Should big rigs be allowed on I-580 through Oakland? | Tim Talk | Tim Hunt | PleasantonWeekly.com |

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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

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Should big rigs be allowed on I-580 through Oakland?

Uploaded: Dec 16, 2021
Supervisor Nate Miley will conduct an important public meeting by Zoom this evening.
It will focus on tractor-trailer traffic on Interstates 580 and 880. The big rigs have been confined to I-880 for the many decades since I-580 opened and ran through their neighborhoods in San Leandro and Oakland. The ban was enacted in 1963 while the freeway was under construction and took traffic off surface streets in the area. It was supposed to sunset in 1968, but continues to his day.
The 6:30 p.m. virtual meeting includes presentations from CalTrans and the Bay Area Air Quality Control District. Underlying the hearing is the valid concern that people living in neighborhoods along I-880 are negatively impacted by the truck exhaust.
A study by the Environmental Defense Fund reported that I-880 neighborhoods had 80% higher concentrations of black carbon, 60% higher nitrogen dioxide concentrations and twice the concentration of nitric oxide, all pollutants that can affect health. Miley reported higher asthma rates in those neighborhoods.
Residential neighborhoods in West Oakland are impacted by the truck traffic serving the Port of Oakland as well as the freeway that runs through it. As the port has gotten busier over the years, traffic has steadily increased. When I-880 was rebuilt after the 1989 earthquake that collapsed the Cypress Structure, it brought the truck traffic closer to the neighborhoods. I know on the occasions when I use I-880, jousting with the big rigs is no picnic.
Back in the day when San Francisco and Oakland were the employment hubs, commuters from the valley loved the truck-free I-580 for their daily runs to the office. That’s still the case although pre-pandemic, BART was a popular option for many commuters.
Given that virtually all big rigs are powered by diesel engines that emit soot and do not burn as cleanly as gasoline engines that have catalytic converters. It’s been notable how much cleaner the air has been over the years as car manufacturers have refined engines to emit less in the exhaust.
This holiday season for students and their parents will have a different feel this year. Pleasanton students will be in the classroom until Wednesday, Dec. 22, but will not return until Jan. 11 for middle school and high school students. That will be one of the longest breaks I can remember at 13 weekdays (as one married to a teacher throughout her career at Amador Valley). As skiers, it would be one we’d love because the mountains typically empty after New Year’s Day when workers head back to the office.

Democracy.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Michael Austin , a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Dec 16, 2021 at 4:42 pm

Michael Austin is a registered user.

Considering the diesel traffic out of the south bay on I-880 to the docks combined with the I-580 diesel traffic west bound to 880 providing the brown umbrella, as it is, probably should remain the same.

Moving any part of it to the I-580 will simply extend the brown umbrella to a greater area. it makes sense to keep it all over the I-880. Keep the brown umbrella off of the I-580.


Posted by Bill Casson, a resident of another community,
on Dec 16, 2021 at 7:14 pm

Bill Casson is a registered user.

I agree the brown umbrella should remain the same. in addition when the I-580 was proposed it was unanamiously approved predicated upon no truck traffic. I do not know what the initial structural integrety of the design was, however, doubt it was designed to accomodate truck traffic. In this case the cost to upgrade the roadway and the disruption to traffic will be astronomical.

Lets honor the prior commitment to keep it the same


Posted by Dirk Svensen, a resident of Country Fair,
on Dec 18, 2021 at 12:52 pm

Dirk Svensen is a registered user.

I agree with the previous posts - it will also contain the pavement damage from large trucks to one major arterial, making it more cost-effective to maintain. Also, it seems that there are a greater number of commercial businesses bordering 880 in contrast with 580.

I suspect the residents along 580 would also push back as they purchased their homes with the expectation that no diesel traffic was present. The land values associated with both 580 and 880 are already "baked in" so a no-change seems to be the best ("if it ain't broke...") solution. Besides, the solution to diesel traffic is eventually coming anyway - new emissions requirements are kicking in, and potentially larger trucks are on the horizon (a single, larger diesel engine would pull more trailers simultaneously, with a net reduction in emissions).

Finally, there is a trend to manufacturer more products here in the US, and as the relationship with the CCP worsens and diminishes, we may see less traffic overall unless the products just shift to other pacific rim countries (which is possible).


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