On Wednesday, July 16th, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Asian Health Services and the City of Oakland celebrated the completion of Revive Chinatown!  The success of this $2.2 million dollars improvement project has both reduced the risk of danger to pedestrians and increased the potential for success for our merchants and other business professionals.

Despite the condition of the national economy, we here in Chinatown are in a position to succeed.  With our new housing, our growing population and the expansion of the Port of Oakland, Chinatown can and will be more vital than ever!  We can conveniently serve visitors from all East Bay cities. We can serve thousands upon thousand of visitors, shoppers, retailers and business services without the cost of crossing a toll bridge.  We all know the price of gas has already deterred people from straying too far from home.

Also, we are constantly improving our infrastructure, and watching out for and taking the best actions for our community.  The traffic and pedestrian safety program is only one among many efforts that the Chamber, along with our community partners and the support of the City leaders have successfully worked on together.

Another advantage, and a very significant one, is our proximity to the Port of Oakland.  This Port is a very crucial global gateway, especially to Asia.  The livelihood of the majority of Chinatown’s businesses is dependent on the Port for products from China and the rest of Asia.  What a wonderful opportunity we have, both Oakland Chinatown and the City of Oakland, to forge more international ties.  By working with the Port, we can progress even more than we have already to bring prosperity to the area.

The Chamber is very proud of the success our leaders have brought us, including the behind the scene leaders -  residents, volunteers, merchants and others – who have made Chinatown the home of thousands of families and a thriving business hub .  With their support, we are confident that this community will continue to grow and thrive.

The Revive Chinatown improvements at the central intersections in the Chinatown core include:

• Four scramble systems (four-way crosswalks)
• Bulb-outs (sidewalk extensions to decrease pedestrian distance)
• Pedestrian countdown signals
• High visibility crosswalks
• Red and yellow colored Ching dynasty patterned intersections
• Pedestrian-scale lighting with banners
• Bilingual way finding signage