U.S. DOT reports show great potential for greenhouse gas reductions in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex

Artist’s rendering of phase 1 of the planned transit-oriented development at El Cerrito Plaza BART station.

Two recent reports from the U.S. Department of Transportation make the case that active transportation (walking, biking, and other forms of micromobility) and transit-oriented development can have macro impacts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The DOT’s active transportation playbook reports that if residents in a city of 50,000 people — the combined populations of El Cerrito and the Richmond Annex are 32,000 people — switched just 1 mile of their daily trips from driving to active transportation, the choice could result in a collective reduction of 10.14 million pounds (5,070 tons) of CO₂ per year and nearly 400,000 fewer miles driven.

Likewise, the DOT’s Climate Strategies That Work report cites a Federal Highway Administration analysis demonstrating the inverse relationship between vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per person and population density. It found that the largest declines in per capita VMT results when cities transform from low density (less than 2,000 residents per square mile) to moderate density (more than 4,000 residents per square mile).

El Cerrito averages 7,000 residents and Richmond Annex has 9,800 residents per square mile. Our area has huge potential for reducing VMT and thus greenhouse gas emissions if transit-oriented development continues apace and residents utilize micromobility.