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Port of Oakland
Reasonable restrictions.
The Port of Oakland is a huge and very busy area.
There are continual streams of big-rigs, loaded with shipping containers, heading in and out. Also, railroad tracks cross some of the busier roads.
The port itself is so large there are several entry gates for trucks, but outside those gates, only three freeways lead toward the area. (Which is close to downtown.)
From the north there's Interstate 80, and from east, Highway 24. From the south, there's only Interstate 880. (The 580 freeway is no-trucks, except when allowed by the CHP.)
The old 880 freeway is only four lanes wide though Oakland (and with a lot of road contruction), and its three right lanes are always jammed with big-rigs hauling containers, plus local trucks. (There is no realistic surface street access, through town.)
Sometimes there are strikes, and thanks to the political and business climate, unpredictable demonstrations.
Here's an overview of the area.
(Across the bay, San Francisco's much older port handles cruise ships and marine-service boats, but virtually no frieght.)
The port's official web site:
Port of Oakland
Out of state truckers beware! California's state and regional regulators are extremely strict about pollution controls and such.
Coalition of Energy Users
Major port operations were consolidated under one particular company, which has resulted in hours-longer wait times for truckers picking up shipping containers. Independent truckers have resorted to day-long protest strikes. (Which could result in a "strange bedfellows" sort of alliance!)
Trucker's Protests
Sometimes left-leaning demonstrators march over from downtown, to shut down the entire port. This is meant as a protest again the capitalist system.
Occupy demonstration
The modern Longshoreman's Union (ILWU) was founded on the west coast, and it has a long history in San Francisco and Oakland.
Longshore & Shipping News
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