DECEMBER 2025-2

SUPER-FUN, FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY PARTY, FRI., DEC. 19, 5–7 P.M.: Join ECRA Walk & Roll-ers for a holiday get-together on Friday, Dec. 19, 5-7 p.m., at 543 Norvell St. Bring friends and family and something to share (drinks, appetizers, treats, etc.). We’ve had a terrific year advocating for safer streets — let’s celebrate!

Our hosts Bill and Diana add: “On December 19 the sun will set at 4:53 p.m. This time of year we tend to get really nice sunsets from our house (might even set right in the Golden Gate Bridge), so I recommend y'all come a little early, say 4:30 p.m., to enjoy the sunset as well.”

Pedestrians hit by cars in El Cerrito crosswalks: Contact city council to demand slower streets

By Janet Byron

Two pedestrians were hit by vehicles in crosswalks on San Pablo Avenue, two others were hit while crossing Central Avenue at the Ohlone Greenway and Carlson Boulevard at Central Avenue, and a drunk driver plowed into two cars on Carlson Boulevard causing injuries, all within a 2-week period in November in El Cerrito.

All four pedestrians were in marked crosswalks when the accidents occurred and the two incidents on San Pablo Avenue resulted in serious injuries, with a 70-year-old woman transported by helicopter to the regional trauma center with multiple life-threatening injuries.

“Unfortunately we had a pretty serious 2-week period of traffic collisions,” El Cerrito Police Chief Paul Keith told El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll.

ECRA Walk & Roll urges everyone who believes El Cerrito must prioritize street safety to email the El Cerrito city council at cityclerk@elcerrito.gov or show up to speak at public comment at 6 p.m. (the next council meeting is Dec. 16). Tell the council and city staff that El Cerrito must make urgently needed traffic-calming improvements to slow down cars throughout the city and make intersections and crosswalks safer along San Pablo Avenue.

“San Pablo is El Cerrito’s most dangerous street,” El Cerrito Councilmember Rebecca Saltzman wrote in a Facebook post about the accidents. “We must make it safer to protect lives.”

Click here to learn more about the accidents. 

SOLANO AVENUE BICYCLE FACILITY ANALYSIS AT ALBANY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEETING, DEC. 4: The Albany Transportation Commission will be discussing an analysis of the proposed Solano Avenue bicycle facility concept at its meeting on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. The meeting is at Albany city council chambers, 1000 Marin Ave., and on Zoom. Submit comments to the Transportation Commission at TC@albanyca.org by 12 p.m. on Dec. 4.

CCTA COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSPORTATION PLAN – VIRTUAL TOWN HALL, DEC. 9: Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is developing a Countywide Transportation Plan for how people will move around the county through 2050. As part of this effort, CCTA is creating a countywide, community-based plan that looks closely at a handful of specific areas—including Richmond Annex—which could benefit from targeted fixes like safer crossings, better bus connections, smoother links for people walking and biking, and comfort upgrades. CCTA is holding a virtual town hall on the community-based plan on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. Register here. You can also take CCTA’s survey to provide input. Source: Contra Costa Transportation Authority

RICHMOND E-BIKE HOURS EXPANDED: Operating hours for Richmond’s electric bikeshare program are expanding to 6 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. every day. Take advantage of the extended hours and increased convenience with Richmond’s clean, dependable, and sustainable transportation choice. Source: Richmond City Manager’s Report

Above, Richmond is taking community feedback online about plans for making Bayview and Potrero avenues safer for multiple transportation modes.

PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON RICHMOND’S BAYVIEW AVENUE PROJECT: The City of Richmond is exploring ways to enhance traffic, biking, and walking along Bayview and Potrero avenues to create a safer, more multimodal community for everyone. (A community workshop was held on Nov. 19.) For more details and to provide feedback online, visit the project webpage: bit.ly/BayviewAvenueProject Source: City of Richmond

FUNDING FOR STATEWIDE E-BIKE PROGRAM ELIMINATED: The California Air Resource Board’s e-bike incentive program was quietly discontinued in November before it had a chance to fully launch. The remaining $18 million is being redirected to the Clean Cars 4 All program, which prioritizes electric cars as the sole solution for transformative progress. Over 100,000 Californians applied for this program, which was far more than the number of e-bike vouchers that were issued; ending this opportunity represents a significant loss. In the meantime, Ava Bike Electric is still offering instant e-bike rebates of $400 to $1,500. Source: Streetsblog and Bike East Bay

JOIN ECRA WALK & ROLL IN ADVOCATING FOR WALK- AND BIKE-ABILITY: Want to help make El Cerrito and Richmond Annex streets safer, more joyful, and inclusive for all? You’ve come to the right place! Our effective and fun coordinating committee meets every month to plan our advocacy work on traffic calming, Complete Streets solutions, safe routes to schools, bike parking, and more. To volunteer and/or join the coordinating committee, write to us at info@ecrawalkroll.org.

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 that 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