Free Sunday parking in Oakland is going away

The town’s parking division is making enforcement modifications that can influence Oakland residents citywide.

The town introduced this week that it’s going to begin charging individuals for parking in metered parking spots on Sundays, from midday to six p.m. This important growth has been within the works for years, after present process a take a look at run in some high-traffic areas of Oakland, resembling round Lake Merritt, which some Oakland residents noticed as an effort to gentrify the lake.

The modifications will come into impact on Sunday, January 4, 2026 and can start with a 30-day warning interval throughout which no fines will likely be issued.

In a press launch, Josh Rowan, director of the Division of Transport, stated: said that the Sunday charging determination will “enhance parking availability” by encouraging individuals to park for shorter intervals. He stated it may additionally assist companies by conserving prospects churning.

Different cities across the nation have began charging for parking on Sundays, eschewing the standard free parking that emerged within the twentieth century to mirror Christian days of relaxation.

“Immediately, Sundays are among the many busiest days for companies resembling eating places, outlets and leisure venues,” the press assertion reads. “Updating meter hours ensures parking is accessible when demand is highest, together with weekends.”

Some social media posts denounced the change, with individuals saying it could profit them less chance of parking in enterprise districts.

Journalist Carla Marinucci stated in a message on X that the parking change would “simply make me and different Oaklanders store some other place on Sundays – WTF.”

Oakland officers stated income from the brand new Sunday charges will assist fund town’s common fund, which confronted cuts earlier this yr. Kent Bravo, a spokesperson for OakDOT, instructed The Oaklandside that Sunday’s readings are anticipated to generate a further $1.6 million yearly.

Oakland has not stated whether or not the Sunday meter charges will use versatile pricing, by which costs enhance in periods of upper demand.

The parking division can also be present process a reorganization, in line with emails reviewed by The Oaklandside. Underneath the plan, town’s finance division will take over some segments of parking administration, together with most enforcement, meter assortment and deserted automotive tagging and processing. In recent times, parking has been below OakDOT, the transportation division. OakDOT, the letter stated, will proceed to watch bus shelters, handle EV charging stations and scooters, and implement metropolis garages.

However the reorganization has led to inner disagreement.

Takeover of economic division lacked ‘good evaluation’

In latest weeks, Oakland’s employees has achieved simply that meetings held describing the anticipated restructuring. In line with publicly launched emails, staff from the human assets, transportation and authorized departments had been alerted.

Within the aftermath of those conferences, transportation division officers expressed frustration with the measure. One in every of them is Michael Ford, head of the Parking and Mobility division.

In a letter Shipped on Wednesdayaddressed to Mayor Barbara Lee and Metropolis Supervisor Jestin Johnson and copied to Metropolis Council members and others, Ford known as for “a direct pause and reconsideration” of the reorganization that might “successfully dismantle” the division he has led for seven years.

Ford stated the reorganization had not been “correctly reviewed” and offered to the council, and due to this fact to most of the people, which was vital “given the implications for providers, funds, employees and governance”.

A letter from Crystal Ramie-Adams, an analyst within the metropolis’s worker relations division, on Oct. 16 stated the change occurred as a result of finance “is the income producing and enforcement pressure, and town believes the above areas of parking are higher suited to be managed by the revenue-oriented finance division.”

Ford appealed to Lee by citing her said targets: “accountability, good governance, public security, financial improvement and restoring public belief.” Ford stated the failure to undergo the formal legislative course of, the place town may justify the transfer and supply a threat evaluation, “jeopardized worker belief, operational continuity and town’s said commitments to equity and dignity.”

Ford additionally famous that town didn’t present a transition value evaluation, a racial fairness evaluation or an evaluation of the potential impacts of a reorg on issues resembling subsidies and provider relationships.

The Oaklandside acquired this letter from a member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Fee, who mentioned it final night time at their month-to-month assembly. A number of commissioners expressed displeasure with the change and stated they’d specific their doubts in a letter to the Metropolis Council.

When Kerby Olsen, an OakDOT worker who works on parking coverage and would possible be affected by the change, revealed that town was additionally contemplating shifting the deserted automotive element again to the Oakland Police Division, one of many commissioners, Nick Whipps, sarcastically famous that “it is all gone again to how nice that was.” The Oaklandside has beforehand reported on the challenges of the deserted automotive unit below OPD and the way that enforcement device below OakDOT was redesigned to attain a greater success charge.

George Spies, a member of the advocacy group Site visitors Violence Speedy Response, stated the reorganization may have unfavorable penalties.

“If you are going to design a parking system to generate constant income, you are designing one system,” he stated, “and if you are going to design a parking system for security and most utilization, you are designing one other system.”

Jesse Kadjo, a consultant of Native 21, the union that represents employees inside OakDOT, requested town: in a letter dated December 9, for a full clarification of the issues town plans to unravel with the change and the way the finance division will maximize income.

Ford’s title doesn’t seem within the proposed new organizational chart. It isn’t clear whether or not this implies he’ll lose his job.

Ford despatched attachments to town advocating the worth of his division as it’s at the moment structured. He famous that shifting parking to OakDOT had allowed employees to deal with extra customer support transactions with fewer employees hours and improved assortment providers, resulting in a rise in parking income in 2024 and 2025.

“The info illustrate that quotation quantity is carefully correlated with workforce stability,” he wrote.

In a single concept analysis that Ford and the parking mobility group developed, they discover that there’s at the moment no main metropolis in California with a inhabitants of 250,000 or extra the place the finance division handles parking enforcement.

In line with a slideshow offered at Thursday night time’s BPAC assembly by Kevin Dalley, a pacesetter of the fee’s coverage and laws subcommittee, Oakland’s finance division ran elements of parking enforcement till 2012, when OPD took over.

Jason Patton, an OakDOT planner, stated eventually night time’s assembly that Ford and Olsen made good arguments for why managing parking is a crucial a part of designing protected roads in a metropolis.

“Competitors for the curb, daylighting at intersections, double parking,” Patton stated, are all a part of that course of. “With parking as a part of the roadway cross part, Oakland designs and redesigns streets. We might have to maneuver parking areas or take away parking areas from one location to a different. And that is all a part of making an attempt to make the transportation system work.”

The Oaklandside has requested town and every council member for touch upon the proposed reorganization. To date, solely District 1 council member Zac Unger has responded, saying he’s wanting into the difficulty.