Crowd Packs City Hall

A crowd filled the City Council chamber for an open house about plans for Richmond Street.

The turnout for the June 25 open house about the latest plans for Richmond Street was so large that some people were moved out of the City Council chamber and into the lobby. More than 150 people were there.

Some people, like Mark Watson, came by but left early when they saw the size of the crowd. Others, like Linda Cain, were given chairs and sat out in the lobby. Cain said there was a video screen but it was hard to see and hear outside the council chamber.

Inside the chamber, people chatted with one another and viewed presentation boards while chairs were brought out for about 80 people and standing room was found for about 30 more. Several families brought their small children. Many people wore stickers that said, “No to Richmond Street.”

Chatting and Questioning

Harry Reibman, who moved into a house on Elm Street in January, said speeders on Richmond Street are a problem but the city’s plan for redesign “feels very unnecessary.”

The plan calls for removing about 65% of parking in the eight blocks of Richmond Street north of Moeser Lane in order to add curving “chicane” bike lanes on both sides of the street. A Livable El Cerrito count found 143 spaces will be removed and 83 kept. Some blocks will lose up to 80% of parking, with one block losing 22 spaces and retaining five.

These revised plans were first made available June 9, sparking renewed concern from many residents who earlier had been opposed to the city’s stated plan to remove about 50% of parking.

Harvey and Joy, who said they live on Everett Street, said they like the idea of a safer paved Richmond Street but they don't want parking removed.

“There’s no place to park and then they’re going to invade other neighborhood streets,” Harvey said. “The greenway exists and you don’t need to go biking on Richmond Street.”

Ed Crowley, who doesn’t live in the neighborhood, said he opposes the project because it will hurt many more people than it helps. “The Ohlone Greenway is literally zero to three blocks away,” he said. “Why is the city hellbent on building something nobody needs?”

Kellen O’Connor said his parents own a house on Richmond Street but don’t live there, partly because of traffic. The house is being remodeled and he plans to live there. “I wanted to see how it will look in front of my house. I appreciate that they’re doing something.”

People talk in the courtyard. At left is Jarrett Mullen, sustainable transportation program manager.

The Role of City Plans and Policies

At 6:40 p.m., about 25 minutes later than scheduled, most of the crowd was settled and City Engineer Yvetteh Ortiz began the presentation.

Plans and policies that were developed starting in 2016 are the basis for the city’s design, Ortiz told the audience.

Policies direct the city to provide safe and comfortable spaces for walking and biking, and “that requires the reallocation of public space.” The city must also use “the latest and best design guidelines,” she said.

Another policy, the Climate Action Plan passed one year ago, calls for reducing the area of public streets dedicated to vehicle traffic and parking and increasing the area dedicated to other modes.

These policies “have provided the city staff direction to implement the Complete Streets project,” Ortiz said.

Council Will Consider on July 15

City Manager Karen Pinkos told the crowd later that city transportation policies will be considered by the City Council at their meeting on July 15.

Ortiz will make her decision about the Richmond Street project after that meeting.

The City Council meeting appears to be the last chance for opponents of the project to get changes.

“The project is moving forward unless there’s a change in City Council policy,” Pinkos said.

What It Will Take to Appeal

Once the city engineer certifies the project, her decision for the project area cannot be appealed, according to the city website.

Instead, the appeals process allows Richmond Street property owners to file individual, and possibly small group, appeals. There is no appeal process for residents of nearby streets.

To be eligible to appeal, property owners must provide evidence that they participated in the public process either in writing or in person. Written comments must be submitted by July 9.

The fee to appeal a notice of no parking/standing is currently $620, but it goes up to $1,115 on July 21, 2025. That is because the council passed a new fee schedule in May that takes effect 60 days later.

Quick Project Overview

Consultant Jessie Maran described the overall project, saying the design team used a safe systems approach. Specific improvements will include updating handicapped ramps,corner bulbouts and lighting at intersections, some raised intersections, and high visibility crosswalks. There will be flashing beacons at some intersections.

The roadway will be resurfaced. (EBMUD, the regional water district, will contribute $1 million to the project because it dug up Richmond Street to replace the Wildcat pipeline.)

Street trees will be planted.

The biggest change is removing parking spaces from the eight blocks north of Moeser Lane in order to add bike lanes. The bike lanes will use a chicane design, and will curve around the remaining clusters of parking on the street.

This stretch of Richmond Street has long blocks which can allow drivers who are slowed by traffic-calming features at intersections to speed up again within the block, Maran said.

The curves created by chicane bike lanes are an effective way to slow traffic, she said.

Top Concern is Loss of Parking

The audience seemed most concerned about the loss of an estimated 63% of all street parking and how that will affect them.

Many people said it will make it difficult for them to carry out normal activities.

One audience member said he lives one-half mile away but “if my parking place were taken away I couldn’t carry in my groceries.” He asked why the city could not “get rid of the chicanery and put money into the Ohlone Greenway.”

Consultant Robert Stevens said the chicane allows the design team to keep some parking on the street and add bike lanes. It also creates curves in the road aimed at slowing traffic.

Ed Colucci, a 68-year-old retired principal, said there was no mention in the plans of the people who live on the street. He asked, “Have you done any study that shows by taking away these parking spaces do you take away value? How do you plan to compensate people?”

Lynn, a Richmond Street resident, said she wants to know how and why her block lost 81% of all parking. “How and why did you change from something reasonable that people could possibly live with -- to this?”

Ortiz said removing 50% of parking was an estimate, and that changed with “refinement of the design to work well.”

Examining Parking Options

Amelia, who said she lives on Everett Street, said recently a child in her family was hit by a car “near Richmond Street.” She said she’s grateful the city is going to make Richmond Street “safer and slower.” Her question was, Has the city looked into how many of the people losing parking have off-street parking options?

Jarrett Mullen, the city’s sustainable transportation program manager, said parking decisions “are to maximize the off-street parking supply.”

“We really couldn’t drill down to every property,” Mullen said. “We’ve asked people to contact us. We’re still taking feedback.”

After taking about a dozen questions (and comments), the design team moved presentation boards outside to the City Hall courtyard. Speakers who worked on the project were available to talk with people in small groups.

When are Parked Cars Counted?

Just how much parking is used – and therefore needed – was a major topic.

Shelby Holguin, a Richmond Street resident, said she is concerned because parking surveys generally are not done at the peak hours for parking occupancy. The street fills up with cars by 9 p.m., she said. If parking is checked at non-peak hours, the design team will record fewer parking spaces than are actually used and needed, she said.

Data from a parking survey done Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024 and posted on the project website showed that 46% of parking was full at 8 p.m. At 10 a.m. that day, about 42% of parking was being used between Hill Street and Moeser Lane.

At Wednesday’s workshop, Mullen said another parking occupancy study was done recently using license plate reader technology. He said only about one-third of parking spaces are used.

Holguin was still concerned that parking studies not done at peak hours won't help to determine the number of spaces needed.

What About New Residents and Busy Times?

Leah, a Richmond Street resident, asked whether parking study considered that St. John’s Hall on Portola Drive was recently purchased by Tibetan monks. They are having gatherings that fill up the nearby streets with 30 to 50 cars. She also asked what happens when people have parties, or on holidays like the 4th of July.

“We don’t design our roads for those types of events,” Mullen said. “If we did there would be a lot of empty parking spaces.”

Richmond Street resident Lynn asked Mullen whether he would come to her house and let her show him the parking situation. He said he would. “Email me,” Mullen said.

Did Anyone Hear Residents?

Several residents said they felt their concerns were not heard.

On the other hand, consultant Robert Stevens said he went to the homes of about a dozen Richmond Street residents in January. He pointed to a young couple he spoke with earlier.

“We went over their concerns,” he said.

Ethan and Erin Hsi agreed that Stevens did take the time to talk to them.

However, they said, what they said in the conversation made no difference.

"No Meaningful Changes"

Said Ethan, “There’s no one to talk to who feels like they have any power to change the plan. No one is taking accountability.”

Erin said, “It just doesn’t seem true that plans can’t change… The bike lanes were not included at the beginning...They hold these workshops to gather public opinion but there have been no meaningful changes based on public input and it seems like it’s all for show.”

Next Steps and Key Dates:

Submit written comments by July 9.

E-mail: pworks@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us

Postal mail: Public Works Engineering, City of El Cerrito, 10890 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530

Anyone who may want to appeal the city engineer's decision in the future will need “evidence that he or she participated in the public comment process,” according to the project website.

City Council Meeting July 15

The City Council will receive a presentation on Citywide Active Transportation and Complete Street policies that shape City projects such as this one, according to a city news release. Letters addressed to the city council can be emailed to individual council members or for the full council at cityclerk@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us.

Late July

The City Engineer will make a decision concerning the removal of on-street parking.

Within 15 Days of City Engineer Decision

Property owners who are notified there will be a No Parking/No Stopping zone in front of their houses will able to appeal within 15 days for a fee.

The current fee is $620 but will increase to $1,115 on July 21, 2025.

View the Presentation

View a Video Recording or the Presentation Boards here.