Supervisor Nate Miley Walks Castro Valley Boulevard to See Firsthand What's Going Wrong for Merchants

Business is down as much as 30 percent since "streetscape" construction began last October, according to some of the merchants who were paid a visit Wednesday by Nate Miley, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

Some itself, some blame the , and others blame long-promised municipal parking that has yet to come to fruition.  

Roberta Rivet of the Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce said she was excited that Miley and his team are taking a deeper look at the problems.

"People didn't feel like they were really informed as much as they wanted to be. They didn't understand that there would never be any left-hand turn lanes during the entire construction part of the project," Rivet said.  

"Sometimes there's things that, unless you're actually physically here using the boulevard every day, don't seem obvious to you," she said, adding that Miley's decision to walk the boulevard in person is encouraging.

Among the merchants who spoke with Miley are Bill Saltzman of , Dave Knudsen of , Janet Lemon of and  President Brian Morrison.

In October of 2010, the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency began replacing sewer lines that run down the center of Castro Valley Boulevard between San Miguel Avenue and Redwood Road. The infrastructure work, which began on San Miguel and will end near the high school on Redwood, is expected to continue for at least another year.

The walkthrough will be followed by a meeting with merchants on May 11. County officials and Ghilotti Construction Co. officials will be available to listen and answer questions.