Plans for a low stress, protected bike lane network are starting to take shape in South Hayward. Outreach is underway for protected bike lanes on Huntwood Avenue and Patrick Avenue–super wide and fast streets that must be calmed for people walking and biking. Bike East Bay is working with city staff, continuing community engagement to make sure the design meets needs for folks traveling in Hayward, and there is much more work to be done. Your input will be needed to help make better biking, walking, and transit access a reality. Sign up for action alerts and hear the latest on improvements in the Eden Area, including Hayward.
Patrick Avenue is a key north-south access route, connecting to schools, parks, the library, and many houses of worship. Back in 2018, Bike East Bay supported a Spanish-language community safety workshop, co-hosted by SafeTREC and California Walks, to get feedback on safety issues along the Tennyson corridor and on Patrick Avenue. Listening to concerns from parents of school-aged children who primarily walk and take the bus, the workshop saw overwhelming support from participants for lane reductions and safety upgrades. Now, Bike East Bay is working with city staff to continue community engagement to make sure the design meets needs for people walking, biking, and taking transit in Hayward.
On Huntwood Avenue and Patrick Avenue, protected bike lanes are feasible without implementing a road diet. But instead of squeezing in the bikeway, we have advocated for a re-allocation of space to make more impactful safety improvements in South Hayward. Bike East Bay and partners have pushed staff and City Council to prioritize safety for all users by narrowing down the vehicular space whenever possible to calm speeding cars, shorten crossing distances for pedestrians, and free up space for high-quality protected bike lanes. By advocating for street designs that reduce speeds and conflicts, we are also working toward a built environment that reduces demand for traffic enforcement and creates systemic safety throughout the community. Share your support for the Huntwood Avenue project today.
While the momentum in South Hayward is exciting, there is a lot of work to do. Tennyson Road still remains the highest priority for bikeway and complete streets upgrades. With more complex design challenges than on minor arterials and a notoriously dangerous freeway interchange, getting a high-quality project on Tennyson Road will be a bigger lift. Ultimately, a protected bike lane on Tennyson should connect with a completed Mission Boulevard, tying together the whole community. Hayward’s City Council needs to keep hearing support for protected bikeways to keep moving toward a connected, protected network of people-first streets. Sign up for Eden Area updates to get the latest calls to action in Hayward and the unincorporated Eden Area.
