Challenge

The City of Hayward, CA, was looking to build upon its 2007 Bicycle Master Plan and develop a combined Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan to create safer and more connected biking and walking environments for all ages and abilities. Improving conditions for people biking and walking would be a key step towards addressing the City’s goals relating to climate, safety, and equity, especially as a high proportion of bicyclists and pedestrians in Hayward are low-income residents and workers. An intensive in-person and online community engagement strategy was needed to gather input that would inform a plan for a more equitable network.

Solution

Kittelson led the development of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan, and engaged with the community in Hayward throughout. Our team:

-Informed the community about the Plan via press releases, newsletter, articles, and a project website.

-Consulted the community and asked for input (in-person and online) on the existing network and bicycle and pedestrian conditions through an interactive web map, four walk audits, and seven in-person events.

-Collaborated with community members on a community-led walk audit held on Tennyson Road.

-Co-led development of network recommendations with a technical advisory committee that included local stakeholders, as well as staff from various city departments, adjacent jurisdictions, and transit agencies.

Community input informed the list of bicycle and pedestrian project and programmatic recommendations for future implementation. Community input was also one of the evaluation factors included in the prioritization process, along with safety, equity, connectivity, and health.