Oakland neighbors set to transform vacant Caltrans lot into vibrant garden

CBS News

3 days ago

When Vincent Kitirattragarn looks at the dilapidated, overgrown, vacant lot at 54th and Shattuck in Oakland, he calls a spade a spade.
"I moved into this neighborhood in 2016. This corner has always been neglected, it attracts illegal dumping, there's always graffiti here," he said.
But, he also sees possibility, and thinks of the famous Louis Armstrong song, "What a Wonderful World."
"It goes, I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you. That's really what I want here," Kitirattragarn said. "We need more beautiful public spaces in Oakland. This should be one of those spaces."
So, he and neighbors are working to turn that idea into reality by transforming the lot, which is owned by Caltrans, into a community pollinator garden.
"We're going to keep those redwood trees because there a great part of the space right now," Kitirattragarn told CBS News Bay Area. "We're going to create a bunch of pollinator plants around it, with a walking path, as well as areas for seating. So, you're going to see this completely transform."
The hope is that it will help alleviate problems with blight and illegal dumping, an issue that many people in The Town want to see fixed.
"The quality of life has declined in Oakland, it feels like, significantly, in the last five years or so," said Rob Selna, whose family roots run deep in Oakland. "It feels as though it's a time where more than ever, members of the public need to step up and fill in some of the gaps that the city has left."
Selna is helping bring the pollinator garden concept to life, and he has experience on this front. He's the president of the group Sidewalk Trees and Gardens. Ten years ago, he and neighbors created the Temescal Community Garden.
"What you see here now represents a transformation of a street that was really secluded, blighted, and a target for criminal and bad activities," he said. "My neighbors and I realized we needed to replace the space with something positive."
Selna said studies have shown that planting trees in areas that are lacking them can be good for the environment and community itself.
"They're proven to have significant environmental benefits as well as community benefits," he said.
When community-led efforts like this arise, there sometimes are people who will say it is the city's job to fix issues like this and not the responsibility of the residents. Selna's response?
"People are concerned about their communities. At the moment, the City of Oakland – for a variety of reasons – doesn't have the money to take care of them. So you can decide, well I'm just going to abandon the city and move on because they don't have the money to take care of it or, I'm going to help to bring the city back," he said.
Selna said his group is in the process of trying to identify more spaces in Oakland that can be beautified.
"In the face of the budget problems that the City of Oakland has – it really hasn't been able to pay for basic services like tree planting and maintenance, parks and rec maintenance, and public safety services," he said.
Kitirattragarn said they've acquired the necessary Caltrans permits to proceed with the project. They're fundraising now, with a goal of reaching $30,000.
The hope is to begin construction in October.