Petition to Restore Mandela Parkway and Address Illegal Dumping in West Oakland
To the Mayor, Oakland City Council, and City Administration:

We, the undersigned residents, business owners, and supporters of West Oakland, respectfully urge the City of Oakland to take immediate and sustained action to restore Mandela Parkway (free of encampments) and address the chronic illegal dumping that continues to diminish the quality of life in our community.

Mandela Parkway is far more than a roadway—it is one of West Oakland's most important public spaces. Stretching between West Oakland BART and Emeryville, it serves as a cherished greenway where residents walk, bike, jog, walk their dogs, and gather with neighbors. It also provides a safe route to BART, local businesses, including Prescott Market, neighborhood breweries, and other community destinations. This corridor is a defining recreational asset for West Oakland and should be clean, safe, and accessible to all.

Over the past year, however, Mandela Parkway has become increasingly occupied by long-term RV encampments and makeshift camps. There are now encampments along nearly every block of the street. The resulting accumulation of trash, blocked sidewalks, deteriorating infrastructure, and unsafe conditions has fundamentally changed how residents use this public space. Many longtime residents no longer feel comfortable walking or biking along the corridor or visiting nearby businesses because of concerns about safety, sanitation, and accessibility.

As documented in The Oakland Report article,  Oakland Is Beautiful—but the City's Dysfunction Is Holding It Back, Mandela Parkway has experienced repeated theft of copper wiring from streetlights and irrigation systems, leaving portions of the corridor dark, poorly maintained, and less safe for public use. The article also notes that residents living near long-standing encampments have reported crime, threatening confrontations, blocked sidewalks, and diminished feelings of safety.

We recognize that homelessness is a complex humanitarian issue requiring compassionate solutions, outreach, treatment, and housing. We support efforts that help people move toward stable housing and recovery. However, compassion for vulnerable individuals should not come at the expense of the health, safety, and accessibility of public spaces that belong to the entire community.

Illegal dumping compounds these challenges.

West Oakland continues to experience chronic illegal dumping of furniture, construction debris, household waste, hazardous materials, abandoned vehicles, and other refuse. These dumping sites often remain for days or weeks before being addressed, creating health hazards, attracting additional dumping, obstructing sidewalks and bike routes, and reinforcing a perception of neglect.

Together, illegal encampments and illegal dumping have become daily quality-of-life issues for West Oakland residents. They physically impede access to sidewalks, parks, and public spaces while also taking a significant toll on residents' mental well-being, sense of safety, and neighborhood pride. Families should not have to navigate around debris to reach schools or parks. Seniors and people with disabilities should not have to leave sidewalks because they are blocked. Residents should not have to accept blight as the defining feature of their neighborhood.

As noted in the article, West Oakland and the Flats have historically borne a disproportionate share of poor neighborhood conditions relative to other parts of Oakland. We respectfully ask the City to ensure that West Oakland receives the same standard of cleanliness, maintenance, public investment, and enforcement that residents throughout Oakland rightly expect.

We therefore urge the City of Oakland to:

-Restore Mandela Parkway as a safe, clean, and accessible public greenway.
-Remove long-term RV encampments and obstructions from Mandela Parkway while connecting occupants with appropriate shelter, services, and treatment resources.
-Repair damaged lighting, irrigation systems, landscaping, and other public infrastructure throughout the corridor.
-Establish routine sanitation, maintenance, and enforcement efforts to prevent the corridor from returning to its current condition.
-Create a proactive cleanup schedule for known illegal dumping hotspots throughout West Oakland.
-Invest in prevention measures in areas with repeated dumping, including improved lighting, surveillance where appropriate, physical barriers, signage, and targeted enforcement against illegal dumping.
-Improve response times to reports of illegal dumping and abandoned vehicles.
-Develop a long-term maintenance strategy that ensures public spaces remain clean, safe, and welcoming.

West Oakland residents contribute to Oakland's economy, pay taxes, support local businesses, and care deeply about their community. Yet too often, our neighborhoods bear a disproportionate burden of conditions that would not be tolerated elsewhere in the city.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for equal treatment.

A clean, safe, and accessible neighborhood is not a luxury—it is a basic expectation for every Oakland resident. Mandela Parkway should once again be a place where families walk, children ride bicycles, neighbors gather, and local businesses thrive.

West Oakland deserves the same clean streets, safe public spaces, and well-maintained parks as every other neighborhood in Oakland. We urge the City to act now—not only to restore Mandela Parkway, but to demonstrate through sustained investment and accountability that West Oakland is valued, respected, and worthy of the same care afforded to every community in our city.