South Hayward BART and Mission Boulevard Form-Based Code

The South Hayward BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit District) and Mission Boulevard Form-Based Code 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. The code also re-envisions the South Hayward BART Station and its surroundings, replacing acres of surface parking with a mix of shops, housing, and public space.

Patrick Siegman directed the parking and transportation demand management components of the project while a Principal at Nelson\Nygaard, as part of a team led by Hall Alminana. As a follow-up, he advised the City of Hayward and BART on designing and implementing station-area bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements, curb parking pricing, and a parking benefit district.

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 new code removes all minimum parking regulations. Instead, curb parking pricing and residential parking permits are used to keep on-street parking readily available. Curb parking revenues are devoted to a parking benefit district, which funds station access improvements and other public improvements within the district.

So far, four acres of park-and-ride lots at the BART station have been converted into 357 affordable and market-rate homes, which front onto a new greenway. Along Mission Boulevard, hundreds of townhomes, condominiums, apartments, and a public park have replaced vacant lots and strip malls. Street trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, wider sidewalks, and crossing improvements are preparing the heavily-trafficked arterial for its future as a bus rapid transit corridor.

Images courtesy of City of Hayward, Hall Alminana, and James E. Roberts-Obayashi Corp