About 200 people gathered at the Francophone Charter School of Oakland to meet Caltrans and the state Air Resources Board about the I-580 Truck Access Study. Many attendees scowled or yelled and complained about limited time to comment. The study includes traffic pattern measurement, air quality and noise impact assessment, and a racial equity assessment to inform whether the decades-long ban on semi-trucks on I-580 should be lifted. The racial equity component is central because trucking on other Oakland freeways has harmed mainly low-income, mostly Black, brown, and Asian communities. Pollution on I-880 has been linked to short- and long-term health complications, while communities near I-580 have experienced cleaner conditions. Officials cited extreme diesel exhaust exposure and high asthma rates in West Oakland.
"“You don't give nothing to us,” a member of the community said with disdain after learning that each person would only have two minutes to comment. “You're going to listen,” another said."
"A project years in the works, the I-580 Truck Access Study is actually a collection of studies that will measure traffic patterns, air quality, and noise impacts, and conduct a racial equity assessment, all to help the state determine whether to lift the decades-long ban on semi-trucks on the highway."
"The latter part of the study might be the most significant, since revoking the ban is being considered because trucking on other Oakland freeways has negatively affected the health of the mainly low-income, mostly Black, brown, and Asian communities they pass through."
"“West Oakland is one of the most impacted communities in California,” said Cameron Oakes, the state's deputy district director of transportation. “Their diesel exhaust exposure is in the 95th percentile for the whole state. They also have some of the highest asthma rates in the state.”"
Read at The Oaklandside
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