Cherryland Celebrates New Sidewalks

Cherryland will have its own sidewalk celebration today—a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark completion of new sidewalks and other improvements along Hampton Road between Mission Boulevard and Meekland Avenue.

Community members are invited to the event at 10:30 a.m. by the Cherryland Gateway Sign at the corner of Mission Blvd and Hampton Road in the unincorporated neighborhood near Hayward. Nate Miley, Alameda County Supervisor for District 4, and members of the Cherryland Citizens Advisory Committee will attend.

The new concrete sidewalks replace a bumpy, pockmarked and frequently waterlogged strip of asphalt along Hampton Road where parked cars often forced pedestrians into the street.

"Prior to the improvements, the only pedestrian area was an uneven potholed asphalt strip along the side of the road that would continually fill with water during rainy seasons," according to an Alameda County Redevelopment Agency press release.

"Cars parked along the poorly defined areas forced people to walk in the street and dodge traffic. This made it very difficult for pedestrians, such as the elderly or parents with children, to walk safely in their own neighborhood."

Other new improvements include street trees, planting strips, crosswalk enhancements, storm drain improvements and gateway landscaping, all part of the second phase of the Cherryland Sidewalk Project.

The $2.5 million Phase 2 project was paid for by the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency and federal funds and completed in conjunction with the Alameda County Public Works Agency. BKF Engineering of Pleasanton designed the project, while Bay Cities Paving and Grading of Concord served as the general contractor.

The redevelopment agency worked with community groups in Cherryland to develop a priority list of streets needing sidewalk improvements, according to the press release. The streets that ranked highest in priority included Western Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Willow Avenue, Princeton Street, Meekland Avenue and Hampton Road.

The first phase of improvements was completed in 2007 along Western Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Willow Avenue and Princeton Street for $6.1 million.