Trail Work Blocked for Now
- Livable El Cerrito
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Members of the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers, who have been offering for years to repair existing public paths and build new ones at no cost to the city, appealed to the City Council for support during public comment on Tuesday (Feb. 17).
Impassioned speeches were sparked by a recent email from Public Works Director Yvetteh Ortiz telling the group they cannot move forward in 2026 due to liability concerns.
“For the past year we’ve had meetings with Ortiz to secure the city’s permission with a planned start date of spring 2026,” said Janet Byron. “We connected our teams with public works staff in Berkeley and Kensington, drafted a new waiver, provided lists of tools, and developed a training program.”
Proposal to Build Path Denied
Byron continued: “Last week we received an email from Ortiz which said, “I’ve discussed your proposals with the city manager. Unfortunately, due to several legal and liability issues that must be further evaluated, we won’t be able to move forward with the Tassajara Park path this year.”
Developed Work Plan with Parks and Rec
Byron said that after years of working with the city, including many meetings with the Parks and Recreation Commission on a work plan and strategy that was adopted in 2022, her group was told that they could build paths. This was in a 2024 meeting with Stephen Pree, environmental services manager.
Addressing Liability Concerns
“We would need to sign waivers and we would need to show the city engineer a plan for a pilot project at Tassajara Park,” Byron said.
In response, the Trail Trekkers planned a path that would connect the lower and upper parts of the park, where park users must scramble up and down a steep rocky slope. The path is a switchback, and would include wood tread steps and a railing. Then suddenly last week, they received an email saying they can’t do any work this year, Byron said.
Brian Richmond, an El Cerrito resident and co-president of the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers, has attended many City Council meetings over the past year.
“Moving Goalposts”
“I’ve been talking about my cautious optimism that we’re moving forward,” Richmond said. “Now that cautious optimism is gone and we’re just really frustrated and angry. It’s been years of trying to work with the city. And now we get this email saying it’s been pushed back indefinitely. This has been a story of moving goalposts, moving goalposts, moving goalposts.”
Steven Price said it’s important for the city to support volunteers who want to make their community better. He was a leader of the El Cerrito Greenway Committee in the 1990s, which he said had city support.
How Volunteers Planted Greenway Trees
“The committee rounded up hundreds of volunteers to help plant trees the length of the city along what is now the Ohlone Greenway,” Price said. “This was not without risk. Volunteers used heavy tools like stake pounders and a small select number actually used heavy machinery, including driving a water truck and filling it up at fire hydrants. We delivered mulch using a dump truck…The committee closely supervised the volunteers to make sure that everyone was working safely.”
Richmond said his group only plans to use picks and shovels, and has developed a training program for volunteers who use them. He said there’s something wrong with a system that does not allow volunteers to work together on a common project.
Relationship ‘Is Broken’
“To me it feels like the relationship between the city and our nonprofit groups and volunteers is broken,” he said.
Referring to Tassajara Park, Richmond said: “What we’re trying to do is to improve something that right now is a liability. There are paths there that are really dangerous, and there’s bad erosion. All we’re trying to do is make it safer.”
Barbara Lass said many people may not realize that El Cerrito, like Kensington and Berkeley, has a lot of public paths.
Volunteer-Built Trails Could Be a Win-Win
“Many paths are in need of maintenance or repair,” she said. “There are new trails that could be built. The trails need signage in many places. And there are community groups including El Cerrito Trail Trekkers who have the personnel and the money to work on those trails.”
Lass added, “These trails could be a win-win for everybody. We just need the cooperation and support of the city – and not even fiscal support.”
Meanwhile, Albany gives residents trees to plant to improve and beautify the city. EC administration and officials on the other hand are trying to turn the city into as much of a concrete jungle as possible. Accept this help, and try to improve the look of San Pablo Ave, Richmond Ave, and Central Ave. It is ridiculous. Thank you for your reporting!
I love that you all want to do such good work at no cost to the city - your neighbors are grateful to you. This situation is really unfortunate. You all should just do it like the man who started building and installing bus stop benches in berkeley after years of nonsensical hurdles telling him it was too hard and expensive. Sometimes the only way to break through bureaucratic blockades is making the improvements anyway.