International Boulevard (Oakland, California)

Last updated
International Boulevard
Component
highways
California 185.svg SR 185 from Durant Ave to 42nd Ave
South endCalifornia 185.svg SR 185 E. 14th Street at Durant Avenue
Major
junctions
California 185.svg SR 185 (42nd Avenue)
North endFirst Avenue

International Boulevard (in Oakland), East 14th Street (in San Leandro), and Mission Boulevard (in Hayward, Union City, and Fremont) is a major road in Alameda County, California, United States. The section now known as International Boulevard was also named East 14th Street until 1996, owing to its position in the East Oakland grid plan; though fully deprecated within the city of Oakland today, this name is still commonly used, especially in casual speech. (East 14th Street is the only correct name in the city of San Leandro to this day.) Mission Boulevard is so named as number 43300 is the location of Mission San José.

Contents

South of 42nd Avenue and the end of California State Route 77 (CA-77, SR 77, or "Highway 77"), the street is signed as CA-185; after the junction with CA-92 (which carries the San Mateo Bridge) in Hayward, it is signed as part of CA-238; between I-680 and I-880, it is signed as the relatively obscure CA-262. The Oakland portion features median strip boarding platforms to accommodate the AC Transit Tempo bus rapid transit line.

International Boulevard, East 14th Street, and Mission Boulevard are each among the longest continuously-named streets in the Bay Area individually. The numbers along the International Boulevard are notable in that they are continuous, growing with no large gaps from 102 International Boulevard (at 1st Avenue, one block from Lake Merritt), to 10970 International Boulevard (at the intersection with Durant Avenue on the Oakland/San Leandro border).

In 1996, the city of Oakland renamed its portion of East 14th Street as International Boulevard to acknowledge the cultural diversity of the route, and to address the stigma of the segment being seen as a high-crime area. [1] Fruitvale, a neighborhood of Oakland with a large Hispanic population, is centered on International Boulevard's intersections with Fruitvale and 35th Avenues, and has seen considerable economic growth in recent years. Immediately northwest of Fruitvale are many businesses long owned locally by East and Southeast Asian residents. Much of the rest of International Boulevard is made up of predominantly low-income African-American communities.

Some portions of International Boulevard have gained a reputation as areas of prostitution, and are part of Oakland's continuing troubles with underage prostitution. [2] An award-winning short film about underage prostitution, International Boulevard: A Documentary , [3] covers the issue of Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) in Oakland, and on a national level.

Traffic safety

International Boulevard is considered a very dangerous road locally, with a reputation for speeding and recklessness, including cars illegally speeding in bus lanes. [4] According to the Alameda County government, CalTrans, and the Oakland Department of Transportation, speeding is a significant problem on the road. [5] A 2002 study found that International Boulevard had the most pedestrian collisions (both in total and per mile) of any street in Oakland. [6] [7] A 2021 analysis of collision data found that the intersection of 35th Avenue and International Boulevard is the most dangerous intersection in Oakland. [8]

Transportation

AC Transit 1T runs on the boulevard north of Davis Street, running in the median with center boarding islands between Durant Avenue and 20th Avenue.

References and sources

  1. Walker, Thaai (1996-05-08). "Oakland Renames East 14th Street / It'll be 'International Blvd.'". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  2. Brown, Patricia Leigh (24 May 2011). "In Oakland, Redefining Sex Trade Workers as Abuse Victims". The New York Times.
  3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "International Boulevard: A Documentary". YouTube .
  4. Fermoso, Jose (30 June 2023). "On East Oakland's deadliest street, locals demand action after another fatal car crash". The Oaklandside. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  5. Fermoso, Jose (5 October 2023). "5 people were killed in 8 days on Oakland's deadly roads". The Oaklandside. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  6. "Oakland's most dangerous street for pedestrians gets new traffic lights". KALW. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  7. "Pedestrian Master Plan" (PDF). The City of Oakland. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-08. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  8. Fermoso, Jose (21 September 2021). "Oakland's roadways are among the deadliest in California. Help us investigate why". The Oaklandside. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
Template:Attached KML/International Boulevard (Oakland, California)
KML is not from Wikidata

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Ashland is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 23,823 at the 2020 census. Ashland is located between the city of San Leandro to the north, the unincorporated community of Cherryland to the south, the unincorporated community of Castro Valley to the east, and the unincorporated community of San Lorenzo to the southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 880 (California)</span> Interstate highway in California

Interstate 880 (I-880) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It runs from I-280 and State Route 17 (SR 17) in San Jose to I-80 and I-580 in Oakland, running parallel to the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. For most of its route, I-880 is officially known as the Nimitz Freeway, after World War II fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who retired to the Bay Area. The northernmost five miles (8.0 km) is also commonly referred to as the Cypress Freeway, after the former alignment of the freeway and its subsequent replacement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 238 and State Route 238 (California)</span> Highway in California

Route 238, consisting of State Route 238 (SR 238) and Interstate 238 (I-238), is a mostly north–south state and auxiliary Interstate highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The southern segment is signed as SR 238 and is a divided multilane surface highway that runs parallel to the Hayward hills between I-680 in Fremont and I-580 in Castro Valley. The northern segment is signed as I-238 and is a six-lane freeway that runs more east–west between I-580 and I-880 in San Leandro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 61</span> Highway in California

State Route 61 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, running along the eastern edge of Oakland International Airport and through Alameda. Two additional "hidden" state highways, State Route 112 and State Route 260, are also signed as part of SR 61, despite having legal descriptions separate from Route 61.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Oakland, Oakland, California</span> Neighborhood of Oakland in Alameda, California, United States

East Oakland is a geographical region of Oakland, California, United States, that stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. As the southeastern portion of the city, East Oakland takes up the largest portion of the city's land area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown, Oakland, California</span> Neighborhood of Oakland in Alameda, California, United States

The Chinatown neighborhood in Oakland, California, is traditionally Chinese which reflects Oakland's diverse Chinese American, and more broadly Asian American community. It is frequently referred to as "Oakland Chinatown" in order to distinguish it from nearby San Francisco's Chinatown. It lies at an elevation of 39 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 17</span> State highway in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in California, United States

State Route 17 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from State Route 1 in Santa Cruz to I-280 and I-880 in San Jose. SR 17, a freeway and expressway, carries substantial commuter and vacation traffic through the Santa Cruz Mountains at Patchen Pass between Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruitvale, Oakland, California</span> Neighborhood of Oakland in Alameda, California, United States

Fruitvale is a neighborhood in Oakland, California, United States. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) southeast of Downtown, and is home to the city's largest Hispanic population, with Hispanics constituting 53.8% of Fruitvale's population. Fruitvale's ZIP code is 94601. It lies at an elevation of 49 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxwell Park, Oakland, California</span> Neighborhood of Oakland in Alameda, California, United States

Maxwell Park is a neighborhood in Oakland, California located in the foothills of the city. It is geographically bordered by MacArthur Boulevard, High Street, Trask Street, Foothill Boulevard, and 55th Avenue and is adjacent to Mills College, I-580, Brookdale Park, and the Fairfax neighborhood. It lies at an elevation of from 138 feet to its highest point of 266 feet on Knowland Ave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 185</span> Highway in California

State Route 185 is a state highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along sections of Mission Boulevard in Hayward, East 14th Street in San Leandro and International Boulevard in Oakland. At its south end, SR 185 connects with State Routes 92 and 238 in Hayward. At the north end of SR 185 at International Boulevard and 42nd Avenue, the short State Route 77 heads southwest to Interstate 880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area</span> Overview of transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area, California

People in the San Francisco Bay Area rely on a complex multimodal transportation infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, highways, rail, tunnels, airports, seaports, and bike and pedestrian paths. The development, maintenance, and operation of these different modes of transportation are overseen by various agencies, including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. These and other organizations collectively manage several interstate highways and state routes, eight passenger rail networks, eight trans-bay bridges, transbay ferry service, local and transbay bus service, three international airports, and an extensive network of roads, tunnels, and bike paths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bay Electric Lines</span> Former railway lines in the San Francisco Bay Area

The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad that operated electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning in 1862, the SP and its predecessors operated local steam-drawn ferry-train passenger service in the East Bay on an expanding system of lines, but in 1902 the Key System started a competing system of electric lines and ferries. The SP then drew up plans to expand and electrify its system of lines and this new service began in 1911. The trains served the cities of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro transporting commuters to and from the large Oakland Pier and SP Alameda Pier. A fleet of ferry boats ran between these piers and the docks of the Ferry Building on the San Francisco Embarcadero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Estuary</span> Strait between Alameda Island and the mainland coast of California, United States

The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda and the Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its western end, it connects to San Francisco Bay proper, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Coliseum station</span> Rail station in Oakland, California, US

The station complex of Amtrak's Oakland Coliseum station and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)'s Coliseum station is located in the East Oakland area of Oakland, California, United States. The two stations, located about 600 feet (180 m) apart, are connected to each other and to the Oakland Coliseum/Oakland Arena sports complex with an accessible pedestrian bridge. The BART station is served by the Orange, Green, and Blue lines; the Amtrak station is served by the Capitol Corridor service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Oakland</span> Central business district of Oakland, California

Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California, United States. It is located roughly bounded by both the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880 on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the northwest, Grand Avenue on the northeast, and Lake Merritt on the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Street Bridge</span> Bridge in San Francisco Bay Area

The Park Street Bridge is a double-leaf bascule drawbridge spanning 372 feet of the Oakland Estuary in the San Francisco Bay Area. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda. In a year, the bridge is opened approximately 1700 times and carries approximately 40,000 vehicles per work day. It was built when the Oakland Estuary was trenched, converting Alameda from a peninsula to an island.

The San Francisco and Alameda Railroad (SF&A) was a short-lived railroad company in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. The railroad line opened 1864–1865 from Alameda Terminal on Alameda Island to Hayward, California, with ferry service between Alameda Terminal and San Francisco started in 1864. After being bankrupted by the 1868 Hayward earthquake, it was acquired by a subsidiary of the Central Pacific Railroad in August 1869. Part of the SF&A line between Alameda Terminal and San Leandro served as a portion of the First transcontinental railroad starting in September 1869, while the southern section was abandoned in 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station</span>

Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station is a light rail station on the Muni Metro K Ingleside line, located between the Sunnyside and Ingleside neighborhoods of San Francisco, California adjacent to the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) campus. The stop consists of two side platforms in the median of Ocean Avenue, with stairs to a concrete footbridge that connects the campus to Geneva Avenue. It opened in 1979 with the extension of the line to Balboa Park station; it was previously served by the United Railroads 12 line from 1895 to 1945, and the K from 1945 to 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camino of Rancho San Antonio</span> Historic site in Oakland, California

The Camino of Rancho San Antonio is a former road that was located in Alameda County, California. The camino originally reached from Fruitvale to Mission San José. It eventually expanded to travel from the Temescal area of Oakland to San Pablo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tempo (bus rapid transit)</span> Bus rapid transit in Oakland and San Leandro, California

Tempo is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in Oakland and San Leandro in California. It is operated by AC Transit as Line 1T. The route has dedicated lanes and center-boarding stations along much of the corridor, prepaid fares, signal preemption, and all-door boarding. It is AC Transit's busiest bus route, with an average of 13,615 riders boarding each weekday in Fall 2022.