Alameda mayor: City’s work to make roads safer for all users pays off

You may have noticed recent transportation and safety improvements on local streets, including the Central Avenue Safety Improvements Project, featuring Alameda’s first roundabouts and a protected two-way cycle track on Grand Street from Shoreline Drive to Otis Drive.

This new infrastructure provides safe travel routes for hundreds of Alameda schoolchildren. This is important because 40% of Alameda students walk or ride their bikes to school every day, which supports good health and the city’s climate action goals by reducing automobile traffic and greenhouse gases.

These projects, as well as improvements to the Cross Alameda Trail, are among the reasons that the League of American Bicyclists recently named Alameda a gold-level “Bicycle Friendly Community,” a distinction that just 32 cities hold across the country. Credit for this honor goes to our hardworking city staff, the City Council for approving bike-friendly policies and projects and our residents who made their voices heard, guided by advocacy groups like Bike Walk Alameda and Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA).

2025 also saw construction of our first Neighborhood Greenway, on Pacific Avenue, where those (sometimes controversial) “Slow Street” barricades were replaced with traffic circles and speed humps to slow traffic. Our other “unofficial” traffic calming devices are those roving bands of wild turkeys you may have encountered, but they’re harder to regulate.

Not just schoolchildren need safe streets. An American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) report published last May found that “Walking is critically important for older adults to stay physically active, maintain social relationships and effectively age in place within their communities. But road traffic poses a major obstacle to walking safely in U.S. neighborhoods.

“Among older adults, pedestrian fatalities may be linked to the effects of aging on the body, which can increase the risk of serious injury or death for those involved in a crash, compared with the risk for younger people. For some, declining cognitive and motor skills, a need for additional time to cross the street or the use of assistive devices such as canes, walkers or wheelchairs may also increase the likelihood of older pedestrians being involved in a fatal crash.”

The AARP report identified vehicle speed and street and sidewalk design, particularly at intersections, as key factors contributing to fatalities among older pedestrians. This is why the city of Alameda is working to make our streets safer for all users — of all ages and abilities.

County jurors wanted: As I write this month’s article, the news of overseas military incursions is alarming. Watching events unfold, it is easy to feel helpless and, perhaps, want to “tune out.” I would argue that this is precisely the time to “lean in” and be an active participant in your government. If this thought intrigues you, keep reading.

The Alameda Superior Court is seeking “civic-minded county residents to serve on the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury” for its 2026-27 session. The civil grand jury is a “public watchdog” comprised of 19 citizens working as an arm of the Superior Court and authorized to investigate citizen complaints and to investigate local government to ensure that government agencies are working in the best interests of the public.

For example, the grand jury can determine whether public monies are being spent wisely and appropriately; ensure local government agencies conduct their business in an open, transparent manner; inquire into the conditions of jails, detention centers and hospitals; and inquire into charges that a public official or employee engaged in willful misconduct while in office.

Previous Alameda County grand juries have investigated the Alameda County foster care system and conditions at the Alameda County jail. The 2018–19 grand jury investigated interference by members of the Alameda City Council with the city manager’s hiring of a new fire chief.

“Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret, and complaints made to the grand jury are kept confidential, as are the identities of complainants and witnesses who testify in front of the grand jury,” according to Alameda Superior Court correspondence on Feb. 20. “This secrecy allows complainants, including whistle-blowers, and witnesses to have confidence that their identities will not be revealed. Grand jurors who are selected for service take an oath of secrecy for life.”

Required qualifications are U.S. citizenship, residence in Alameda County for at least a year, an age of at least 18 and sufficient knowledge of the English language. More information is available online at grandjury.acgov.org/join-us, where you can also complete an application. Applications to serve on the 2026-27 grand jury must be received by April 1. For questions, contact Cassie Barner at Cassie.Barner@acgov.org or 510-208-9855.

Travel safer on Alameda streets! Exercise your civic muscle! Stay “Alameda Strong!”

Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is the mayor of Alameda. For contact information and other details, visit bit.ly/mayorashcraft online.