MARCH 2026-1

FAMILY-FRIENDLY HAPPY HOUR – MARCH 11, 5–7 PM: Join us to hang out, eat, have a beer, and talk multimobility and safer streets with like-minded neighbors! Bring the kids/family/friends/partners! Our happy hours are every other second Wednesday 5–7 p.m. at family-friendly Fatapples, 7525 Fairmont Ave. Look for us at the picnic tables or indoors, depending on the weather. Mark your calendar for our remaining 2026 happy hour dates: May 13, July 8, September 9, and November 11.

EL CERRITO PLAZA TOD GROUNDBREAKING MARCH 5, 11 AM: El Cerrito is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for phase 1 of the transit-oriented development (TOD) at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station, a six-story, 100% affordable housing project that includes 69 affordable units and is slated to be completed in 2027. The groundbreaking is Thursday, March 5, 11 a.m. at El Cerrito Plaza BART Lot A, 515 Richmond Street.

SHOW UP FOR BIKE LANES ON BERKELEY’S HOPKINS STREET – MARCH 12, 4:15-5:15 PM: Berkeley already planned and approved protected bike lanes on Hopkins from Sutter to Gilman. Then, after pressure from a small but vocal group, the Berkeley city council and former city manager abruptly halted the project in mid-2023. North Berkeley Now! is planning a peaceful demonstration at the intersection of Hopkins and Monterey to show Berkeley and the city council that they need to finish what they started and build protected bike lanes on Hopkins. Gather at 4:15 p.m. at King School Park on Hopkins. Demonstration to be followed by a bike ride to Berkeley city hall. Learn more here. Source: North Berkeley Now!

EAST BAY BIKE PARTY @ EL CERRITO DEL NORTE BART, MARCH 13: The East Bay Bike Party will roll from the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station on Friday night, March 13. Connect Bay Area will be collecting signatures for the Regional Transit Measure at the party — join the effort to save Bay Area transit!

ECRA WALK & ROLL GENERAL MEETING, APRIL 6: Join us on Google Meet at 7 p.m. Agenda TBA. El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll meets every other second Wednesday, now on Google Meet. Future general meetings on our 2026 schedule are April 6, June 10, August 12, and October 14. (In December, we PARTY!) Click on this Google Calendar link to add all of our 2026 meetings to your calendar, with the meeting links.

BIKE TO WHEREVER DAY IS MAY 14: Visit the ECRA Walk & Roll Energizer Station, in partnership with Contra Costa 511, at Del Norte BART station, on Thurs., May 14, 7-9 am. Get more info and Pledge to Ride with Bike East Bay.

ACTION ALERT#1: Tell Caltrans and state reps that San Pablo Ave. safety upgrades can’t wait

Due to funding shortfalls in the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), Caltrans is proposing to reprogram the State Route 123 (SR-123) Pavement Rehabilitation Project to Fiscal Year 2027-28, which would delay the start of construction from Summer 2026 to February 2028. El Cerrito has negotiated urgent safety improvements as part of the repaving project.

Since the start of the project planning and design phase, two pedestrian fatalities have occurred along SR-123 in El Cerrito, making the need for the critical safety features all the more urgent.

While much more is needed to make San Pablo Avenue truly safe for cyclists and pedestrians, El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll believes that measures in the repaving project are an important first step.

Read Steve Price’s blog post, “Moving toward a better future on San Pablo Avenue,” to learn more.

ACTION ALERT!: Write to the California Transportation Commission, telling them to fund the San Pablo Avenue repaving project without delay, before their meeting on March 19 (send emails ASAP). Emails to California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Senator Jesse Arreguin, who are advocating for the project with Caltrans, are also welcome.

Be sure to fill in your name and city of residence, and to add your personal comments about the urgent need for safety upgrades on San Pablo Avenue.

ACTION ALERT#2: Collect signatures for Regional Transit Measure on March 25 

El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll is partnering with Seamless Bay Area to collect signatures for the Regional Transit Measure on Wednesday, March 25, 4 to 6 p.m. at El Cerrito Plaza BART. The proposed ballot initiative would provide stable funding that protects and improves public transit service across the Bay Area. We are organizing a signature collecting event at El Cerrito Plaza and would greatly value your participation. Collecting signatures is a critical step in getting this citizen-driven measure on the ballot (with a 50% threshold to pass), and every volunteer truly makes a meaningful difference.

Please fill out this ONE QUESTION survey to let us know if you are available to attend on March 25. Please respond by Monday, March 9.

ACTION ALERT#3: Tell El Cerrito that safe streets are your budget priority and attend March 7 workshop 

As El Cerrito develops its biennial budget for Fiscal Years 2026-27 and 2027-28, the city is soliciting input from the community about how to prioritize programs and services over the next 2 years. 

Tell El Cerrito that you want safer, multimodal streets to be a top priority in the next 2-year budget cycle by taking the city’s budget survey. Be sure to prioritize spending for “Active Transportation” and add anything you would like to see more of (protected bike lanes, traffic calming, pedestrian scrambles, etc.) in the comments box.

On Saturday, March 7, El Cerrito will have a community budget workshop at 10 a.m., at City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave. Attend to learn more about the city’s budget and share your budget priorities.

Upcoming opportunities to participate in the budget planning process include (see above poster for more info):

Sat., March 7, 10 a.m.: Community budget workshop

Tues., March  17, 6 p.m.: Department budget presentations @ El Cerrito City Council meeting

Tues., April 7, 6 p.m.: City Council budget study session #1
Tuesday, May 5, 6 pm.: City Council budget study session #2

TAKE ACTION! Now is the time to let the El Cerrito City Council know that you want them to prioritize spending for safer streets. Take the survey and email the council at cityclerk@elcerrito.gov.

BUS PARTY! Joanna Pace of El Cerrito, a friend of El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll, organized a bus party to celebrate the AC Transit #7 bus, which unfortunately has seen service cuts. Pace is working with the Magnificent 7 bus riders group and East Bay Transit Riders Union to get the public to recognize the value of the bus line and use it. For the bus party, partygoers got on two AC Transit buses coming from El Cerrito Del Norte BART and from Emeryville, and converged to Yeti Sports Bar in Berkeley. Along the route ninety riders plus several elected officials hopped on board and had a great time together. — Steve Price

APPLY NOW FOR CCTA BIKE/PED ADVISORY BOARD: The West Contra Costa Transportation Commission seeks the West County citizen representative to serve on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The committee meets bimonthly in Pleasant Hill (next to the BART station) and advises on alternative transportation grant funding and other matters. The WCCTC Technical Advisory Committee will review applicants at its March meeting and forward recommendations for one citizen representative and one alternate to the WCCTC Board to discuss at its March 27 board meeting. Interested parties should submit two references (with email, phone number, and affiliation, if any) and submit a written response, no longer than one page, to Coire Reilly at creilly@WestContraCostaTC.gov by March 4, answering the following two questions: 1)  What experience do you have that would make you an effective citizen representative for the CBPAC?; and 2)  Why would you like to be the citizen representative for the CBPAC?

ADDITIONAL RICHMOND ST. FUNDING IDENTIFIED: At the March 3 meeting, the El Cerrito City Council approved the execution of a new funding agreement with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority that incorporates additional grant funding sources into the Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project, bringing its total cost to $12.9 million. The project is in the final design and environmental approvals stage, with bidding expected in Spring 2026 and construction anticipated to begin in late Fall 2026. Source: El Cerrito City Council Agenda Item No. 6.H, March 3, 2026

OPPOSE E-BIKE REGISTRATION: AB 1942, introduced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-16), would require Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes to register with the DMV and display special license plates. CalBike, Bike East Bay, and other bike advocacy groups adamantly oppose any measure that seeks to register bicycles. They are urging lawmakers to focus on real safety solutions: better street design, protected infrastructure, and enforcement of existing laws; and urging district attorneys and the state attorney general to enforce consumer protection laws against companies selling illegal e-motos as legal e-bikes. Sign the petition from CalBike and Marin County Bicycle Coalition re: enforcement of consumer protections regarding e-motos.

PAVEMENT PUBLIC ART INSTALLED ON SAN PABLO AVE: El Cerrito launched the Pavement Public Art Pilot Program to enhance community aesthetics and enhances roadway safety for all users. A 2022 study found that pavement art installations can reduce crashes and improve road user behavior. Richmond resident Pete Frankel’s design, Shades of the Little Hill, was selected as the 2024 Pavement Art finalist by the Arts and Culture Commission. The artwork is installed at the crosswalk at San Pablo Avenue and Wall Avenue. Learn more at elcerrito.gov/PavementArt. Source: El Cerrito City Manager’s report

OUT IN THE WORLD WITHOUT A CAR: Local birder has “Big Green Year” without driving: Birder Derek Heins, treasurer of Golden Gate Bird Alliance, logged 3,000 miles on his bike (coupled with public transit) to see 282 bird species in the Bay Area during 2025. Read all about it on the GGBA blog.

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

REPORT ROAD HAZARDS TO RICHMOND AND BEYOND: To report debris in bike lanes and other transportation-related road hazards, be a squeaky wheel here; and for up-to-date links for reporting systems in every East Bay jurisdiction, go to Bike East Bay’s hazard reporting page.

Our mission: 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