Caldecott Tunnel 4th Bore

Does Directional Traffic Congestion Affect Local Business Development?

A couple weeks ago, a friend made an interesting statement as we left an Oakland bar.  He said that he did not support the 4th bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, bringing the current three 2-lane tunnels to four.  He believes that the 4th bore is actually bad for Oakland business.

My friend stated that a 4th bore only benefits the reverse commute, meaning traffic headed into Contra Costa County and not Oakland.  Therefore, by making it easier to get to cities like Walnut Creek, we are taking away business from Oakland.  He was essentially making a direct correlation between directional traffic congestion and business development.

I thought a little about his statement and told him I disagreed and thought there was nothing terribly bad with the fourth bore project.  We pretty much left it at that and I didn’t think much of it until today.

Oakland’s First Annual Pride Festival!

This year, Oakland will host its First Annual Pride Festival since 2004.  Oakland has the third-highest concentration of LGBT people in the nation, only behind San Francisco and Seattle.  So why shouldn’t we have our own Pride?  There is a lot to be proud of in the East Bay, such as great weather with REAL seasons (i.e. Summer?).

Oakland Pride, Inc. (the business behind the festival) recieved a donation from the Port of Oakland in the form of 4,000 square foot office space in Jack London Square.  With only a few months to go, fundraising and last minute organizing has been in full swing to make this first festival one to remember and bring hope to continued festivals in the future.

Oakland Pride is also serving as the vanguard of a full-fledged fundraising effort to create the first All-Inclusive LGBT Community Center in Oakland in collaboration with City Councilmember, Rebecca Kaplan, the council’s only openly gay member.