Upcoming Community Meeting on the Future Closure of I Street

The City of Union City invites residents to a special community meeting on Saturday, September 14 from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM to learn more about the forthcoming construction of the at-grade pedestrian rail crossing at the BART east entrance and the required future closure of I Street.

What: Community Meeting on the Future Closure of I Street
When: September 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Where: Kennedy Youth Center (1333 Decoto Road, Union City, CA 94587)
Who: Community members and residents
Other: Spanish translation services to be provided

Rendering of BART East Entrance and Pedestrian Rail Crossing

The City will soon go to bid for the construction of an at-grade pedestrian rail crossing project across Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the east side of the Union City BART station, thereby creating a two-sided BART station and providing residents in the Station District neighborhood with greater access to BART, bus transit, and retail centers.

The completion of the at-grade pedestrian rail crossing project at BART will create a two-sided BART station, which has been envisioned for over 20 years.

Opening the east entrance to BART will spur housing and commercial development in the Station District, which will increase economic opportunity for all City residents. Expanding access to BART will also increase BART and bus ridership, create opportunities for expanded transit routes, and enable residents and transit patrons to access a future intercity passenger rail station that will be adjacent to the pedestrian crossing. The future rail station will service Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) train trips between Sacramento, the Bay Area, and the Central Valley, where it will connect to future High-Speed Rail.

To construct the at-grade pedestrian crossing, the City has committed to making various surface improvements at several pedestrian rail crossings throughout the City. For example, the City will make critical pedestrian improvements at the railroad crossing at the Decoto Road/Oakland Subdivision tracks (directly East of the BART overhead tracks). Additional improvements will also be made at the Smith Street railroad crossing and Whipple Road railroad crossing as part of future phases.

In addition to making crossing improvements along Decoto Road and at other locations, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requires the closure of an existing at-grade railroad crossing along the Oakland Subdivision rail line in order to allow the opening of the new pedestrian rail crossing at the BART east entrance. After extensive analysis, the City concluded that closing the railroad crossing at I Street would have the least impact on pedestrian and vehicular traffic amongst all the crossings that were evaluated.

Rendering of I Street Existing Condition

Rendering of I Street Required Closure

The City invites residents to provide their input and learn more about these plans, including design concepts, construction schedules, and other crossing improvements, at the Community Meeting on Saturday, September 14.

A public hearing to authorize the closure of I Street will be scheduled for the City Council regular meeting on October 8, 2024 at 7:00 PM.

Please visit www.unioncity.org/BARTEastEntrance to learn more about the project. For project-related inquiries, contact the Public Works Department at [email protected] or (510) 675-5308.

General questions regarding the upcoming community meeting can be directed to the City Manager's Office at [email protected] or (510) 675-3232 (press 8).

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CONTACT:
City Manager's Office
(510) 675-3232 (Press 8)
[email protected]

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