OAKLAND — No one knows how long it will take to create an urban oasis along the banks of San Leandro Creek, if ever, but Oakland and San Leandro are taking steps in that direction.

On Tuesday, Oakland’s Public Works Committee was presented a draft master plan of the ambitious project and potential problems involved in building a six-mile pedestrian and bicycle path along San Leandro Creek from Lake Chabot to the bay.

The night before, the San Leandro City Council expressed its support for the project.

San Leandro Creek was the site of the first rainbow trout hatchery in the world and in 1855, William Gibbons, founder of the California Academy of Sciences, identified a new species of steelhead trout there.

That population has declined, but restoration could trigger its re-emergence, the report says.

The study mapped out an area extending for a mile in either direction from the creek and considered the needs of the estimated 89,930 people living there.

Projected benefits of the trail include providing a safe pathway to several Oakland schools next to it, such as Madison Park Academy, as well as Bancroft Middle School, nearby Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy and Sobrante Park Elementary School.

Additionally, the trail could be a safe walking and bicycling choice for the roughly 10,500 households within a mile of the creek that have at least one person age 60 or older.

“We think this has a lot of potential benefit for the community,” Barry Bergman of Rails to Trails Conservancy said at the committee presentation.

“It’s an area that does not have a lot of safe biking and walking opportunities.”

“It’s very much needed, particularly in the neighborhoods this is going through,” Councilman Abel Guillen said.

The report anticipates building the trail in phases, with funding secured as work progresses. It identifies numerous federal, state, regional, local and private/nontraditional and in-kind potential funding sources.

These funds are intended to meet a variety of needs, which the trail project could satisfy, such as transportation, recreation, urban greening, environmental enhancement, congestion mitigation and others.

Building the trail along the route would cost an estimated $21 million, of which $12.5 million would be borne by San Leandro, according to the report. Oakland’s share would be the remaining $8.5 million.

The 210-page draft report, produced jointly by the two cities, Merritt College, the Rails to Trails Conservancy and Stantec Consulting Services in Irvine, divides the trail into eight segments and dissects the challenges and opportunities each presents. There are four segments in Oakland and four in San Leandro.

Although the report suggests several alternatives for each section, it does not break down costs for them, only for the recommended routes.

Oakland’s share of the project begins at San Leandro Bay, between the Oakland airport and Alameda. There, the San Francisco Bay Trail is already established, extending to Hegenberger Road. That segment of the proposed trail needs little attention, the study finds, beyond perhaps some resurfacing of the path.

The next segment of the trail, bearing a $1.2 million price tag, runs from Hegenberger Road to 98th Avenue. The creek has maintenance roads on either side shaded by mature trees, and has had the benefit of wetlands restoration efforts. The biggest challenge in creating this part of the trail will be negotiating a way across Hegenberger Road.

As the creek winds from 98th Avenue to Interstate 880, it goes from being an open, vegetated stream to a concrete flood control channel, with a wide maintenance road along its south side. Similar to the previous segment, the biggest challenge will be crossing 98th Avenue, the report states. This segment’s price tag is projected at $1.4 million.

At an estimated $5.9 million, by far the most expensive element of the trail plan within Oakland, is I-880 to the Amtrak train tracks. Here, the maintenance road is only two to three feet above the bed of the creek, making it susceptible to flooding, and the close proximity of private properties makes it difficult to develop a distinct new trail. One suggestion is to consider using neighboring streets for some of the trail.

The three council members attending the meeting — Dan Kalb, Guillen and Rebecca Kaplan — agreed to accept the draft master plan and urged its creators to continue their efforts. Desley Brooks was absent.

Contact Mark Hedin at 510-293-2454, 408-759-2132 or mhedin@bayareanewsgroup.com.