Pop-Ups, Quick Builds, and Direct Actions
Moving quickly to effect change after severe injuries and fatal crashes
By Robert Prinz
From our pop-up protected bikeway on Oakland’s Telegraph Ave in 2014 to our most recent San Leandro cycletrack pop-ups, our advocacy program has been helping people envision and tangibly experience for just one day what a bikeway upgrade could look like in their community, via installations using temporary materials.
The ability to act quickly and effect change has also been a priority in response to severe injury or fatal crashes on our streets. We interviewed two Oakland groups working on these responses: the community Rapid Revolt group dedicated to memorializing and raising awareness of these incidents, and the Department of Transportation’s Rapid Response team which delivers quick-build mitigations at crash sites.
How was your program/group first organized?
Rapid Revolt: A vigil effort was going on in SF through Safe Street Rebel. We were also inspired by Black Panther traffic safety actions in the 1960s, and protests in the Netherlands that kicked off the safe streets movement there. A bicycle collision happened at an intersection we travel almost every day, so we took things learned by participating in Safe Street Rebel and did an Oakland version of that.
OakDOT Rapid Response: About three years into the formation of the new Department of Transportation (OakDOT), the department launched a Rapid Response program focused on immediate action following roadway fatalities and serious injuries as it became an obvious need to complement the department’s overall strategic approach. OakDOT seeks to build trust and demonstrate empathy and sense of responsibility to the community we serve in times of tragedy.
What is the process to organizing a response, after a crash?
Rapid Revolt: The hardest part is knowing that it happened. We use group chats, Twitter, Slack, and Signal to collect info and organize. Then we put out flyers to notify people in the area.
Rapid Response: When a fatal crash occurs, OakDOT is notified by OPD with preliminary crash information, then coordinates a call soon after to learn about the crash circumstances based on the OPD investigation. Based on the information available, OakDOT advances the implementation of identified near-term engineering improvements, coordinates improvements with current projects, or identifies a future capital project.
What has the response been from the public to your activities?
Rapid Revolt: We were going to stand on the corner and hold out a couple signs and that was going to be it. But a lot of people in the community have been coming out and made sure this wasn’t just a one time thing. They all have their own stories of crashes and close calls to tell us, and ideas about how to fix it.
Rapid Response: These responses are reactions to tragic loss of life on our city’s streets. Public reaction has been generally positive where we have been able to implement improvements, though OakDOT knows and the community clearly communicates to us that there is so much more we need to do to ensure safe streets. OakDOT recognizes a clear demand to pair our rapid response work with preventative safety efforts as well.
What outcomes does your program/group hope to achieve via this work?
Rapid Revolt: Walking around the neighborhood should be a pleasant experience, but for many people the street in front of their house is a moat that they won’t cross. Holistic community safety involves knowing and talking to our neighbors, and this happens more when traffic speeds go down.
Rapid Response: Eliminating traffic deaths will require much more than rapid responses — including coordination across government agencies and community partners — which is why we launched the Safe Oakland Streets initiative last year in partnership with the City Administrator’s Office, OPD and the City’s Department of Race and Equity.
What recommendations do you have for others thinking about organizing in their community?
Rapid Revolt: No action is too small, and there are many reasons to do an action. If it’s just you and a friend standing on a street corner with a sign, you will talk to neighbors and get honks from supportive drivers. Someone’s life was remembered and people got to talk about it, and that was needed.
Rapid Response: We would recommend starting with the resources available and using the approach to build partnerships and increase capacity to prioritize resources to save lives.
Follow them each on Twitter and Instagram: @OakDOT and @RapidRevolt
