DATE: October 22, 2025
TO: Council Infrastructure & Airport Committee
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: East Bay Greenway Multimodal – Hayward Segment Project: Review Staff Recommended Project Alignment and Types of Facilities
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council Infrastructure and Airport Committee (CIAC) review and recommend the conceptual level project alignment and types of facilities to the City Council for its approval, completing the scoping phase, and to advance the project development activities of the East Bay Greenway Multimodal (EBGWMM) – Hayward Project to the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase.
SUMMARY
The Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) is the project sponsor and implementing agency for the EBGWMM along the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) alignment from Lake Merritt station in Oakland to South Hayward BART station. This staff report discusses the EBGWMM – Hayward Project, a near-term project within the jurisdiction of the City of Hayward (City). City staff have been integral partners during this planning process, providing key input and coordination to ensure that the East Bay Greenway reflects local priorities while supporting regional connectivity. The project has been developed through extensive input from other project stakeholders such as AC Transit, BART, and various community groups, including public schools, local residents, Bike Hayward, disability groups, and community-based organizations (CBOs).
The goals of the EBGWMM – Hayward Project are to:
Create a continuous north/south bike facility connecting the Hayward and South Hayward BART stations.
Provide safe, high-quality bicycle facilities suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
Improve safety by physically separating bicyclists from high-speed vehicular traffic to the extent feasible.
Improve access to regional transit, schools, Downtown areas, and major activity centers.
Improve multimodal access to BART.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The EBGWMM – Hayward Project is currently in the scoping phase. Subject to City Council’s approval of the project concepts in the latter half of 2025, Alameda CTC is expected to commence the next phase of project development, i.e., the PA&ED phase, in early 2026.
The project team, comprised of the City, Alameda CTC and its consultant team members, have conducted robust public outreach, coordinated with a project-specific Active Transportation Working Group (ATWG), and developed a conceptual level project alignment. The conceptual project alignment includes facility types to progress the project design towards implementing a safe near-term (3-5 years) bicycle and pedestrian facility within the project corridor. The City and Alameda CTC are seeking the CIAC to review and recommend the conceptual level design to the City Council for its approval, enabling the project to advance to next phase of project development.
FISCAL IMPACT
This item has no impact on the General Fund or Measure C.
The current scoping phase and subsequent PA&ED phase of the project is funded by the Alameda CTC. The future phases of final design and construction of project is likely to be funded from a mix of existing county, regional, state and federal fund sources. City staff time is required to manage and oversee the transportation impact study, design, community outreach, and the implementation of EBGWMM Hayward Project.
BACKGROUND
The East Bay Greenway is envisioned as a 37-mile regional trail connecting northern and southern Alameda County cities. The project originated with a non-profit group, Urban Ecology, which envisioned a trail in the BART/Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Oakland Subdivision corridor from Oakland to Hayward. Upon passage of 2014 Alameda County Measure BB, the East Bay Greenway was included as one of three major trails in the Transportation Expenditure Plan. During project development, several key risks were identified related to costs for land acquisition and other negotiations with Union Pacific.
In December 2021, the Alameda CTC directed staff to identify a new alignment that could be delivered in the near term. This new alignment would run on-street, coordinating with local active transportation projects, serving BART stations, and providing bicycle facilities suitable for users of all ages and abilities. Recognizing the challenges in establishing an all-ages-and-abilities route through Downtown and Mission Boulevard, Alameda CTC staff began evaluating alternatives consistent with the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan west of the BART and Union Pacific tracks in late 2022. Streets were evaluated based on first- and last-mile connectivity to BART stations, transportation safety needs, and impacts to right-of-way and curblines.
On December 7, 2023, as the sponsoring agency, Alameda CTC Commission approved the evaluation of the street network for the multimodal project and directed its staff to form an ATWG. City and Alameda CTC staff recruited a project-specific ATWG comprised of AC Transit, BART, members of bicycle advocacy organizations, people with disabilities, school and park districts, business community groups, parents of school going children and interested residents. The ATWG has met four times since its inception, reviewing and advising project staff and stakeholders on key project decisions, and ensuring that the project alignment is responsive to local context and needs, while being suitable for bicyclists of all ages and abilities.
On October 23, 2024, staff presented a draft alignment and types of facilities to the CIAC. The CIAC reviewed and requested to limit the number of parking space losses and conduct focus outreach to residents along Whitman Street. Staff performed additional outreach and incorporated community feedback in the recommendations where feasible. The specific outreach activities and their findings are described in the “Public Contact” section below and in Attachment III: Phase 3 Outreach Summary.
As part of its outreach strategy, the project team conducted an online survey, met with community-based organizations, held walking and biking audits of the study corridor, conducted focus group meetings, conducted door-to-door outreach, met with school staff and conducted survey with Tennyson High School and Cesar Chavez Middle School staff and students. The project team incorporated community, school staff and students’ feedback in the recommended project improvements.
In addition to conducting public outreach and performing field reviews, the project team also conducted traffic and parking studies, as well as a cut-through traffic diversion analysis that informed the alignment and array of facility types that could be implemented in the near term.
Based on these technical studies and feedback received through extensive community outreach and stakeholder engagement, the project team refined the conceptual level project alignment and types of facilities.
DISCUSSION
Alameda CTC’s Commission approved an “All-Ages-and-Abilities” bicycle facility policy in December 2022, which provides guidance for selecting an appropriate level of separation between bicyclists and motorists based on traffic speeds and volumes, consistent with guidance from the Federal Highway Administration. The intent is for bicycle facilities to be comfortable to use regardless of a bicyclist’s age or experience. Most people are comfortable bicycling along busy arterial streets only when a separated Class IV facility is provided. Most riders are comfortable sharing the street with traffic only when the traffic volumes and vehicle speeds are low. The EBGWMM-Hayward project consists of a mix of local, collector, and arterial streets, and the draft alignments and facility types are tailored to each street’s specific characteristics. Figure 1 and Table 2 below summarize the recommended conceptual alignment and bicycle facility types. Additional detail is provided in Attachment II, and Figure 1 is also shown in Attachment IV. These recommendations are still conceptual, with substantial work remaining to refine them through additional public outreach and technical study during the upcoming environmental phase.
While a continuous regional bicycle facility is an overall goal of the project, other community-serving amenities - such as landscaping, traffic calming, and lighting – are important elements as well. When the project is complete, it is expected to include shared-use paths, protected bike lanes, bike boulevards with traffic calming, pedestrian crossing enhancements, pedestrian accessibility improvements, traffic signal modifications, lighting upgrades, bus boarding islands, transit signal priority, placemaking elements, landscaping, and urban design features.
Figure 1: Map of recommended alignment and facility types Table 2: Recommended alignment and facility types
Street Name
Facility Recommendation
Sunset Boulevard
Bike Boulevard + Traffic Calming
Montgomery Street
Bike Boulevard + Traffic Calming
B Street
Two-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Grand Street (from B Street to D Street)
Two-Way + One-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Grand Street (from D Street to Meek Avenue)
One-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Meek Avenue
One-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Silva Avenue
Bike Boulevard + Traffic Calming
Sycamore Avenue
Two-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Whitman Street (from Sycamore Avenue to Fruitwood Way)
Class I Shared-Use Path + Traffic Calming
Whitman Street (from Fruitwood Way to Tennyson Road)
Two-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes + Traffic Calming Tennyson Road
Two-Way + One-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Dixon Street
One-Way Class IV Protected Bike Lanes
Notes:
The streets described are consistent with the City’s current Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (2020).
Due to high traffic volume generated from the residences along Silva Avenue, bike boulevard concept will not meet AAA (all ages and abilities) criteria. Traffic calming measures will be implemented to slow down motorized vehicles.
Through discussion with the project’s Active Transportation Working Group, technical analysis, and community outreach, some of these proposed facilities have changed since this item was last presented to CIAC in October 2024. This section describes those changes and why they are recommended.
Grand Street (from B St. to D St.): In 2024, the design team recommended constructing one-way Class IV bike lanes in both directions of Grand Street. However, in discussion with the ATWG, it was determined that two-way Class IV bike lanes on the east side of the street would provide better access to BART and connect with the planned facility on B Street. The current recommendation retains the protected bike lane on the west side from the previous recommendation, though other potential options could be explored. Parking is already prohibited on the east side of Grand Street so the proposed change does not impact parking. This revised recommendation includes a separated intersection at D Street.
Silva Avenue: In 2024, the design team recommended a pinch point to be constructed north of Leighton Street to restrict through traffic. However, a traffic diversion study, concluded in early 2025 revealed that approximately 5,000 daily vehicle trips are being generated within the Silva Avenue Corridor itself, well above the 2,000 vehicles per day threshold for implementing a bicycle boulevard concept that meets the needs of riders of all ages and abilities. This means that even if the pinch point succeeded in discouraging all through traffic on Silva Avenue, the street would fall above volume thresholds for a shared all ages and abilities facility. After thorough discussion with the ATWG, the design concept has been revised to include other traffic calming measures with a design speed of 20 miles per hour or less instead of a pinch point.
Whitman Street: In 2024, the CIAC requested that the project team conduct additional outreach to the community along Whitman Street to understand their specific concerns and needs and to share information about the project and its benefits and tradeoffs. Parking impacts on Whitman Street primarily affect parking spaces across the street from residences, not adjacent to them. Based on input received from residents and schools, the design team further sub-divided the segments along Whitman Street to explore opportunities to limit parking impacts. Based on input from City staff, parking impacts were reduced and additional room for tree planting was created by combined the two-way Class IV bikeway previously recommended on the east side of Whitman Street with the existing sidewalk, creating a Class 1 shared/multi-use path. After discussions with the Tennyson High School community, the design team also developed an option that provides wider bike lanes on the school side (west side) of the street. The corridor speed studies revealed that over 90% of drivers exceed the posted speed limit (25 MPH) along Whitman Street. Traffic calming measures will be implemented along Whitman Street to reduce vehicular speeds to the posted speed limit.
Tennyson Rd: In 2024, the design team recommended leaving the existing Class II bike lane on the north side of the street as is. However, in mid-2025, it was discussed in the ATWG that this lane is used widely by nearby residents, and the revised concept design uses a Class IV facility here. This would remove parking on the north side of the street, however these parking stalls are among the poorest utilized on the entire corridor. This change, like others discussed here, will be shared with the community in the next project phase for additional input and adjustments if needed.
Within three months of approval of the recommended project alignment and facility types, the design team will complete the preliminary intersection and traffic calming concept designs, effectively concluding the Planning phase of the project. Project improvements will be further evaluated during the next phase (preliminary engineering and environmental document) of project development that is expected to commence in early 2026.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The East Bay Greenway project includes placemaking elements, such as landscaping and lighting, and curb-separated bike lanes. Several studies have shown that high-quality infrastructure like this, as opposed to conventional painted lanes, is likely to increase the value of properties along the corridor. Negative economic impacts are possible that relate the availability of on-street parking or travel lanes. Pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure encourages active transportation use, lowering the overall transportation costs for users and leading to better health outcomes from increased physical activity.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the “Invest in Infrastructure” focus area and specifically supports implementation of the following:
Invest in Multi-Modal Transportation
Project N1: Continue to implement major corridor traffic calming initiatives.
Project N6: Continue to add approximate 10 miles of bike lanes annually, with a focus on protected bike lanes and intersections that have high traffic/incidents.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
This project will provide high-quality bicycle and pedestrian improvements that will encourage road users to adopt more active forms of transportation. Mode shift towards active transportation provides environmental benefits because unlike driving trips, walking and biking do not cause pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, active transportation infrastructure supports physical activity, leading to improved physical and mental health.
PUBLIC CONTACT
The project team conducted robust public outreach to evaluate the alignment and types of facilities for near-term implementation. The outreach plan includes four phases, three of which have been completed, as shown below:
Table 3: Phases of Public Outreach
Phase
Outreach Goal
Timeline
1 Share information about this EBGWMM-Hayward Segment project and gather input on existing conditions.
March 2024 – June 2024
2 Solicit input on the EBGWMM-Hayward Segment project alternatives to inform the recommended (draft) alignment.
July 2024 – October 2024
3 Solicit input from residents and schools along the recommended (draft) alignment regarding project tradeoffs and on-street parking.
January 2025 –
July 2025
4 Update and refine the concept design for the EBGWMM-Hayward Segment project.
January 2026 – March 2026
Outreach activities were designed to reach a broad and diverse cross-section of the community through different methods. Rather than relying on any single event, the effort was layered to ensure that different populations, including residents, students, and community-based organizations, could provide meaningful input. Some activities were meant to reach broad audiences, and others were intended to facilitate deeper, more substantial discussion. Phase 3 outreach activities all occurred since the last update to CIAC, and a detailed report of the Phase 3 outreach activities is included as Attachment III.
Coordination via e-mails and website announcements
Pop-up events at the Hawaiian May Day Festival and Eden Greenway hot meal and grocery giveaway Walking and biking tours of the corridor, with attendees recommended by the ATWG Focus groups
Coordination with the ATWG members
Mailers and project information flyer
Door-to-door outreach to residents living along the corridor Meetings with the principals of Tennyson High School and Cesar Chavez Middle School Online survey to summer school students, faculty, and staff Mailers and flyers were made available in English, Spanish, simplified Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
At the request of CIAC in the October 2024 meeting, the project team performed additional public outreach to schools and residents directly on the proposed route between April and July 2025, where community members would be most immediately affected by the proposed alignment. In addition to distributing 969 flyers with online feedback forms, the project team knocked on 193 doors and held 55 in-person conversations. Residents shared a mixture of reactions to the proposed concept design in these in-person conversations. While some expressed support for their street receiving attention and investment and agreed that changes were necessary, there was mixed sentiment regarding what those changes may look like.
Residents were generally supportive of the project’s main multimodal improvements Residents expressed strong support for improved aesthetics, safety, and walking conditions.
Some residents expressed frustration with heavy traffic and speeding Some residents were apprehensive about the potential for removal of parking or travel lanes Documentation and discussion about these respondents and the frequency of their sentiments is provided in Attachment III.
In addition, the project team met with staff at Tennyson High School and Cesar Chavez Middle School and developed a survey specifically for students and staff to share their feedback on the two proposed designs for Whitman Street. One alternative preserved parking on both sides of the street and one maintained parking only on one side of the street. Responses were evenly divided, with staff preferring the design that preserved parking on both sides, and students preferring the design that removed one parking lane for better walking and bicycling facilities.
NEXT STEPS
Staff request CIAC Members to review and recommend this conceptual alignment and these facility types for City Council approval, Following the City Council action, staff from the City and Alameda CTC will address Council comments and concerns and continue to advance the project development activities, while continuing to engage the community and interested groups.
City Council approval would allow the project to proceed with detailed environmental review, engineering studies, and continued community engagement. This approval does not commit funding to the project or finalize design decisions. Rather, it authorizes the necessary next steps to better understand project impacts, refine designs based on technical analysis and public input, and position the project for future funding opportunities. The final plan will continue to evolve as additional community and stakeholder input is solicited.
Staff will continue to provide periodic project status update to CIAC and the City Council, and in early 2027, will seek City Council to adopt a support position on the environmental document to be prepared for the project. Completion of an environmental document for the project is essential for soliciting federal and state funding for the next phases of project development, including for the project construction phase.
Future CIAC/City Council actions:
CIAC/City Council
Receive yearly project status updates in fall of 2026 through fall 2030 City Council
Support the project in early 2027 (for environmental clearance) Approve project design for construction in spring 2029
Accept completed construction and take ownership of project assets in spring 2031 Prepared by: Lucas Woodward, Senior Transportation Engineer Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
Approved by:
Jayanti Addleman, Interim City Manager