"For the last 74 years, semi trucks have not been allowed on a roughly ten-mile stretch of Oakland's Interstate 580 (or technically, vehicles of more than 4.5 tons cannot drive on I-580 between Oakland's Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt and San Leandro, with exceptions for buses and shuttles)."
"But now the Chronicle reports that Caltrans is considering allowing semi trucks back on I-580, where they have not driven in three quarters of a century. The proposal was spurred by something called the 2019 West Oakland Community Action Plan that advocates for cleaner air and lower emissions in West Oakland. But at a Caltrans virtual meeting this month, about 400 people logged in and those who live near I-580 were extremely unenthusiastic about the idea."
"But some say the segregation of trucks to only I-880 is a legacy symbol of environmental racism, shifting smog and noise away from wealthier suburbs and toward what were more heavily Black and Latino communities. One former East Oakland science teacher says his class put respirators on their desk in an attempt to prove the air near their school was dirtier."
A 74-year-old ban prohibits vehicles over 4.5 tons on a ten-mile stretch of I-580 between Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt and San Leandro, with exemptions for buses and shuttles. The restriction routed big rigs to parallel I-880 to limit air pollution, congestion, and noise. Caltrans is now considering allowing semis back on I-580 after recommendations connected to the 2019 West Oakland Community Action Plan. About 400 people joined a Caltrans virtual meeting where many nearby residents opposed the proposal, citing road damage and narrow exits. Critics warn the truck segregation historically concentrated pollution in Black and Latino neighborhoods.
Read at sfist.com
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