Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday, Jan 14 for the Union City bicycle advovacy ride. As shown in the photo to the right, Mayor Mark Green and former Councilmember Carol Dutra-Vernaci greeted our members who joined the ride. We started out from Paddy’s Cafe, right across the street from the farmer’s market, and immediately took a closer look at Union City Boulevard. Terry Clark, President of Finelite (yellow jacket) rides this roadway 3-4 times/ week from his home in Palo Alto and has become EBBC’s champion for making bike lanes on this street the highest priority in the Union City Bicycle Master Plan. Mayor Green is supportive, as is Carol Dutra-Vernaci, who is running to replace Green as Mayor.
We also scoped out Dyer Street and its potential extension under I-880, along an old railroad right of way, which would connect to Industrial Blvd SW and provide a good coneection north into Hayward. Many traffic signals along the way did not detect cyclists. So, correcting this problem, it was agreed, is also one of our highest priorities. We enjoyed a brief stop at the Teen Workshop on Mission Blvd, which provides low cost bike repair on Wednesdays and Saturday (everyday in the Summer). The ride ended at the Union City Intermodal BART Station, Obviously, a connection from the East is necessary to the BART Station, and is included in the Measure B transportation sales tax.
The Union City Council votes to approves its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan on Tuesday, January 24, 7pm at City Hall, 34009 Alvarado-Niles Road. Come out and show your support with EBBC and our south county members. After Council approval, we plan to set up a meeting with City staff to discuss implementation of bike lanes on Union City Blvd. Thanks for your support of this important project.