APRIL 2025

BUSINESS MEETING, APRIL 9, 7–8:30 PM: On Zoom. We’ll plan for the GO GREEN! Mobility Fair and building how to best build community support for the Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project, including bike lanes north of Moeser (see below for more information). Remaining business meeting dates in 2025 are June 11, Aug. 13, Oct. 8, and Dec. 10.

BIKE TO WHEREVER DAY, MAY 15, 7–9 AM @ DEL NORTE: ECRA Walk & Roll will host a Bike to Wherever Day Energizer Station at Del Norte BART Station, 7–9 a.m. on Thursday, May 15. Come by and say HI! To volunteer at our station, write to info@ecrawalkroll.org.

HAPPY HOUR, MAY 14, 5–7 PM, FATAPPLES: Join us to hang out, eat, have a beer, and talk multimobility and safer streets. Happy hours are every other second Wednesday: May 14, July 9, Sept. 10, and Nov. 12, 5–7 p.m., at family-friendly Fatapples, 7525 Fairmont Ave. Look for us at the picnic tables or indoors, depending on the weather.

GO GREEN! Mobility Fair: Volunteers needed

When: Saturday, April 26, 11AM–3PM

Where: El Cerrito Plaza BART Northeast Parking Lot (515 Richmond St.)

We need volunteers for this fun and exciting event! TO VOLUNTEER, PLEASE SIGN UP HERE.

In advance of mixed-use housing development construction at El Cerrito Plaza BART station planned for later this year, learn about all the easy and fun ways to walk and roll to useful and exciting destinations at the GO GREEN! Mobility Fair. Find out how our community is transforming streets and neighborhoods into safe spaces, improving air quality, fighting climate change, and connecting people.

Celebrate Earth Month at the Fair while you discover resources to reduce your carbon footprint. In the Bay Area, transportation makes up half of our cities’ greenhouse gas emissions. By switching even a few car trips per week to other ways of getting around, we can all make a huge difference in reducing our contribution to global warming and help El Cerrito meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals of the City’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. 

At the Fair you can:

• Test ride e-bikes

• Check out innovative and discounted mobility options

• Learn about getting to exciting destinations without a car

• Discover plans for development at El Cerrito Plaza and North Berkeley BART

• Enjoy music, food, fun and games for all ages

Bike East Bay will be offering a free Family Cycling workshop at the fair. Registration is required — sign up here!  

The GO GREEN! Mobility fair is sponsored by the City of El Cerrito,  ECRA Walk and Roll, City of Berkeley, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and Bike East Bay. For more information, click here.

Free Bike East Bay Family Cycling Workshop comes to El Cerrito: REGISTER NOW!

Join Bike East Bay for a Family Cycling Workshop at the GO GREEN! Mobility Fair at El Cerrito Plaza BART (north parking lot, 515 Richmond St., corner of Richmond and Central) on Saturday, April 26. The workshop is 10:30 a.m. to noon, then visit the fair!

The workshop is free, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Click here to sign up.

This Family Cycling workshop is for kids who are able to ride a bike and are ready to take to the paths and roadways with their parents (suggested grade range 2nd to 6th). The event includes instruction on:

• fitting a helmet

• performing a bike safety check

• communicating with other road users

• riding in a straight line and avoiding obstacles, and

• navigating safely through intersections . . . all while playing fun games!

All minors must be accompanied by an adult to participate, both with their own working bikes and helmets. If the class is full, you can be added to the wait list or be notified about future sessions as they are added.

We support a Richmond Street that’s REALLY for all: Here’s why

A new group called “Richmond Street Neighbors Association,” formed to oppose El Cerrito’s Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project, has posted a website, Richmond Street For All. El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll coordinating committee offers evidence-based responses to unsubstantiated claims and mischaracterizations on the Richmond Street For All website.

Read detailed responses to Richmond Street For All’s claims on our website, and learn why Complete Streets make us all safer!

Explore El Cerrito’s 100-acre natural wonderland at Hillside Festival May 3–4

There’s something for everyone at the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers 11th annual El Cerrito Hillside Festival, Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, with more than a dozen hikes and other events scheduled throughout El Cerrito’s 100-acre natural wonderland, the Hillside Natural Area. Visit www.ectrailtrekkers.org/hillside-festival.html for more information and see the brochure here.

Hikes and other events start from trailheads throughout the Hillside and touch on such subjects as native flora and fauna, insects, trees, geology, history, and habitat restoration. El Cerrito Trail Trekkers hike leaders are experts in their fields.

All Trail Trekkers events are family-friendly, and some are especially for young people — including the ever-popular Nature Scavenger Hunt (photos only; no collecting!) and Insect Hike. Haiku by the haiku contest winners, will be read during a Haiku Hike and displayed throughout the hillside. Free.

VOTE ON 24/7 ACCESS TO RICHMOND-SAN RAFAEL BRIDGE POSTPONED INDEFINITELY: Success!!! The Bay Conservation and Development Commission postponed its April 3rd agenda item to limit access to the bike lane on the Richmond-Rafael Bridge indefinitely, and no reschedule date has been set. See the Richmondside coverage here and Robert Prinz of Bike East Bay’s op-ed in the East Bay Times. Thanks to all who signed Bike East Bay’s petition and spoke out in favor of 24/7 access to the bridge for non-auto users. ECRA Walk & Roll encourages all who are able to donate to Bike East Bay to support their indefatigable efforts to make our East Bay streets safer, more equitable, and accessible for all users: BikeEastBay.org/donate

KIDICAL MASS - SAT., APRIL 19, 10:30–1:30 PM: A Kidical Mass bike ride is a large group ride for kids of all ages, family members, and supporters. This “Spring Roll” starts at Cedar Rose Park, 1300 Rose St. (along the Ohlone Greenway) in North Berkeley and ends at the Sports Basement parking lot (2727 Milvia St.), where riders will enjoy good company, waffles, churros, shaved ice, and more! ​The ride is free, easy-paced, and all are welcome. Register for Kidical Mass

NEXT GENERATION FARE GATES AT EL CERRITO PLAZA STATION: In mid-March BART began installation of Next Generation fare gates at the El Cerrito Plaza Station. The installation work is happening in stages so riders can continue to use the remaining gates while new ones are being installed. The latest work comes after BART successfully installed Next Generation Fare Gates at 22 stations across the system. All 50 BART stations will have new fare gates by the end of 2025. Learn more about BART’s Next Generation Fare Gates project here.

EL CERRITO DEL NORTE COMPLETE STREETS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: Progress on the El Cerrito Del Norte Complete Streets project continues with the installation of sidewalk, buffer islands, irrigation lines, and streetlight foundations. New buffer islands will separate the bike lane from the general traffic lanes. Beginning the week of March 10th, the contractor began mobilizing on the west side of San Pablo Avenue as well. This means that construction activities will be performed on both sides of San Pablo Avenue at the same time to help complete the project sooner. For questions or comments about this project reach out to transformingdelnorte@gmail.com or the project hotline, (800) 930-3720. For more information, visit: el-cerrito.org/TransformingDelNorte. Source: El Cerrito City Manager’s Report

REPORT TRAFFIC CONCERNS TO EL CERRITO PUBLIC WORKS: If you see a traffic hazard or problem of any type — such as potholes, tree down or needs maintenance, light or signal out, bad sidewalk, illegal dumping, or graffiti — the best way to take care of it is to report it to El Cerrito Public Works Department via its traffic improvement page. Things can only get fixed if the city knows that they need fixin’!

El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll promotes walking, bicycling, and other low-carbon multimodal transportation alternatives and builds community for safer, more joyful, and inclusive streets for all.

To sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit our website at ecrawalkroll.org (scroll down for sign-up) or write to us at info@ECRAWalkRoll.org.

Please submit traffic safety requests to El Cerrito’s online traffic improvement request form.

Newsletter edited by Janet Byron