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Middle‑school teacher urges continuous bike lanes to Newark Middle School; city manager offers follow‑up
Summary
A Newark Middle School teacher called on the city and school board to prioritize bike‑lane connections to the middle school; city manager offered to connect the commenter with public works staff and noted an active update to the city’s active transportation plan.
Isaac Kwakowski, a Newark Middle School math teacher, told the committee during public comment that a segment of Newark Boulevard between Cedar Boulevard and Belle Haven lacks bike lanes and asked the city and school district to prioritize safe bike connections to the only middle school in Newark.
Kwakowski said he regularly bikes to school and has observed unsafe conditions where a bike lane ends without clear signage, which he said is particularly dangerous for inexperienced student riders. He urged both the city and the school board to invest in infrastructure to promote safe and sustainable student commutes.
City Manager Banoon responded that the city is updating its active transportation plan (to replace the 2017 bicycle and pedestrian master plan) and offered to put Kwakowski in touch with the public works director for follow‑up and engagement in the plan’s outreach.
Committee members did not debate the item at length during the meeting; the city manager asked to speak with the teacher after the meeting and to include him in future community outreach for the active transportation plan.
