The last time I request a stop sign put in at another location, it took about a year and they denied my request. They have to send someone out and evaluated the intersection and approve or denied it. The process really takes a long time. Good luck.

Yes, please do this. My husband got in a fender bender at this same place.

The excessive speeding on Seminary near Overdale is a chronic problem, which the city is not addressing.
How many more people need to die before the speeding in the area can be reduced.
Please install a stop sign at Overdale and Seminary.
I'm sure AC transit turning on Seminary from Overdale would be happy also if a stop sign was installed.

This is an excellent idea. Why the city has not installed stop signs or traffic lights at this intersection is beyond me.

I live here and this idea is VERY much needed. Please put in a stop light and speed bump on Hillmont dr. How many lives will
It take? This intersection is too dangerous. City of Oakland you are on notice!!

All traffic near this intersection is reckless. A stop sign or stop light would be a big improvement. The AC transit line that runs on Seminary & Hillmont also needs to be evaluated. The buses drive too fast and do not obey the traffic laws.

So many people are speeding on seminary ! I am cautious & wait for the light al

The light at outlook , I have seen quite a few cars run that light! We need the stop sign also

Very sketchy intersection! I've had several close calls there, as it is often difficult to tell how quickly cars are coming up the hill. Please install a stop sign and enforce the speed limit on seminary. Thanks!

I live nearby but avoid using the Seminary exit from 580 because the intersection at Overdale feels too dangerous. Drivers on Seminary often drive fast as there aren't a lot of cross streets near there. During the afternoon commute, it's really hard to get off 580 east-bound and go straight across or turn left. An all-way stop sign at Seminary and Overdale is all that's needed, in my opinion, and it would be a cheap solution to the problem.

Arlene

The blind spots at this intersection due to the parked cars on Seminary make it very difficult to navigate this intersection. Traffic on Seminary is always way above the speed limit and I've personally witnessed 2 very serious accidents at this intersection. Vehicles involved in the accidents are completely totaled. One of the accidents was fatal. Traffic control on Seminary is urgently needed and stop signs or stop lights at this intersection would be a big improvement.

Speed limits on Seminary and on MacArthur are ignored most of the time. While we wait for a review for another light, how about OPD writing speeding tickets often enough to get the attention of drivers. The electronic "YOUR SPEED IS-----" signs also help. How about putting those up more often on both streets.

Most of the comments about this issue mention SPEEDING as a very common hazard. EXCELLENT idea to ticket speeders
AND have the electronic signs.

I agree with the issues of speeding and lack of visibility for cars trying to cross or turn onto Seminary from the 580 Eastbound exit ramp. Traffic lights would cause a huge backup on that exit ramp with poor visibility coming around the curve to the stop. In any case, there are too many accident victims at this spot and engineers need to analyze the intersection carefully. Limiting parking on Seminary to increase visibility would help, but there are apartments there (why were they even built on this spot!!!??).

As D.C. wrote on another issue, why only 29 votes for this problem after being viewed 98 TIMES?!
Lack of awareness about voting? PLEASE, if you agree that there's a problem that needs fixing, VOTE.

Click on the yellow VOTE box at upper right of this page !

@ Emily O : I don't agree that a traffic signal would cause huge back ups on the exit ramp, as I've experienced long wait times with the intersection as is simply because people have to wait for a safe opportunity to cross the intersection.And, really, which is worse: having to wait just a bit longer, or people continuing to get seriously injured or killed at this spot.

I say install the signal, and rig it with the cameras used for red-light enforcement. IMO, not only will that help with people going too fast through the intersection to, say run a red light, but it might help to crack down on the people who are using the intersection to practice their stunt driving at all hours of the night. Overall, I think it would make that intersection much less dangerous. :-)

~Mr. T

Mr. T, Your comments are right on the mark, thanks for posting!

@Mr. T. - you're right, safety is the most important. Let's save some lives. I can hear the crashes from where I live and it's horrific. I think the stunt driving is at the top of Seminary (a block away) -- I've written to the City about that, too....seems like it would take some cooperation between CalTrans AND city but they probably each defer to the other......

Once again there was a horrific accident at this intersection last night, November 13th, around 6:00pm. Seems like the same issue, someone speeding, someone trying to cross the intersection and devestating results. When I, again, talked to OPD they told me that they can't do anything for us because it's the "they have no input into city matters". GRR. They did say that we can use the police report number 13-058267 to again ask for remediation. Please please please pass along this See-Click-Fix issue to friends and neighbors and please vote on it if you haven't already.

Is this like abhoring the continued killings of innocent children by guns and saying that this is the last straw?

How many more lives have to impacted by this dangerous traffic situation?

WE havent gotten a responses to this issue and we are not going to go away. All of our lives are at stake. A class action lawsuit to follow!!!

PLEASE install the stop signs...it is a terrible intersection. I drive there every day and so many times I misjudged the crossing cars because of the poor visibility and the fact that SO MANY cars are speeding on Seminary.

Has anyone spoken to our city councilperson Desley Brooks. She should be pushing for this. Without her help it will take forever to get results.

I agree. A delegation of Millsmont folks should set up a meeting with her and ask for her support and intervention to deal with this issue.

Getting the City Council rep. behind you is crucial to the campaign. Hope you have had some successes with her in the past.

We often comment that cars coming up Seminary seem to be speeding up the hill as fast as they can. It seems that a light would be a good thing here, we've had a few close calls when turning left onto Overdale.

I think a stop sign would not work because it would hold up Seminary traffic too long, but a stop light is vital for safety. I've seen people coming off the freeway get in the right lane to avoid the long line to go straight or turn left and then they turn left anyway -- hoping the person in the left lane is not going straight. CRAZY!

From Councilmember Brooks:

Hi Ms. ______:

Thank you for your email. This matter was brought to my attention earlier today.

Public Works is working on the issue and I expect a response from them shortly.

I will let you know as soon as I hear something.

All the best,

Desley

Great, Eileen, et al...stay on it!

It's a scary intersection and this continues to happen - we need a light to ensure no one else is hurt.

I drive through this intersection to take by 5 year old to kindergarten! Thanks for the efforts to improve our safety!

Anyone crossing this intersection is at risk. Visibility of traffic headed up Seminary towards I580/CA13 is limited. Traffic at posted speed limit allows you only 7-10 seconds to cross or turn. Distracted drivers and/or speeders are the specific problems, although buses and bikes complicate the situation. I have witnessed at least three very near misses involving bikes.
Another problem is traffic travelling down the hill. From the 580/13 exit ramp to the Overdale intersection there is a relatively recent lane alteration. A yellow painted island was installed a few years ago to make the left turn safer. Many motorists ignore the island and drive right over it. The only way to mitigate this is to place a traffic cop hiding behind the watermelon truck.

I have lived on the corner of Hillmont and Overdale since 1989 and the amount of accidents that would be avoided would decrease exponentially with a four way stop sign. I was part of the process years ago trying to get speed bumps put in around the same area which was voted down due to the bus routes. Please don't tell us that there is any reason not to change this treacherous situation. Thank you

There are some simple improvements that could be put in place on Seminary for minimal cost with a big safety impact without the frustration of adding additional traffic signals.

1. Make WB Seminary no parking within 200' of the intersection with Overdale for better visibility.
2. Set the speed limit on Seminary to 25 mph from Kuhnle to 1/2 block East of Hillmont and 30 mph West of there.
3. Reduce WB Seminary between Kuhnle and Overdale to 1 lane (make it the left lane) with no left turn allowed at Overdale. (It's possible to add a stop sign at Overdale for that WB traffic, however, the drawback, besides impediment of normal traffic flow, is more encouragement for EB 580 commuters to take surface streets to avoid the freeway interchange bottleneck during evening commute. -- This is already a significant source of traffic from the off-ramp to EB Seminary and back onto EB 580 during commute hours)
4. Re-stripe WB Seminary into 2 lanes West of Overdale with the left lane becoming a merge / left turn only (after merge-right arrows) for each subsequent intersection. (the current striping has too short of a left turn lane defined -- for it being in the down hill direction -- and makes for consistently unsafe passing conditions.) Introduction of left-lane as a merge lane + merge-right arrows for the beginning of each block will also increase safety.
5. Make the right lane of the 580 off-ramp right turn only (as it currently is) and make it join Seminary in the unused right lane for a clean merge.
6. Re-stripe EB Seminary into one-lane (the right lane) as it approaches Overdale. This will allow traffic from the off-ramp to merge left onto EB Seminary easily, and ease the off-ramp crossing to Overdale. Possibly stripe the left lane of the off-ramp left-turn-only to prohibit off-ramp thru traffic onto Overdale.
7. Re-stripe EB Seminary East of Overdale to left lane merge-right arrows into left turn only onto Kuhnle; right lane right/straight onto 580 EB ramp. (De facto current lane use, regardless)
8. Some of the trouble originates with the signal light on Seminary at Outlook. This light was intended as a "traffic calming" signal, but is generating unintended consequences. The light's capricious timing seems to inspire plenty of localized poor driving behavior to try to avoid it. the WB segment would be better served as a flashing yellow / detected left turn arrow. And the timing is too long, and tends to group cars into big clumps, making for lengthy waits for downstream cross traffic. Light timing could be modified to slow down and meter traffic without the current lengthy stopping times while still creating gaps for downstream cross traffic.

In summary, it should be possible to greatly streamline and orchestrate a smooth, safe flow of traffic and make this whole area safer with only re-striping and the possible addition of at most a single stop sign for WB Seminary at Overdale (or better yet, no left turn onto Overdale).

(Can you tell I've driven these roads for many, many years and have thought about it quite a bit?!)

If the traffic engineers would like to see a drawing of this, I could put it together. It's certainly much simpler to draw than to put all this into words.

Thanks,
-Bill

I voted, thanks for posting this Tori, it's much needed at this very scary intersection!

SR No. 477795 is our Traffic Engineering request. I was told by the the traffic Engineer Elise Ramirez that they would be conducting a survey of the area on Friday 11/15 and I would hear back early this week. I'll keep this thread updated as I know more.

Thanks for keeping the ball rolling, Tori!

The process has begun! Thank you, Tori and all you other "clickers" !

Has this issue been fixed yet?

Not that I've seen. Not within the last week or so...

What is the status on this situation?

Yes can the city please respond and let us know what the progress has been!

Now they are also running the stop sign at Seminary and Sunnymere. Last week I had two cars roar up Seminary and drive right through the stop sign. Didn't even slow down. Wish we had the PD to sit and give out tickets along this stretch - our budget would have a surplus in one week!

Desley Brooks and public works, please address this issue. I have lived on Overdale Avenue since 2001. This intersection is dangerous. I can't tell you how many times I have been sitting in my house and heard collisions at this intersection. It's that bad. Why is there not a traffic signal here? It boggles the mind.

When I get off 580 2 or Hwy 13 I need to dash across Seminary and pray I don't get hit. It's not safe to turn left. It's not safe to turn right. It's not safe to go straight, but that's where my house is.

Please put a stop sign here. Neighborhood residents deserve better.

Thank you Mike ! I couldn't agree more. Other off-ramps have a signal when they reach the street level. Why is this an exception ???

Thank you Mike ! Most off-ramps have a signal where they end at the street level. This off-ramp ends at a FOUR lane roadway, and should have a signal ! !

This issue needs to be brought up at the Neighborhood meeting held every other month and coordinated with Nancy and Ariana Richards. They will invite the city of Oakland Traffic division to the meeting where people can begin a petition and/or express their concerns. However, the last time the Traffic representatives from the city were at the meeting was when there was the early morning fatal accident at the curve of Laird and Seminary and they called it an "anomaly" and all suggestions for improvements were discussed and then dismissed. People concerned with this issue should contact Ariana Richards at OPD.

Nov. 2018: FINALLY there is a newly-completed 4-way STOP at Overdale/Seminary. 5 years ago Desley Brooks weighed in on this issue via her constituent Eileen (see above). And 2 years after that, people were still begging for attention to this issue. Well, D. Brooks is now OUT of office and let's hope that her successor (Loren Taylor) is more responsive to the concerns of Dist. 6.

Close the issue please.

It was completed in October '18, after being promised in August, after we started begging for it back in 2013. After decades of accidents. It was done in a day or two! However, I have seen people go through the stop sign, so we need enforcement. Maybe a red light with a camera will be the ultimate solution. Anyway, issue resolved for now.

I think people are getting used to the stop sign. For the first week or so I saw people still speeding through, but that seems to have ended. Still think they should have provided stop lights. It shouldn't have taken this long to find a solution here. A lot of people noticed that there were similar projects around the city at election time. I'd be interested to know how many people died at this intersection from 2013 to present.