We support a Richmond Street that’s REALLY for all: Here’s why
Richmond Street before the Complete Streets improvement project, which will add chicanes, bulbouts, bike lanes, speed tables, trees, and other traffic-calming measures from Hill Street to Fairmount Avenue.
A new group called “Richmond Street Neighbors Association,” formed to oppose El Cerrito’s Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project, has posted a website, Richmond Street For All. The El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll coordinating committee offers the following evidence-based responses to unsubstantiated claims and mischaracterizations on the Richmond Street For All website.
Statement: “Walk/Roll envisions a car-free society.”
Response: ECRA recognizes that most streets have been designed for vehicles rather than people, and is advocating to make streets safer for all modes of transportation. Our mission statement is: “El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll promotes walking, bicycling, transit, and other low-carbon multimodal transportation alternatives, building community for safer, more joyful, and inclusive streets for all.”
ECRA does not believe that streets should just be for bikes. Nor do we believe they should just be for cars. We believe that people should be able to choose the transportation modes they feel safe and comfortable with, and can afford.
El Cerrito adopted a Complete Streets policy in 2016. Complete Streets are defined by the city as “a comprehensive, integrated, transportation network with infrastructure and design that allows safe and convenient travel along and across streets for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers of commercial goods, users and operators of public transportation, emergency vehicles, seniors, children, youth, and families.”
We strongly support the city's Complete Streets policy, which recognizes that streets should serve multimodes of mobility. The Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project is designed to begin implementing the city’s Complete Streets vision.
Statement: “The National Travel Survey states that 83% of cyclists own a car.”
Response: Yes. Most bicycle riders—including our membership—are also car owners. So where is this group that wants to ban all cars?
Statement: “Safe Streets for All. Not just Bikes.”
Response: Research shows that safer streets for bikes are safer streets for all. Dedicated bike lanes mean fewer people biking on sidewalks, so less chance for collisions with pedestrians. It also makes the road a calmer, more predictable environment (e.g., no cars speeding onto the wrong side of the road to pass bikes). Supporting safe streets = supporting bike lanes.
Statements: “Bike lanes are not safe. They give the illusion of safety. It is time to accept that the tide has turned against paving over the world with new bike lanes.”
“Studies have proven over and over again that bike lanes are not safe.”
Response: This claim is dangerous misinformation that contradicts decades of scientific evidence.
A comprehensive 2009 review in Environmental Health Journal examining 23 studies found that bike facilities, including marked on-road bike lanes, consistently reduce injury rates and collision frequency by approximately 50% compared to unmodified roadways. These safety benefits extend beyond cyclists—properly designed bike lanes have been shown to reduce crashes involving cyclists by up to 50% while making cycling more attractive for commuters.
Further research published in the American Journal of Public Health found that protected bike lanes reduce injury risk by up to 90% compared to streets with no bike infrastructure. The most comprehensive study on bicycle safety to date confirms that building bike lanes is "one of the biggest factors in road safety for everyone" — creating safer conditions for all road users, not just cyclists.
Cities with higher cycling rates consistently show improved safety metrics, with data showing that "high-bicycling-mode-share cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users. Far from being an "illusion," bike lanes represent evidence-based infrastructure that saves lives through proven engineering and design principles.
Davis, California, known for its bicycling infrastructure, has a road fatality rate of 2.3 per 100,000 residents, which is five times less than the national average. New York City has ramped up investments in cycling infrastructure in recent years, and this has pushed traffic fatality rates to the lowest numbers on record, according to research published in the Journal of Transport and Health.
Statement: “Certainly the 0.3% of bicyclists who unwisely use Richmond Street new bike lanes may be lured into the illusion that they are somewhat safer while the rest of the residents, including pedestrians, are a lot more unsafe.”
Response: Bike lanes and pedestrian safety go hand-in-hand, as confirmed by numerous studies. Research shows that the installation of bike lanes reduces crashes for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. One study even calls protected bike lanes “fantastic for walking safety” because of the calmer traffic. A review of protected bike lanes in Washington, D.C., found that they led to a 56% decrease in sidewalk biking, meaning fewer cyclists weaving among pedestrians. Cities that build bike lanes see substantial reductions in pedestrian injuries.
Statement: “The plan forces residents to park in their driveways.”
Response: The proposed Complete Streets plan will not force all privately owned vehicles to move from publicly owned and shared roads to park in their privately owned driveways. The city’s parking occupancy study for Richmond Street found that the parking occupancy rate is no higher than 40%, and much lower on some blocks. Richmond Street has plenty of underutilized curb space. Also, El Cerrito municipal code 19.24.040 requires that all single-family dwellings have at least two off-street parking spaces in a garage and/or carport.
Statement: “Favoring a few bicycle activists and giving them an undue advantage at the cost of whole residential communities is incredibly unfair and unethical. It creates severe and lasting consequences for hundreds of tax-paying residents, disrupting daily lives and ignoring the needs of seniors and disabled residents, who now face greater challenges in living independently.”
Response: Bike lanes aren't about favoring "a few activists" but implementing evidence-based safety measures that benefit entire communities. The improvements residents themselves requested—calmer traffic, better road surfaces, safer intersections—serve everyone regardless of transportation mode.
Complete Streets with bike infrastructure create safer environments for all users, including seniors and disabled residents who benefit from more predictable traffic patterns, shorter crossing distances, and slower vehicle speeds. Research shows these designs reduce crashes and injury severity while improving neighborhood livability.
This isn't special treatment for cyclists at taxpayers’ expense; bicycle riders are also tax-paying residents. Rather, it's designing streets that work for everyone—pedestrians, mobility device users, parents with strollers, children, and drivers too. Transportation safety shouldn't be framed as competition between residents when the improvements objectively enhance safety and accessibility for the entire community.
El Cerrito recently conducted a community survey in conjunction with its planning for a Local Road Safety Plan, which found that the vast majority of city residents want slower, safer neighborhood streets. A community survey conducted in conjunction with planning for the Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project found that community members wanted:
Calming driving speeds and improving driver compliance with rules of the road,
Repairing the roadway surfaces,
Improving visibility and pedestrian safety at intersections, especially at intersections used by students
Repairing sidewalk surfaces,
Improving safety for bicycling along Richmond Street,
Establishing a consistent street tree canopy.
Statement: “Slower traffic equals more greenhouse gasses.”
Response: According to El Cerrito’s recently adopted Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, transportation accounts for half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists will open new ways for people to get around their community and help reduce overall vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
Shifting even a small fraction of trips to biking/walking through better street design will cut carbon dioxide emissions more than a few extra minutes of car idling will add. Cities that have installed bike lanes often see net environmental benefits—for example, after a protected bike lane was added to Columbus Avenue in New York City, not only did cycling jump 56%, but car travel times remained virtually unchanged and speeding decreased.
Relying solely on car electrification (which the opposition suggests) isn’t enough—this is why California’s climate plans call for reducing driving and electrifying cars, not choosing one or the other. In a 2024 report, the federal Department of Transportation also calls for more diversity in transportation choices to address climate change, not just electric cars.
Statement: “Drivers may feel inclined to take a longer, less direct route to avoid a congested Richmond Street.”
Response: Space efficiency is key to fighting congestion: bicycles move 4 to 7 times more people than cars using the same road space. The 2016 El Cerrito Active Transportation Plan identified a significant "interested but concerned" population—residents who would cycle if they felt safer. By creating protected bike infrastructure, we convert these potential cyclists into actual ones, effectively expanding road capacity without widening streets. This targeted approach addresses congestion at its source while serving those residents who want transportation options but need infrastructure that feels safe to use them.
Statement: “Take drastic measures like visually widening the street and adding unnecessary bike lanes in lieu of street parking and you will seriously damage the value of the neighborhood and the surrounding homes.”
Response: A safer, nicer street is likely to increase, not decrease, property values. There is no evidence that a partial reduction in on-street parking will tank property values. On the contrary, many studies find that traffic-calmed, walkable streets become more desirable for both properties on the street and on streets nearby. A Pittsburgh study found property sale prices rose after bike lanes were added, and in Vancouver 65% of realtors said they’d market a home’s proximity to a bikeway as a selling feature.
Richmond Street will still have parking on one side, plus residents’ own driveways and plenty of curb space off of intersecting streets adjacent to Richmond Street, so residents and visitors will find spots (the City notes even at peak times, parking may fill up on Richmond Street but plenty is open within a 3 to 5 minute walk). Meanwhile, the street improvements—new pavement, trees, better lighting, safer crossings—enhance curb appeal and neighborhood quality. Real-world experience bears this out: after a Sydney (Australia) street added a landscaped bike boulevard, skeptical homeowners saw it add value to their properties, with one owner noting it put a $100k premium on his home once the street improvements were in place.
Statement: “… the opinions of residents who live, work and commute on Richmond Street were not surveyed and largely ignored. Our city proved shockingly undemocratic regarding our community’s concerns.”
Response: The city and its consultants conducted multiple outreach efforts, surveys, and community workshops, including a survey mailed to all Richmond Street residents and two workshops/meetings exclusively for Richmond Street residents. El Cerrito and its consultants have been fully transparent with all stakeholders throughout the planning process. Learn more about planning for the Richmond Street Complete Street at the city’s Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project website.
Statement: “We declared solidarity with other communities like ours, such as Hopkins Street in Berkeley and the North Central Neighborhood in San Mateo, and shared information and ideas.”
Response: The anti-Hopkins street group in Berkeley is a vocal minority that has obstructed the will of the vast majority of Berkeley residents, and even a majority who do not want to or cannot bike, who support bicycle safety improvements. The controversy their opposition created led to the entirety of Berkeley’s transportation staff quitting, putting a pause on all road improvements. In the meantime, three pedestrians have been hit and killed by cars in the area [1] [2] [3].
Statement: “Makes pulling out of a driveway even more hazardous. When exiting a driveway, you often have significantly less visibility of oncoming traffic. The angle of the driveway and potential obstructions like bushes, trees and fences make it more difficult to assess the situation before merging into traffic. Pulling out of a driveway is considered far more dangerous than pulling away from a parallel parking position.”
Response: Trees are not the problem. Parked cars are by far the greatest visual obstruction to gauging on-coming traffic. A bicycle rider in a bike lane does not obstruct one’s field of vision. Maneuvering to parallel park obstructs traffic flow. Likewise, substantially slowing down traffic on Richmond Street will make backing out easier and safer.
Statement: “Not having dedicated bike lanes does not stop those who can bicycle from using the existing shared bike lane sharrows on Richmond Street or the protected bike paths of the Ohlone Greenway under BART, just one to two blocks away.”
Response: Regarding telling bicycle riders to use the Ohlone Greenway: Who would tell a motorist, “You have one good street, what else do you want?” Networks of safe routes, not a solitary street or bike path, fulfills travel needs to diverse destinations. The Ohlone Greenway is a wonderful community asset, but it is a single north-south route that cannot take every cyclist everywhere that they need or want to go. For example, to walk or bike from El Cerrito High School to the El Cerrito Community Center via the Ohlone Greenway would add ¾-mile to the trip.
Statement: The website invokes The Ahwahnee Principles to support its views.
Response: The Awhanee Principles actually say: “Streets, pedestrian paths and bike paths should contribute to a system of fully connected and interesting routes to all destinations. Their design should encourage pedestrian and bicycle use by being small and spatially defined by buildings, trees and lighting; and by discouraging high-speed traffic.”