevin Dolly (Transport Oakland) requested an ADA review for the Adeline Street Bridge; Ms. Asada asked about contingency plans for freight movement during construction, seismic collapse risk, and alternate routes. He also criticized delays on the police administrative building.
Item 6: Kevin Dolly cited six years of advocacy for pedestrian/cyclist improvements; he noted that bike lanes dead-end and crosswalks do not meet current OakDOT guidelines. Ms. Asada questioned the funding source, soil contamination remediation, and why this project was prioritized over others.
Open Forum: Ms. Asada urged the encampment abatement policy to move forward with solid recommendations. Councilmember Houston responded that the policy is coming soon after coordination with the mayor, city attorney, and city administrator.

Discussion Items

Item 3: Resolution for Caltrans Maintenance Agreement Amendment (Oakland Alameda Access Project) – Staff presented the amendment for reimbursement of city maintenance on a new pedestrian/bike path and encampment removal. Councilmember Wong (district member) moved to continue to March 10, citing lack of a clear plan for 20–30 people under a freeway, limited shelter beds, and insufficient Caltrans partnership. Councilmember Gaio expressed frustration with Caltrans’ larger budget and the city’s inability to maintain its own property. Councilmember Houston agreed, noting Caltrans has more resources. The motion passed 4-0 with a request for a supplemental report showing numbers, timelines, and Caltrans’ commitments on encampments.
Item 4: Resolution for Howe Street Public Improvements – Staff reported the developer completed curb, gutter, sidewalk, paving, and sewer upgrades. The $200,000 bond would be released, retaining $32,000 for a two-year maintenance guarantee. Councilmember Gaio moved approval. A speaker questioned affordability; staff noted the public infrastructure improvements save the city capital and maintenance dollars elsewhere. Approved 4-0, forwarded to council on consent.
Item 5: Resolutions for Adeline Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit – Staff presented a $3.33M construction contract (lowest bidder, $572K below next bid), design amendment ($200K), and inspection services ($200K). The project is federally funded (88.53% federal, 11.47% local match). The low bidder’s 9% mobilization (exceeding 5% cap) was waived as minor. Councilmember Gaio moved approval. Discussion included change-order limits (25% triggers council return). Approved 4-0, forwarded to council on consent.
Item 6: Resolution for 42nd Avenue and High Street Access Improvement – Staff requested up to $975,659 to acquire property rights from Home Depot (permanent parcel, temporary easement, access control, water pump compensation). Councilmember Gaio noted the project’s long history and importance for retaining Home Depot and supporting nearby development. Councilmember Wong questioned giving a million dollars to a large corporation; staff explained two-thirds covers a temporary water pump to address liability during construction. Approved 4-0, forwarded to council on consent.

Key Outcomes

Item 3 continued to March 10, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee meeting; staff to provide a supplemental report clarifying Caltrans’ role, reimbursement numbers, timelines, and encampment handling.
Items 4, 5, and 6 approved and forwarded to the March 3, 2026 City Council meeting on the consent calendar.
Minutes and pending list approved as presented.

Meeting Transcript

We're waiting for one more council member to join us so we can have quorum. Um, yeah. Okay. Okay. And this meeting has come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker's card for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chambers, you would like to submit a speaker's card, please fill one out and turn it to a clerk representative. My left here right before the item is read into record. Online speaker requests were due 24 hours prior to this meeting, making it time yesterday at 11 30. The meeting came to order at 11 34. Speaker cards were no longer be accepted 10 minutes after the meeting has begun, making it time 11 44. With that, we now proceed to take roll. Councilmember Gaio. So thank you, Councilmember Houston. Present. And Councilmember Wong. Present. Deferring to the parliamentarian. Thank you. Councilmember Wong, I believe that you're participating remotely. If you could just state the general circumstances for your remote participation, and then also specify whether there's any adult in the room with you, and if so, the nature of their relationship to you. Yes, um, I am recovering from a cold, and there is no adult in the room with me. Thank you. Councilmember Wong is present, and Chair Unger. Present. We have four members present. And Chair Unger, before we begin, do you have any announcements for us today? No announcements. Thank you. Moving to our first item of the day. Approval of the draft minutes for the committee meeting held on February 10, 2026. And you do not have any figures for this item. We have a motion made by Councilmember Gallo, seconded by Councilmember Houston, to accept the draft minutes of the committee meeting held on February 10th, 2026 as is on the roll. Councilmember Gaio. Councilmember Houston. Aye. Thank you, Councilmember Wong. Aye. Thank you. And Chair Unger. Aye. This is with four eyes to accept the draft minutes of the committee meeting on February 10th, 2026, as is moving to item two. Determination termination, excuse me, of a schedule of outstanding committee items. This is also known as your pending list. And you do have one speaker for this item. Okay, any amendments from colleagues or staff on the pending list? All right, let's hear from our speakers, please. Um, there needs to be a report on why where white lines are supposed to be put down but with paint. They're putting tape on the ground. So outside here, instead of the white lines being painted, they have tape.

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