FACT SHEET: Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project
Climate
Walking/biking is the lowest carbon form of transport, up to 10x less carbon than driving
You can move 7x more people using bikes than cars using the same road space
Economic value
Residential streets that have bicycle facilities see increases in property values
Commercial streets designed for bicycling and walking are more economically productive than any other style of development.
Current public space prioritizes cars above all
Roads for cars in El Cerrito Bike lanes in El Cerrito
El Cerrito has 91 miles of road-prioritizing car traffic, 3 miles for bikes
The area surrounding Richmond Street has 4.5 on- and off-street parking spots per household [Chester et al. 2022]
The majority of which is unused
Bicycle infrastructure creates safer streets for everyone
Cities with higher bicycling rates are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers (based on 13 years of data in 12 US cities [Marshall et al 2019])
Protected bike lanes: 90% reduction in crashes and injuries [Teschke et al 2012]
Painted bike lanes: 50% reduction in crashes and injuries (based on meta-analysis of 23 other studies) [Reynolds et al 2009]
Building bicycle lanes gets bicyclists off sidewalks
Overwhelming community support for safe streets
75% (of ~1000 responses) "agree" or "strongly agree" they would walk or bike more if it felt safer (El Cerrito Local Road Safety Plan survey)
69% either "very likely" or "likely" to support adding designated spaces for bicyclists even if it means removing some street parking.
June 2024: 128 signatories in north El Cerrito for the petition to “prioritize our children's safety over the flow of traffic”
Richmond Street project surveys: consistent majority support for “bikeway improvements” and “dedicated space for bicycles”
Overwhelming community support for safe streets
People who live on car-heavy streets are less likely to know their neighbors and have fewer friends