The Hayward Mission Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan establishes a transit-oriented vision for a two-mile stretch along the City of Hayward’s main corridor. Over time, Mission Boulevard’s vacant lots, aging strip malls, gas stations, and used car dealerships will be transformed into the mixed-use backbone of a series of compact, walkable neighborhoods.
Patrick Siegman led the parking and transportation planning components of the project while a Principal at Nelson\Nygaard, as part of a team led by Hall Alminana. The project followed on the team’s work crafting the South Hayward BART and Mission Boulevard Form-Based Code, a similar code covering the southern half of the corridor.
The plan provides a comprehensive parking and transportation demand management strategy. It legalizes and incentivizes truly transit-oriented development. Hayward’s strict minimum parking mandates had made it financially infeasible to redevelop many of the small parcels along the corridor. To fix this, the plan’s form-based code removes all minimum parking mandates. Curb parking pricing and residential parking permits will keep on-street parking readily available. New parking revenues will be devoted to a parking benefit district, which will fund public improvements within the code area. The plan’s traffic reduction measures, from transit pass programs to unbundling parking costs, are designed to reduce vehicle trips and pollution.
The plan was unanimously adopted by the City Council in 2014. Construction of a $46 million renewal of Mission Boulevard began in 2021. The redesign transforms the street’s narrow, mostly treeless sidewalks and its auto-oriented, high-speed roadway. New sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, protected bicycle lanes, and safer pedestrian crossings set the stage for the boulevard’s future as a bus rapid transit corridor. Several mixed-use developments, which add new housing, retail, and hotels to the corridor, are underway or complete.
Images courtesy of Hall Alminana