EC/RA W&R JUNE NEWS: Petition for safer El Cerrito streets

JUNE 2024

EVENTS

HAPPY HOUR: Wednesday, June 12, 5–7 p.m.: Meet and greet and talk walkin’ and rollin’ at the Little Hill Lounge, 10753 San Pablo Ave. We’ll have the new ECRA Walk & Roll T-shirts for anyone who preordered theirs or would like to purchase one (or two)!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR EL CERRITO JULY 4/WORLD ONE FESTIVAL: EC/RA Walk & Roll will have a table at Cerrito Vista Park on July 4 for the WorldOne Festival, arguably El Cerrito’s biggest day of the year! Sign up here for a fun shift at our table, 10–noon (includes setup), noon to 2 p.m., or 2–4 p.m., or write to us at info@ecrawalkroll.org. If you’re at the festival, be sure to stop by and say HI! We will also have our new T-shirts for sale.

BUSINESS MEETING: Wednesday, July 11, 7–8 p.m. Join us for a Zoom meeting. Agenda TBD.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Sun, Jun 09

Sign petition for safer streets in central El Cerrito

El Cerrito residents are calling on the El Cerrito City Council to implement traffic-calming measures to improve traffic safety on local streets.

SIGN THE PETITION

Sun, Jun 09

Remembering Bill Pinkham, a great friend to cyclists

It is with great sadness that we share that Bill Pinkham passed away on May 7. Bill was first and foremost a passionate climate activist, and he served on just about every bike advocacy group around here.

Sun, Jun 09

Our T-shirts have arrived!

Get a T-shirt and make a statement for safe, multimodal transportation in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex.

Sun, Jun 09

Bicycles come in many flavors

AARP just published a wonderful graphic article entitled "Different Bikes for Different Cyclists." It shows the marvelously varied world of bicycles with short descriptions of each.

Sun, Jun 09

The alarming impact of bicycle theft on ridership behavior

Here is another good reason for installing bike racks following best practices: Many people whose bikes are stolen will stop riding altogether.

Sun, Jun 09

What's the biggest electric vehicle company in the world?

Have you ever heard of Yadea? The Chinese manufacturer of two-wheeled electric vehicles produced 16 million last year.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

“KEEPING EL CERRITO SAFE AND SELF-RELIANT” BUDGET SURVEY: As part of its annual budget-planning process, El Cerrito is requesting citizen input on the community’s budgeting and spending priorities. Since transportation and transit are not included on the list, El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll recommends including “improvements to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure” in the "suggestions for additional services" box. Take El Cerrito’s community feedback survey here.

CHEAP BUS PASSES FOR KIDS: 511contracosta.org has a Summer Youth Pass program that lets kids ride the bus all summer long for just $30. Youth ages 6-18 can enjoy unlimited rides to summer school, jobs, sports camps, and anywhere else they want to go on WestCAT, County Connection, and Tri Delta Transit buses. The pass is good through August, making it a great deal for summer trips and back-to-school bus rides as well.

SUPPORT STATE FUNDING FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION: In his draft budget, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed cutting almost $600 million from the Active Transportation Program, which fund projects that make biking and walking safer and more appealing while advancing the infrastructure changes needed to combat climate change. Last year Governor Newsom tried to cut the Active Transportation Program and the legislature restored the funding. Go to the CalBike website to tell your representatives to protect active transportation again.

BART BICYCLE ADVOCACY TASK FORCE: BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force has openings for volunteers. The meetings, which happen every other month, are on Zoom so don’t require traveling. Heath Maddox is the BART staff liaison to the Task Force. Contact him by phone at (415) 728-1352 or by email at hmaddox@bart.gov.

OUR WEBSITE HAS MOVED; WEBMASTER NEEDED: The El Cerrito/Richmond Annex website has moved to a new platform (Squarespace) and a new URL: ECRAWalkRoll.org. (The previous addresses elcerritostrollroll.org and ecstrollroll.org will be redirected for the next year.) We could really use a webmaster! Write to info@ecrawalkroll.org to volunteer.

El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll

El Cerrito/Richmond Annex (EC/RA) Walk & Roll is a citizen's group advocating for safe, convenient, alternative transportation modes in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex.

HAPPY HOUR – Wednesday, June 12, 5–7 p.m.
Little Hill Lounge, 10753 San Pablo Ave.

MEETING - Wednesday, July 11, 7–8 p.m. on Zoom

To join, visit our website at ecrawalkroll.org, take our survey, or write to us at info@ECRAWalkRoll.org

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

Newsletter edited and laid out by Janet Byron and Robin Mitchell

Big turnout for Bike to Wherever Day

We were happy to share a bike energizer station with 511 Contra Costa and staff of West Contra Costa Transportation Commission at Del Norte BART station on Bike to Wherever Day (May 16). We counted 137 cyclists roll by in 2 hours! Left to right, Steve Price of EC/RA Walk & Roll, John Nemeth of WCCTC; Janet Byron, Stuart Sonatina, and Barbara Birch of EC/RA Walk & Roll; Amy Smolens of Albany Strollers & Rollers; and Leah Greenblat of WCCTC.