Staff, Unions, and Business Leaders Unite Against Parking Division Breakup

Oakland's Public Works and Transportation Committee became a rallying point for dozens of city workers, union members, and business advocates who packed the chamber to oppose a plan to dismantle the Department of Transportation's parking division — while BART directors delivered a stark warning that train service could end entirely without a November ballot measure.

• Overwhelming opposition stalls DOT parking reorganization as employees, unions, BIDs, and transit advocates line up against moving enforcement to Finance and abandoned vehicles to OPD
• BART warns of potential shutdown: 800+ layoffs, 9 PM closures, one remaining line, and 30% fare hikes if a November sales tax measure fails
• $80.5 million in state housing funds approved for two affordable projects — Liberation Park and 285 12th Street — at no cost to the city's general fund
• Caltrans agreement pulled after highway construction displaces at least 20 unhoused residents into Chinatown and Jack London with no plan

In the longest and most heated discussion of the evening, the committee heard more than a dozen speakers — not one in favor — on the administration's proposal to break up OakDOT's Parking Division. The plan would move parking enforcement and the Parking Citation Assistance Center to the Finance Department, and shift the Vehicle Enforcement Unit to the Oakland Police Department.