AUGUST 2024

EVENTS

SOLANO STROLL, Sun., Sept. 8: El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll will have a (free for nonprofits) booth at the Solano Stroll on Sunday, Sept. 8! We’ll be on lower Solano, between Key Route and Pomona. Please volunteer for an hour or two to spread the word about safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists! We’ll be “spinning the wheel” (see below) to challenge people to think about car-free ways of getting there. Sign up for a shift or write to info@ecrawalkroll.org.

BUSINESS MEETING: Our next business meeting is August 21, 7–8 pm on Zoom. The agenda includes Solano Stroll prep, bike parking at El Cerrito Plaza, and Safe Routes to School.

2024 MEETING AND HAPPY HOUR SCHEDULE

Business meetings, third Wednesdays, 7–8 p.m. on Zoom:

August 21

October 16

December 18

Happy hours, Wed., 5–7 p.m.:

September 18, Fatapples, 7525 Fairmount Ave. @ Colusa

November 20, Banter Wine, 10368 San Pablo Ave. @ Stockton

December 15 (Sunday), Super-Fun Holiday Party, location TBA

 
FREE CONCERT AT DEL NORTE BART, Wed., Aug. 21, 5–6:30 p.m.: As part of its “Sound Tracks” program, BART is hosting a free concert by Patron Latin Rhythms (Latin jazz, Latin rock, Mambo) at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station. There will also be a special reading by winners of the BART Lines Teen Poetry Contest.

RICHMOND STREET COMPLETE STREETS WORKSHOPS: Two community workshops have been scheduled for the Richmond Complete Streets Improvement Project: Sept. 12 and Nov. 21, 6–7:30 pm, in City Council chambers, 10890 San Pablo Ave. Please attend and/or write to the design team

NEWS AND VIEWS

Ask El Cerrito to consider bike lanes in its plans for Richmond Complete Streets project

The Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project will implement safety improvements on Richmond Street between Elm Street and Fairmount Avenue. The goal of the project is to provide safe and accessible pedestrian connections between El Cerrito’s neighborhoods and the El Cerrito del Norte and Plaza BART stations, schools, parks, the Ohlone Greenway, civic destinations, and the businesses along San Pablo Avenue.

The project is in the initial design phase and construction is scheduled to start in spring 2025, after the EBMUD installation of the new water pipeline under Richmond Street is complete.

Richmond Street is a designated bikeway for El Cerrito, which is currently marked with sharrows. Current planning for Complete Streets on Richmond Street does not include bike lanes. EC/RA Walk & Roll strongly requests that a dedicated bike facility be added to the concept designs as one of the possible alternatives under consideration.

Associate Engineer Marielle Cuison tells EC/RA Walk & Roll, “The best way to share your thoughts and suggestions for Richmond Street is through the survey … and participate in future community meetings.”

Many people shared their concerns and more than 80 people completed the community survey. The results show strong support for safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists and bikeway improvements, with very few people expressing concern about preserving on-street parking on Richmond Street.

Two community workshops have been scheduled: Sept. 12 and Nov. 21, 6-7:30 pm, in City Council chambers, 10890 San Pablo Ave. The survey is currently closed, but you can still write to the design team to request that dedicated bike lanes be considered in the conceptual plans at RichmondStreetComplete@gmail.com.

SWAG ALERT!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ALBANY AND WCCTC SUPPORT 24/7 ACCESS TO RICHMOND-SAN RAFAEL BRIDGE BIKE/PED LANE: The Albany city council and West Contra Costa Transportation Commission have joined the Richmond city council and the Bay Trail board in passing resolutions in support of 24/7 access to the Richmond-San Rafael bridge for pedestrians and cyclists. The El Cerrito city council has declined our request to consider a resolution in support of 24/7 bridge access; write to the council asking them to reconsider.

EC/RA WALK & ROLL ON CCTA BIKE/PED ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has appointed EC/RA Walk & Roll’s Janet Byron as their citizen representative and Gaia Sonatina as the alternate. The committee meets on the 4th Monday of every other month at 11 a.m. at CCTA headquarters in Walnut Creek. More news to come!

SUPPORT COMPLETE STREETS BILL: CalBike is a co-sponsor of the Complete Streets Bill of 2024, SB 960, authored by California State Senator Scott Wiener. The bill requires Caltrans to set objective goals and “to prioritize the implementation of comfortable, convenient, and connected facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users on all projects in the [SHOPP funding] program, where applicable.” Complete Streets are those that are safe and comfortable for people biking, walking, and taking transit, as well as driving motor vehicles. Tell Assemblymember Buffy Wicks to support the bill in the appropriations committee.

I-680 EXPANSION: Transform and other local advocates of multimodal transit are opposing the move by Caltrans to build new lanes on I-680 near Walnut Creek. Learn more about the project and read Transform’s letter on the draft environmental impact report here.

BAY TRAIL IN RICHMOND MID-YEAR REPORT: Trails for Richmond Action Committee (TRAC) reports that 392,000 people have enjoyed crossing the Bay Trail over the Richmond–San Rafael bridge since the trail segment opened in 2019, and the city of Richmond and East Bay Regional Park District are now taking bids for a new 2.3-mile, $9.8 million segment in Pt. Molate. Learn more in TRAC’s 25th Bay Trail Richmond mid-year report. 

Support our efforts to create a safer, multimodal future for El Cerrito and Richmond Annex by making a tax-free contribution!

El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll

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 join, visit our website at ecrawalkroll.org 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 and Robin Mitchell