City of Oakland Lake Merritt Park Master Plan & Improvements

Sandis provided surveying and engineering services for improvements to three areas around Lake Merritt. 1) El Embarcadero Reconfiguration; 2) Lakeshore Avenue from El Embarcadero to E. 18th Street Landing; and 3) Lakeside Drive from E. 14th St. to vicinity of Madison Street Dock. Improvements made to these areas include provide: greater pedestrian and bicycle access and flow around the lake; improve vehicular traffic along El Embarcadero and Lakeshore Avenue; improved parking; and enhanced historic and cultural presence.

The renovation was intended to provide a continuous “park-like” setting surround the lake, which at the time, had been lacking. To do so, it was necessary to reduce the number of traffic lanes to allow to area to redevelop into pedestrian and bicycle access. The reconfigurement resulted in the complete redesign of El Embarcadero, re-signalization of 5 three-way intersections and the addition of public transportation bus stops. During the coarse of concept design, we utilized traffic volume analysis to verify design assumptions.