If you’re walking around Castro Valley, one of the first things you notice is that it’s not particularly friendly to pedestrians. At the 2014 Castro Valley Pride event, we asked attendees what mattered to them in Castro Valley, and sidewalks was one of the top mentions.
This sticker chart from Castro Valley Pride 2014 shows the issues that attendees indicated were their priorities
We’ve previously covered how the core downtown of Castro Valley is quite walkable … on paper. Walking on some of the key pathways in Castro Valley is immensely frustrating due to the patchy sidewalks, and woe to anyone trying to navigate the town with a stroller or wheelchair.
I looked to the Castro Valley General Plan [PDF] (CVGP) from 2010, and the good news is that the CVGP lists the major streets and schools which need sidewalks, curb cuts, and crosswalks. The bad news is that few of these projects have happened in the last four years. The map below shows in red the projects listed in the CVGP that have not yet been implemented: red lines are sidewalks and red markers are Safe Routes to School projects. Purple designates roads that are not listed in the CVGP, but that often come up in conversations about sidewalks in town. Cartoon schoolhouses designate where the schools are in Castro Valley.
Map of sidewalk needs in Castro Valley (as of September 2014).
That is a LOT of red downtown. That is a lot of red near the schools. That is a lot of red where people live, work, shop. We can do better, and we must do better.
21949. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is the policy of the State of California that safe and convenient pedestrian travel and access, whether by foot, wheelchair, walker, or stroller, be provided to the residents of the state. (b) In accordance with the policy declared under subdivision (a), it is the intent of the Legislature that all levels of government in the state, particularly the Department of Transportation, work to provide convenient and safe passage for pedestrians on and across all streets and highways, increase levels of walking and pedestrian travel, and reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.
Castro Valley is failing on both counts. Building more sidewalks in Castro Valley will go a long way towards improving the health, safety, and well-being of our residents. It will reduce vehicular traffic, as more residents will be able to take advantage of their proximity to schools, retail, and friends. It will show that this town is truly welcome to all, regardless of age or handicap. If Castro Valley is to maintain its reputation as a “family-friendly community”, we must be able to attract today’s young families who are looking for communities with good schools, low crime rates, and walkable neighborhoods.
So now what? Now we keep advocating for sidewalks with Alameda County Public Works. If possible, we work with Public Works to develop stronger proposals for funding. We work with the Castro Valley MAC and with Supervisor Miley’s office to make sure that our voices are heard. And we keep working.
This post was updated on 9/13/2014 to add more streets needing sidewalks to the map.
As currently designed, it is woefully inadequate in helping neighborhoods collectively improve sidewalks. If a whole block could pool the purchase of repaired or new sidewalks, then the neighborhood would have a more consistent look at likely a much lower cost to each homeowner.
The County could help by organizing these neighborhoods and facilitating a neighborhood purchase of sidewalks. Since the upfront costs can be pretty significant, maybe the county could come up with low interests loans that are billed as part of your assessment, or only require that the costs be repaid at time of sale.
Mike, I want to note that $750 is insufficient if a retaining wall is needed. But I like the idea of pulling neighborhoods together — something to suggest to Public Works!
Some areas in most need are where residents can least afford to kick in money. These are also areas where sidewalks can add the most benefit to a neighborhood.
It is a uniquely suburban phenomenon that poor pedestrian facilities are considered an attractive feature of being rural.
Especially because better pedestrian infrastructure can increase the small town feel of a town, because it results in more people walking around!
The Cameron Queen loop, the biggest single chunk of housing in the Upper Grove neighborhood, is sidewalk-less as well. Great post!
Thanks, Matt — I will add it to the map!
I’m surprised Parsons is not marked for lack of sidewalks. Families oin the Chabot Elementary neighborhood could really benefit from a crosswalk across Christensen at either Simsbury or Schuster, but I’ve hear that the county says it can’t do it because those two streets don’t match up.
Liz, I can add Parsons to the map! (Red is for streets lacking sidewalks noted in the General Plan, purple is for other streets that I’ve heard people complain about.)
There are also no stop signs on Christensen at either Simsbury or Schuster, and I’ve heard that the County doesn’t like to put in crosswalks where there isn’t a stop sign, because drivers are less likely to notice them. However, that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t put in a prominent crosswalk with pedestrian-activated flashing lights, like they have at the corner of San Miguel and Jeanine Way in front of CVE. This is the sort of thing that Safe Routes To School could fund, I think.
The County can be creative when pressed. Just last year residents near Marshall School complained about many close calls with students crossing Marshall at Veronica. Public Works painted a new basic crosswalk from Veronica across Marshall, diagonally. There’s still no stop sign there but it works, and is slowing traffic. Keep calling Public Works!
There are a few scramble crosswalks (X-across an intersection) in Chinatown in downtown Oakland, too.
Art Carrera from Public Works stood in front of 30+ parents at CVE PATA meeting and told them that there was not enough room for sidewalks on Anita due to parked cars. Parents suggested asphalt curbs/sidewalks or painted lines to delineate a waking area. He resisted it all, insisting he will not remove parked cars to make room for walking–cars over kids. He plans to re-pave Anita next year to appease the locals but will not provide walking space at that time. His long term plan is to spend $1 million dollars to acquire 10 ft extra width of right of way so he can provide sidewalks will not disturbing parking. The whole project will cost $4 million.
He will only install sidewalks if he gets a grant. His last grant application scored 54 but needed 88 to get funded. Since the proposal involves $1 million for park cars, it will never score high enough to get funding in the competitive grant process. Active Transportation granted $30 million of the $200 million requested. There is strong demand for walking/biking money.
Based upon my count of parking spaces, the $1 million will only provide about 35 parking spots. I originally counted 63 spots but I just discovered that the $1 million covers much smaller area than originally thought. That means each parking spot costs $28,000 before we pay for paving and maintenance. Parallel parking in residential area is a particular waste of public funds because we have to pay for the land, pavement and maintenance in front of driveways that cannot be used for moving or parking cars. Parallel parking is much more efficient without curb cuts (driveways).
I am encouraged to see California Vehicle Code 21949. I have never seen it before. We need to use it as leverage to provide sidewalks. Complete Streets (AB 1358) also requires accommodation of walking. We also have the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Art Carrera said that he only gets $400,00/year for sidewalks. He resisted the idea of using money from other “pots” for sidewalks. Sadly, we may have to resort to some kind of litigation in order to convince Public Works to prioritize sidewalks just like Barden vs Sacramento (2004).
“It will reduce vehicular traffic, as more residents will be able to take advantage of their proximity to schools, retail, and friends.”
Please provide data to prove your assertion. I live on a street with intermitant sidewalks. We have a large number of people (including the elderly) who walk for exercise. No one seems to be hindered by the lack of sidewalks in certain places.
Emanuelle, I also live on a street with intermittent sidewalks. I do walk on it with my toddler now, and he struggles. But six months ago, when he was still in a stroller, we never walked it. There is evidence that even more people will be able to take advantage of walking their neighborhoods once the sidewalk situation has improved:
– Boarnet et al, 2005, showed that there was an increase in students walking to school once sidewalks were installed (via Safe Routes to School)
– The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), part of the US Department of Transportation, found that having sidewalks on both sides of the street increased pedestrian safety.
– The Department of Transportation for the State of Florida found that increasing bicycle and pedestrian facilities resulted in an increase in both recreational and utilitarian trips on bike and on foot.
These are just a few of the studies out there. State and federal agencies are particularly interested in learning how people move through their communities, and how they want to move through their communities. The US as a whole, and California in particular, has passed peak car. These agencies are genuinely trying to invest their limited dollars in the infrastructure that is seeing more and more use.
Rebecca–great links loaded with evidence that show an increase in walking with better walking facilities. It seems intuitive but great to read the studies. It seems there are very few streets in CV with continuous sidewalks.
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