PRESS RELEASE

The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.) announced the launch of a new initiative to identify creative, community-driven solutions to local challenges via Civic Dialogues.

From now until early October, all residents of the H.A.R.D. service area (Hayward, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, and nearby unincorporated Alameda County) will have the opportunity to answer one question: What would make parks, trails and recreation thrive in the H.A.R.D.  service area? Residents can share their ideas and respond to their neighbors’ suggestions at the Civic Dialogues website. Shortly afterward, Civic Dialogues will identify the submitted topics that resonate most with all participants and assemble a group of residents from across the district for a dialogue regarding the community input.

Through online forums and virtual dialogues, Civic Dialogues will assist H.A.R.D. in identifying what matters most to residents and points of consensus, which serve as critical information that policymakers and staff can use to drive change. The H.A.R.D. Board of Directors and staff have committed to reviewing the proposals that emerge from this process to see how the district might incorporate them into the district’s master plan that will guide Hayward Parks and Recreation Facilities over the next ten years.

“We know that the people who live, work and play in our communities have a deep understanding of what makes our parks, trails and recreation facilities and programs thrive and where there are opportunities to improve facilities and services. This initiative gives residents a meaningful opportunity to share their ideas, listen to one another and help shape directions for the future. We’re excited to continue hearing directly from our community and bring those ideas into the conversation as we revise our current master plan into a document that will guide H.A.R.D.’s parks and recreation facilities for the next ten years.” James Wheeler, Hayward Area Recreation and Park District General Manager said.

H.A.R.D. also plans to use the results of the Civic Dialogues initiative to inform additional in-person community listening sessions and workshops going into 2027.

Duncan Lockard, General Manager of Civic Dialogues, emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue in this process. He notes: “Civic Dialogues will host an online space where residents can not only share their own ideas on what would be good for parks, trails and recreation in the H.A.R.D. service area, but support and build on others’ ideas as well. Our process engages a wide net of community members and builds consensus around practical solutions. We are excited to engage residents of the H.A.R.D. service area and bring their ideas to district leadership.”

You can visit the website and offer your ideas today, or vote on the ideas that have already been proposed by H.A.R.D. service area residents: www.civicdialogues.org/hard

About Civic Dialogues

Civic Dialogues is an independent, nonpartisan platform for gathering community input and identifying cross-partisan agreement on the issues most important to the public. Similar to citizen assemblies, dialogues involve live, small-group conversations that enable participants to find common ground on practical solutions to complex policy challenges in a way that avoids the polarization of other forums. Civic Dialogues was seed funded by tens of thousands of Americans from across the political spectrum via Change.org.

If you have any questions for Change.org, reach out to Erika Soto Lamb at esotolamb@change.org.

About Hayward Area Recreation and Park District

The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, known locally as “H.A.R.D.,” is an independent special use district created to provide park and recreation services for over 309,000 residents. Our boundaries encompass a 100-square-mile area, which includes the City of Hayward and the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, and Fairview. For more information, visit HaywardRec.org.

If you have any questions for the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (HARD), reach out to Nicole Roa, Public Information Officer at RoaN@haywardrec.org.