• Oakland is due to receive significant transportation related investments through projects embedded in recent Institutional Master Plans, the Port Authority as it implements its NEXTransit Plan, PennDOT as it rebuilds Bates Street, and potential private party redevelopment that will impact streets and generate more trips.
• Adding to these existing activities, the Oakland Plan is responding to community needs with proposals that reimagine many streets throughout the neighborhood, build on Transportation Demand Management programs, improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, recalibrate parking systems, and improve transit station areas and access.
• The Oakland Plan is also calling for a shared university shuttle and transit study that will create a more efficient and equitable system that could better serve student, employee, and resident needs. Additionally, the OTMA has begun to investigate the opportunity for an Integrated Mobility Study that would look at all of the various transportation services being provided in Oakland both public and private including institutional shuttles, public transit, on-demand transportation service providers, micro-mobility, etc.; to consider where efficiencies can be made and where mobility gaps still exist. Ultimately, this would lead to the introduction of an Integrated Mobility System for Oakland. As discussed at Steering Committee meetings, this project could be led by the Oakland Transportation Management Association (OTMA).
• OTMA’s core funding is provided through the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) for staffing, TDM programming, and education outreach. CMAQ funding does have considerable limits that do not cover such programming such as surveys, studies, or the development of commuter incentive programs, all of which would align with the OTMA TDM program goals. More proactive efforts are typically funded through individual competitive one-time grants. The result is that OTMA is not able to maintain a higher level of consistent staffing and programming to address community needs on an ongoing basis.
• OTMA’s executive director has been working to establish partnerships with other community-based organizations and neighborhood associations, to support their transportation needs, and overcome inherent differences in capacity and access to resources that have served to reinforce inequities in recent decades.
• While many of these issues were discussed during the OTMA 2017 Strategic Planning workshop, they remain unresolved and the board recognizes that this as an important time for OTMA to grow its scope and capacities so that it can better meet the needs of the broader community.
• Some recommended diversifying OTMA's board and strengthening its connection to the neighborhood, residents, and others who share a strong interest in mobility.

• OTMA should seek funding immediately to undertake a strategic plan.
• The strategic planning process should engage Oakland-based stakeholders including those represented on the Oakland Plan Steering Committee, but also consider a regional set of stakeholders who may support and benefit from OTMA’s future activities.
• This strategic plan should involve at least the following components:

• Establish clear goals for the organization that will guide future activities. These could be adaptive from goals in the adopted Oakland Plan, other documents, or created as unique to OTMA.
• Determine how projects in the Oakland Plan and recent Institutional Master Plans can be undertaken or coordinated by OTMA. This should involve discussions of sourcing funds and desired outcomes.

• Identify a set of programs from these documents and from other outreach that are best managed by OTMA. This should involve discussions of sourcing funds and desired outcomes with stakeholders.
• Determine a long-term staffing proposal including titles, pay scales, qualifications, and identify potential funding sources.
• Establish a diversified source of ongoing funding.
• Ensure OTMA has a clear role to play in working collaboratively with institutions, community organizations, and public agencies in the prioritization and initiation of projects regardless of whether they are managed by OTMA or other parties.
• The role of OTMA to help meet transportation-related needs in adjacent areas should be considered and discussed with these areas. This could include the Hill District, Uptown, Shadyside, Greenfield, Hazelwood, and Squirrel Hill. Past studies have also looked at the linkages between Oakland and the South Side Flats area.

• Capture lessons learned and case studies / best practices to establish future direction around OTMA’s role in advocating on behalf of Oakland on city and regional transportation boards and committees, and to the State legislature.
• Consider the role that OTMA would play in the Oakland Plan proposal to create an Oakland Parking Enhancement District.
• Establish a strategy for OTMA to work together with partners to alleviate off-street parking issues in the neighborhood.
• Fully develop the relationship between the OTMA and DOMI’s Transportation Demand Management Program and forthcoming dedicated coordinator.

• OTMA’s work to address the needs of disadvantaged communities in Oakland and surrounding areas should be expanded and become a more core component of the organization’s role. NOTE: CMAQ funding does not support this activity.

• OTMA’s strategic plan could also be part of a collective effort of Oakland-based employers to set modal targets and commit to shared TDM objectives.
• Similarly, OTMA should be a leading voice on sustainability and livability issues in Oakland including air and water quality, urban heat island effect, and the roles of green infrastructure, public art, and innovative design as components of all mobility infrastructure projects.

When to start: 0-2 years

Duration: 6-9 months

Estimated costs: $ (out of $$$$)

Project lead(s): OTMA

Project partner(s): PAAC, DOMI, DCP, institutions, elected officials

Potential funding source(s): CITF, GEDF, Neighborhood Allies, and the Forbes Fund