Meet the ECRA Walk & Roll coordinating committee
In 2024, El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll established organizational guidelines and a work plan. Our coordinating committee now has six members who are excited to advocate for safer, more joyful, multimodal streets in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex. Meet Carrie Schulman, Franz Kieviet, Gaia Sonatina, Henry Pinkard, Janet Byron, Steve Price, and Stuart Sonatina, and their visions for the future.
Carrie and Lena Schulman
Carrie Schulman
Consultant and Mother, El Cerrito
I could fill an entire page with everything I love about biking! I see green mobility (biking, walking, scooting, public transit, etc.) as the solution to so many of our problems. This includes obvious things like traffic and parking issues, as well as less obvious things like mental health.
Over the past several years, I've seen the number of people using green-mobility steadily increase, and with that, car drivers are more aware of us and less likely to run us over. I want to encourage more people to use green-mobility by advocating for safe and convenient routes covering all of El Cerrito and the Richmond Annex.
Franz Kieviet
Franz Kieviet
Software Engineer, El Cerrito
After attending an ECRA Walk & Roll social event, I was thrilled to connect with a group of people who had noticed the same gaps in a cohesive network of paths for pedestrians and bicyclists. Seeing the commitment of the group, working with community members and government agencies to push for much-needed changes, was inspiring. I’m excited to contribute to projects that will not only improve street safety but also create a more complete walking and biking experience through the addition of bike racks, benches, fountains, and other features. I’m especially looking forward to being part of a community of inclusive, energetic, and motivated neighbors!
My hope for the future is one where streets help build and strengthen our community, rather than simply serving as routes to pass through. I want to advocate for street designs that make walking, biking, and public transportation safe and as viable as driving. I envision streets that foster a sense of community: kids biking to school together, neighbors exercising together, public art telling stories of our shared history, and spaces where plants and wildlife can thrive alongside us. Specific projects I'd love to see: safer crossings on the Ohlone Greenway, bike lanes connecting schools to the Greenway, safer crossings along San Pablo Avenue for the Cerrito Creek Trail, improved access to the Bay Trail along Central Avenue, and safer pathways along Carlson Boulevard. Each of these efforts would bring us closer to a connected and vibrant community.
Gaia Sonatina
Gaia Sonatina
Mother and Volunteer, El Cerrito
I got into ECRA by association and after meetings and events and volunteering made it official. I am passionate about the ECRA Walk & Roll mission and am excited to help it come to fruition.
My vision for multimodal El Cerrito and Richmond Annex is a version where all age groups and ability levels are welcome and safe to use the streets and sidewalks without fear of serious injury/death.
Henry Pinkard
Henry Pinkard
Scientist, El Cerrito
I decided to get involved with ECRA Walk & Roll after experiencing how transformative good infrastructure can be. While living in Malmö, Sweden, I saw firsthand how streets designed for everyone — not just cars — created both safe cycling and vibrant public spaces that brought the community together. After 14 years of cycling in the East Bay, including some close calls and one collision, I knew we needed to work toward better infrastructure here.
My vision for a multimodal El Cerrito and Richmond Annex is one where our streets and public spaces serve everyone, not just drivers. Kids should be able to bike to school safely, families should be able to walk to parks and shops without worrying about traffic, and our neighborhoods should be places where people want to spend time, not just pass through. This means protected bike lanes, safe crossings, and inviting public spaces that enhance our community's quality of life while helping us meet our climate goals.
Janet Byron
Janet Byron
Writer and Editor, El Cerrito
After marrying longtime El Cerritan Steve Price, I moved from my house in the Berkeley flats to a condo on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. I had lived car-free in Berkeley from 1996 to 2003, commuting by bike to work in downtown Oakland and then the UC Richmond Field Station on the Bay Trail, and Steve and I decided not to replace his electric car after it was totaled 5 years ago. In 2018 my 15-year-old daughter was hit by a car while riding her bike across Telegraph in Berkeley. She dislocated her knee, which was bad enough, but I was shaken by how much worse it could have been. In 2021, Steve and I applied for a workshop grant from UC Berkeley SafeTREC to learn how to advocate for safer multimodal transportation options in El Cerrito. Around that time, Carrie Hobbes-Schulman, Laura Maurer, Tess Taylor, Steve, and I started meeting to get an advocacy group started, and the rest is history!
My vision is for El Cerrito and Richmond Annex to provide smoother access for bikes and pedestrians across San Pablo Avenue and on to the Bay Trail (hello, intersection scrambles and new Sacramento Street bridge!); for more than half of kids to arrive safely at local schools by means other than cars; to see lots of green paint and separated bike lanes, which slow down traffic and make streets so much safer for all users; and for everyone to feel safe and happy biking and walking on local streets to reach useful destinations around town.
Steve Price
Steve Price
Illustrator, El Cerrito
I got involved with the citizen group Plaza for the People advocating for housing and a library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station. It became obvious to the members that if car parking is going to be reduced at the station to make way for housing, then non-automobile access to the station would have to be figured out. Also new residents will need to have non-automobile access to nearby destinations for fulfilling daily needs. I got involved with ECRA Walk & Roll because it brings people together to talk about mobility issues like this. ECRA Walk & Roll is also a great way to meet energetic, smart, friendly people who love being outside walking and rolling throughout our community and region.
My vision for our area: lots of people walking, bicycling, and riding electric micromobility vehicles on the flats and up and down the hills — children, seniors, and everybody in between. Safely traveling about town in the future will be exhilarating and fun. Serendipitous encounters with people you know will be commonplace on our streets and sidewalks. BART and AC Transit will be used to connect within and beyond our beautiful area affording a regional feeling of belonging and pride.
Stuart Sonatina
Stuart Sonatina
Mechanical Design Engineer, El Cerrito
Getting around by bike gives me lots of time to think about how much work we have to do to make our streets safer. And I can only complain to my friends/fam so much before needing to take action! I've been a part of some version of bike advocacy since childhood. I helped my parents run “learn to ride a bike” workshops and install bike racks at my elementary school. Since then, I've been a part of college DIY bike shops, student bike advocacy groups, East Bay Bike Coalition, or some other version at every stage and city of my life. El Cerrito has been my home since 2019, so it was inevitable!
My vision for El Cerrito: streets where adults, kids, and pets can roam freely without fear of getting hit and killed. Bikes (including e-bikes) whisk around silently on smooth, clean bike paths while toddlers scoot next to strollers on wide sidewalks below a complete tree canopy. I get to wave at the bajillion people I know around town because we're both out and about and can see each other's faces. When I walk out of the store I chat with folks while we load our groceries into our personal carts amongst the dozens parked next to each other, then walk home with whoever is headed in the same direction as I am. I let my kids walk or ride their bikes or scooters to school with a clear conscience knowing they won't get killed crossing San Pablo. In this version of city life, cars have finally been put in their place and life can go on again. I can't wait.