Yes, last Sunday it was the worst I have ever seen since 2010. Not a very good Ad for people visiting Oakland.

I completely support this request. I walk from the JLS side of the underpass on my way to work and have observed the same problems.

This underpass is an important one for people walking from downtown to JLS. Keeping it clean should be a priority.

Both my wife and I walk to and from work most everyday from JLS up Broadway. The walk is enjoyable except for the underpass. It is so bad, I would help pay to have this area cleaned. I will clean it myself if you give me the spray equipment. However one cleaning is not going to do it. There needs to be some sort of on going solution to make this area nicer. Unfortunately I am not wise enough to know what that is. But please do remove the "artwork". It causes many of the problems for the birds, to using it as a closet, to just being down right dirty.

This is too popular of a thoroughfare to leave so dirty and a potential health hazard.

This is the main gateway between Jack London Square, Old Oakland, and Chinatown. It is a very unappetizing gateway. Please clean it!

My wife and I walk or ride our bicycles downtown most days each week via the Broadway underpass. It is disgusting and smelly and at night it is a dangerous area to walk. It needs to be cleaned up and kept clean in an ongoing way. It's difficult to see how we can improve the Jack London Square area so it is inviting to tourists and our guests when anyone trying to walk there from city center must walk through that smelly and dirty gauntlet.

Jerome and Lois Jacobs

Yes, its just a matter of being descent. That place smells so bad. Please do something about it soon.

This is the kind of thing that keeps people from coming to Oakland. We have so many wonderful things to offer, but any visitor walking to Jack London Square from BART won't want to do it again anytime soon. Please clean it and keep it clean.

Is the underpass technically Caltrans property? If so maybe fill out a service request here:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/msrsubmit/

If not and it's a persistent problem, perhaps contact your city council member's office about finding a solution to this on going problem.

Thanks Eileen. I submitted a maintenance request to Caltrans as follows:

MSR Ticket Number: 553748

Date Submitted: 2013-06-04 13:31:15

California County: Alameda

State Highway Route: 880

Nearest Town or City: Oakland

Nearest Cross Street (40 characters max): Brdway underpass btwn 5th & 6th streets

Mode of Transportation: Walking

Direction of Travel: Both

Time Situation Noticed: 7 am - 8 am

Type of Situation: Litter - Trash and Debris

Describe Nature of Situation (500 characters max): The underpass on Broadway between 5th and 6th streets is filthy, a health hazard, and smells of garbage, urine, etc. This ongoing problem needs regular attention, maintenance, and high pressure cleaning. People use this to walk to and from BART. Please consider removing the "artwork" so that this space is easier to keep clean, as garbage accumulates between the art and the fence. In addition, itinerants use the semi-closed in portion for camping.

Geographic Location of Situation: Broadway underpass between 5th and 6th streets

I ditto this. We have several government offices all around this area and this is not a good reflection on the City.

Dear Public Works Agency, I hope you will be able to get on CalTrans Case and make them do their part.

Streets and sidewalks under I-880 are the responsibility of the City of Oakland. This is NOT a Caltrans issue. Keep notifying the City and don't waste time with Caltrans. The artwork is ALSO the City's responsibility (and it cost the Public Art program more than $250,000). Unfortunately it cannot be removed without involving the artists who created it (I think there were 5 or 6) and getting their approval. If you have time you could contact the Public Art Committee and ask for their assistance. At least one member of the committee lives in the Jack London District.

Meanwhile the Public Works Agency needs to be contacted over and over again! GO TEAM!

Please consider joining the private social network for neighbors in Jack London (http://jacklondon.nextdoor.com/) and letting our neighbors know about this issue.

I am a new homeowner in JLS. This underpass is a disgrace to the beautiful city of Oakland, and impacts visitor's coming to the area. I think the City can do better, let's clean it up and keep it safe.

Finally there is a discussion of this unsightly area. JLS has become a destination and visitors are using Bart to get there. The underpass should not only be cleaned up, placed on a regular maintenance plan, but should have some interesting lighting installed. There are many talented artists in the community who could create a vibrant space in a cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner.

I endorse this request as a JLS resident.

Not a JLS resident but this thoroughfare has always seemed to be more of a road block to JLS than the grand entryway it should be. I do not feel safe walking from Old Oakland to JLS and would applaud and support any effort to make it brighter and more inviting.

After reading the comments, I just e-mailed the following two people from the City of Oakland's website, hoping they would be the appropriate people to help get the "fence/art" removed, and asked them to post a response on this website.

Steven Huss, Cultural Arts Manager, at shuss@oaklandnet.com or (510) 238-4949

Kristen Zaremba, Senior Public Art Project Manager, at kzaremba@oaklandnet.com or (510) 238-2155.

Perhaps we should all e-mail the Mayor's office as well. Here is link:

http://www.oaklandnet.com/contactmayor.asp

Isn't that District 3? If so, let your city council member know how you feel.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityCouncil/o/District3/a/ContactUs/index.htm

It is District 3. The link you provided refers reports of problems back to seeclickfix! (I did, however, e-mail our Councilmember's Chief of Staff at ZWald@oaklandnet.com, which was an e-mail provided on that website for legislative matters.)

I walk to work from JLS to downtown business district every day and the underpass is a real mess. This week it is particularly bad. Seems like the guys camping under the area have been tossing food and garbage onto the sidewalk. If the city wants to attract more people to the area, this underpass needs to be addressed.

City of Oakland Public Works Agency referred this issue to CALTRANS TRAFFIC, service request # 463712. Please contact that agency to follow-up. For more information, please visit the "Helpful Links to Other Resource Partners" at the link below.
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PWA/Connect/ReportaProblem/index.htm
Thank you.

Just adding my name to this chorus - so delighted so many people are expressing their concern about this. During the past seven days things have been downright disgusting in the underpass area. Let's hope CALTRANS TRAFFIC (to whom this has been referred) addresses this quickly and frequently because one day of pressure washing isn't a long term solution. Trash cans at both ends of this underpass on both sides of the road might be a good idea, assuming transients don't just dump them out onto the sidewalk. It's hard to have nice things...but we've got to keep trying.

Everything said above I am in complete agreement. It is disgusting!

Now that it has been referred to CALTRANS TRAFFIC (I submitted maint request to CALTRANS as MSR Ticket Number: 553748) contrary to the post by Gary Knecht on 4/26/13 - what happens next? I do not see any activity for cleaning up this eyesore.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Thank you for contacting the Public Works Agency regarding this matter. This request was erroneously submitted to Caltrans Maintenance. The request has been re-assigned to Public Works KOCB, illegal dumping group for abatement. We apologize for the confusion.

Thank you.

Thank you for the additional follow-up Jeff A! It is extremely helpful to know that Public Works is now taking responsibility. All local residents and property owners are extremely grateful for the weekly cleanups and improved lighting that we expect will now occur (and Oakland should look forward to the increased sales tax and property tax revenue that should result). Just for the information of other concerned citizens, I spoke with an aide on the Governor's helpline last week and referred them to this specific SeeClickFix matter (in response to the Governor's statement at the Lakeside celebrations that if Oakland residents required help, they should call him), requesting that one agency take responsibility. At the time, the Governor's office apparently believed it was CalTrans who would handle it, and after some discussion, the representative indicated that he believed that the Governor's office could be of help in dealing with this. Let's all keep following up and commenting to appropriate parties to ensure the follow through that will help us all.

For future reference, based on a call with CalTrans and some other research), best initial contacts for Broadway underpass issues are as follows (although CalTrans and City Public Works will exchange misdirected requests):

1. City of Oakland for street level issues on Broadway itself out to the end of the sidewalk. Reporting options are as follows:
a. Use SeeClickFix.com or 510-615-5566 to reach City of Oakland Public Works to report trash, graffiti, dumping, potholes on Broadway, blocking the sidewalk, etc.
b. Use 510-777-333 for non-emergency police issues—e.g. crazy person on the sidewalk yelling and throwing trash.

2. CalTrans for freeway specific issues and issues under the freeway on the other side of the sidewalk (e.g. homeless encampment under the freeway beside the Webster Tube or lighting from overpass level). CalTrans confirmed the following reporting options:
a.. Use http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/msrsubmit/ for any type of service request to be made online. (CalTrans will route to appropriate department within CalTrans).
b. For telephone calls:
i. Use 510-614-5942 to report illegal dumping, freeway pot holes, homeless encampment, or overgrown vegetation.
ii. Use 415-330-6500 to report graffiti on signs, striping, or electrical issue (includes overpass level lighting).

As an actual example, CalTrans has assigned MSR Ticket No. 554354 in response to an online maintenance request for improved Broadway overpass lighting and indicated that they will report back after hearing from the engineering department.

Ruth, thank you so much for your diligence in tracking down the details of how to report and follow through on problems.

Ruth - Thanks your continued work on this important issue.

This underpass still requires pressure washing to remove bird droppings from both street level and at the top of the red pillars near the lights (looks really gross). Also, the City needs to repair the "artwork" lights below the pillars and keep them on. THANK YOU FOR THE WORK YOU HAVE DONE TO DATE KEEPING IT CLEANER (WE HAVE NOTICED) AND ALSO THANK CALTRANS FOR KEEPING ITS PORTION OF THE LIGHTING ON DURING THE DAY--these actions are helping.

It appears we have to keep submitting the cleaning request as Caltrans considers this "closed."

Received today from Caltrans:

Your concern as submitted in the Maintenance Service Request has been addressed, and your ticket has been closed. Thank you for using the Caltrans web site to notify us of your concern. At Caltrans we're here to get you there. If you have any questions please call our District Office, at (510) 286-6173.
Message from District MSR Coordinator: Cleaned on 06/05/13 & again on 06/19/13.

MSR Ticket Number: 553748

Date Submitted: 2013-06-04 13:31:15

Date Completed: 2013-06-19 00:00:00

California County: Alameda

State Highway Route: 880

Nearest Town or City: Oakland

Nearest Cross Street: Brdway underpass btwn 5th & 6th streets

Mode of Transportation: Walking

Direction of Travel: Both

Time Situation Noticed: 7 am - 8 am

Type of Situation: Litter - Trash and Debris

Description of Situation: The underpass on Broadway between 5th and 6th streets is filthy, a health hazard, and smells of garbage, urine, etc. This ongoing problem needs regular attention, maintenance, and high pressure cleaning. People use this to walk to and from BART. Please consider removing the "artwork" so that this space is easier to keep clean, as garbage accumulates between the art and the fence. In addition, itinerants use the semi-closed in portion for camping.

Geographic Location of Situation: Broadway underpass between 5th and 6th streets

They also closed my service request about the encampment on the hill above 5th and trash rolling down the hill and into the street. Can someone let me know if that encampment is still there?

City of Oakland Public Works Agency service request # 463712: please schedule regular maintenance at this location. Thank you.

What agencies were responsible for renovating the 40th Street underpass at the MacArthur BART station (neon light sculptures, etc), or for painting the giraffes on the freeway support columns beneath the 580 where it crosses over Oakland Ave. and Harrison Street?

A similar solution seems to be in order for Broadway, where the 880 overpass presents a barrier to the potential continuity of development and activity flowing between Uptown and Jack London Square.

The freeway undercrossing is currently dark and intimidating, and that won't be changed merely by more police raids on the nearby homeless encampments.

What's needed is a complete makeover that transforms the appearance of the undercrossing so that it ceases to be an unsightly barrier to the flourishing of Downtown Oakland; such a makeover has the potential to enhance property values and commerce over a large area where that freeway crossing has long been a blight and an eyesore!

Such a change is long overdue, and a small investment in it has the potential to generate enormous value for the entire city.

From the 12/09/2003 agenda of the City Council Public Works Committee Meeting:

"Subject: Installation of Mural along 40th Street / Highway 24 Overpass From: Councilmember Brunner Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution from the Oakland City Council supporting the installation of a mural along 40th Street at the Highway 24 overpass and assuming responsibility for its maintenance and upkeep"

Perhaps write the city councilmember for the area to see what can be done. I think the 880 overpass on the Broadway corridor is in District 3, LMcElhaney@oaklandnet.com

We appreciate that various groups have adopted the underpass for different portions of the month and that VisitOakland has taken an interest in searching for a more permanent remedy. Any true fix would require a permanent source of funding for maintenance and law enforcement, since the artwork and lighting remain in disrepair, the trash and bird droppings accumulate between cleanings, transients continue to camp and beg there between CalTrans cleanups, and what should be an inviting entrance to Jack London Square continues to be shunned by tourists and others out of fear.

Wed Ap 30 Broadway Underpass Town Hall

Please RSVP on Jack London District Association's Meetup page (http://www.meetup.com/FriendsofJackLondon/events/176051032/) and then ATTEND the following:
Lynnette McElhany's office, unrelentingly goaded by The Ellington's own Tib Tusler, among others, is holding a Town Hall regarding the Broadway Underpass (6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at Metrovation's offices at 525 4th Street, Atrium, Oakland, CA). ?Key persons scheduled to attend include Steve Huss (the City's Cultural Arts Manager), Joe DeVries (Neighborhood Services Supervisor who coordinates w/ CalTrans), asey Farmer (Councilmember MecElhany's Chief of Staff), and someone from the Office of Neighborhood Investment. ?Please visit Jack London District Association's Meetup page at http://www.meetup.com/FriendsofJackLondon/events/176051032/ to

Ruth, Thank you so much for keeping on this and taking such constructive action.
Jeff, Thanks for the post about the meeting on Wednesday, April 30 at 6:30. I'm in Old Oakland, but hope to come to the Town Hall meeting.
Mimi

For those coming to the meeting on the 30th to discuss the Broadway / 880 underpass, please think about what this major entrance to Jack London Square could be in terms of lighting and art in addition to cleaning and pigeon mitigation . The current art installation is not doing the job. We need imagination and then to spur the City to make this a wonderful gateway to one of the delights of Oakland, Jack London Square. Tib Tusler

Thank you all for taking the time out of your life to making a positive change in this area that desperately needs it! We appreciate your efforts!

Can someone post a comment about how the meeting went? I am out of town but am very interested in hearing . . .

The Town Hall meeting went very well. About 50 people were there, and our Councilmember, Lynette McElhaney ran the meeting very well. Some good ideas came out of the meeting, including pressure washing the underpasses frequently. We'll see how this situation develops, but the overall impression is one of optimism.

Thanks, Ben, for the report for those of us who couldn't make the meeting.
Mimi

A glowing golden forest of trees called Aspire by artist Warren Langley, illuminates a site beneath the Western Distributor at Ultimo, Sydney on May 19, 2010. The permanent artwork is designed to strengthen the pedestrian link between the communities of Pyrmont and Ultimo by providing a brighter, more engaging and safer public space.

It would be amazing to have art like this under the 880.

What a wonderful thought. We can't just dwell on all the bad things. Rather, we need vision as to what could be and how it could enhance the entire district.

I saw this complaint title and I thought it was about City Hall!

It's about time!

Condtiions at this critical location have a major effect on all of Downtown Oakiland, and indeed on the entire city.

There are numerous design and architecture schools in the Bay Area. How about a design competiton to offer Practical solutions to this problem place??

Thank you Ben, for the update!

People interested in Broadway underpass are likely also interested in Jack London Square development proposals. Please see this link if you want to see specific positions of Save Jack London Square Waterfront and/or if you agree with them and want to sign the petition. http://www.change.org/petitions/oakland-city-planning-commision-save-jack-london-square-waterfront?recruiter=99482400&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Oakland Planning Commission Meeting re: Residential Highrise Proposals at Jack London Square is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 at City Hall, Hearing Room One, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. Here is link to agenda: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PBN/OurOrganization/PlanningZoning/o/Commissions/

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Thanks for fixing this issue!