Left: Richmond Street before the Complete Streets Improvement Project. Right: A conceptual vision for Richmond Street created by El Cerrito resident Steve Price, which is not an official city-approved plan. The Complete Streets improvements could include add chicanes, bulbouts, bike lanes, speed tables, streets trees, and other traffic-calming measures from Hill Street to Fairmount Avenue.
Richmond Street: The situation
Richmond Street has received $8 million in federal investment for street safety improvements.
A small but vocal group is trying to block this project by opposing bicycle infrastructure improvements, despite overwhelming evidence that such changes would benefit the entire community. Their claims contradict decades of scientific research and successful implementations in cities worldwide. The City Council will likely consider this project and make a final vote this summer — make sure your voice is heard by taking the actions listed to the right.
The Facts
Bicycle lanes create safer streets for everyone (including drivers)
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]
Safe streets build community and increase property values
Street trees increase property values [Kovacs et al 2022]
Residential streets that have bicycle facilities see increases in property values [SmartCities 2017]
Residents of multi-modal streets develop more friendships and enjoy a greater sense of community connection and belonging [Hart et al. 2011]
Walking and biking are essential to the city's climate goals :
51% of the El Cerrito’s emissions come from transportation [El Cerrito Climate Action Plan 2024]
Commuting via bike produces 28x lower carbon than driving -- and even 13x lower than an electric car [TNMT 2021]
7x more people can commute using bikes than cars given the same road space [CEGB]
El Cerrito’s current transportation network discourages bicycling
98% of roadway space is dedicated to cars [Chester et al. 2022]
There are twice as many parking spots (50,600) as people (25,962) in El Cerrito [Chester et al. 2022]
With 7% less space dedicated to parking, the bicycle network could be expanded by 200%
Roads for cars: 137 miles Roads for bikes: 9 miles
Overwhelming community support for safe streets
75% (of ~1000 responses) "agree" or "strongly agree" they would walk or bike more if it felt safer (EC 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”
How you can help
Write to the El Cerrito city council expressing your support for Complete Streets on Richmond Street, including bike lanes: cityclerk@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
Go to a city council meeting and speak at public comment
Join our mailing list for further updates
Go to the city council meeting this summer (date TBD) when this will be up for a vote
Share the facts/this website with your friends and neighbors
Why Cities with High Bicycling Rates are Safer for all Road Users: Watch this nifty explainer video of research paper by Wes Marshall from the University of Colorado Denver and Nick Ferenchak from the University of New Mexico and read the full paper in the Journal of Transport & Health.
Our response to Richmond Street Neighbors Association website: A 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. Read detailed responses to Richmond Street For All’s claims on our blog.
Making Richmond Street safer for vulnerable users: El Cerrito/Richmond Annex Walk & Roll received a letter from a neighbor of Richmond Street expressing concerns about the impact of losing on-street parking on vulnerable residents such as seniors and those with disabilities. Read this response, “Making Richmond Street safer for vulnerable users,” written by Steve Price, a member of the ECRA Walk & Roll coordinating committee.
More information:
Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvement Project
El Cerrito Local Roads Safety Plan
El Cerrito Complete Streets policy
El Cerrito Active Transportation Plan