Anita Ave: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Anita Avenue in Castro Valley, looking toward Castro Valley Boulevard.
Residents along Anita Avenue in Castro Valley who lack sidewalks will be getting them starting this week as a COVID-delayed county project gets underway.
Sidewalks are present on some parts of the street, which runs between Somerset Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard, while missing elsewhere. The new sidewalks and curbs are designed to provide safe pedestrian routes to Castro Valley Elementary School, Our Lady of Grace School, and downtown Castro Valley.
The construction company, McGuire & Hester, told residents in a January 6 letter that the project would be done in stages, with the residences with addresses between 20404 to 20240 Anita Ave. having their sidewalks installed first. Curbs and gutters would go in at the same time.
The last residences getting the sidewalks would be those at 20535 to 20393 Anita Ave., where work is expected to be finished by August 8. The roadway would then be repaved starting August 9 and ending August 18. Work would wrap up by August 28, McGuire & Hester Project Manager Michael Laganowsky said in the letter to residents.
Laganowsky said that McGuire & Hester would try to minimize inconvenience to residents during the project but added that parking could be barred temporarily in areas where construction was active.
According to the Alameda County Public Works Agency website, the sidewalks will come with new pedestrian ramps and enhanced crosswalks, including flashing lights at the back entrance to Castro Valley Elementary. Extended sections of crossing areas, sometimes called “bulb-outs,” will be added to give pedestrians less distance to cross the street and provide higher visibility to drivers.
McGuire & Hester will install a special porous concrete for a large portion of the sidewalks and curbs to improve rainwater runoff, Alameda County Public Works Agency (PWA) inspector James Lai told the Forum. Street trees will also be planted along Anita Avenue, the agency said.
Residents had gotten a look at competing designs for the project at a September 2019 public meeting, but the pandemic hit before work could get underway.
A problem discussed at the time was that Anita Avenue is 10 feet narrower, at 40 feet than many streets in Castro Valley. That is the minimum width for a street that allows two cars to pass each other, according to county officials at the time.
This meant that the entire street could be widened to allow for sidewalks, or the county could instead fill in gaps between areas with sidewalks.
An overview of the project can be seen on the PWA website: https://www.acpwa.org/projects/2021/Anita-Avenue/Anita-Avenue.page?