Trip to the City

I recently attended the California Chapter conference of the American Planning Association (city planner stuff) in Oakland, California.  I had been to Oakland before, but had never really lingered in the city, nor had I stayed anywhere in the City before.  The conference was downtown, next to Old Oakland on Broadway, and my hotel was near the waterfront at Jack London Square.

The trip into Oakland was via plane, then BART shuttle train/peoplemover to the Coliseum station, then “real” BART train into Oakland via a Richmond-bound train.  Being from Los Angeles, where transit trains pretty much go to one place on one line, as long as you stand on the correct side of the platform, I was excited to see a train come by in two minutes and got on it.  After boarding, I heard the announcement that the train’s destination was Daly City, which is the wrong side of the Bay to be on if you want to reach Oakland.  I got off at the next stop.

I have not seen the movie “Fruitvale Station” but I believe now I should.  I chuckled to myself (with reserve) as I got off there and waited for the next, correct, train to Richmond/Oakland.  I snapped this photo.  The movie title, and of course the tragic shooting that took place there, has made the name of this station a charged element.  Being there for a brief moment of time, you realize that life goes on.  The station is active and functioning, serving it’s role, people going on about their day and tending to their needs and their family’s needs.  We always hope the tragedies won’t happen again.  Life forces us to move on.

I really enjoyed Oakland.  Transit on Broadway in downtown on weekends is not as prevalent as on weekdays, and I came to enjoy the walk past the historic storefronts of Old Oakland and the waterfront, some vacant storefronts, some cafes/bars, a chain coffee store, a chain household goods store inside an old Victorian-style building.  Nice eclectic urbanism – and I enjoyed (no, really) the frequent Amtrak and freight trains rumbling down the main street on Embarcadero at Jack London Square.  A neat time was had – It is a City with some issues as much as any other major City, but has so much promise and so much character.

Thanks, Oakland.  Better days ahead, Fruitvale.  Better days.