Since last week’s public forum at The David Brower Center filled up so fast, another YouChoose Bay Area forum will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Auditorium, 101 Eighth St. in Oakland.

from our friends at The City of Oakland--Residents, property owners, business owners and developers are invited to provide input to complete the Broadway Valdez District Specific Plan (BVDSP) at a community meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2011. Hosted by the City of Oakland, the meeting will be held at the First Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall, 2619 Broadway from 6 to 8 p.m.

North Oakland resident and community leader Christoper Waters has a very lengthy--but wonderfully informative--post up at Living in the O.

A new “pedestrian plaza” at a busy Oakland intersection on Lakeshore Avenue near Interstate 580 is the among the major safety improvements planned in the area. Construction on the project is expected to begin by this time next year.

Located at the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park avenues and Rand Avenue, the plaza will consist of a greatly broadened sidewalk, as well as new street furniture and landscaping. Rand  Avenue at that intersection will be closed off to vehicle traffic.