Our Future
When working together to strengthen our communities, we ideally create places where people want to live, work and thrive. And once people are drawn to a place—whether to start a business, raise a family or build a career—economic prosperity and greater well-being naturally follows.
When considering what we want or do not want on our street, most of us would prioritize a safe, clean and quiet environment with good community engagement. That means well-maintained streets and sidewalks, adequate street lighting, friendly neighbors and well cared for landscaping. We also want considerate traffic participants who share the road, give others space and the right of way when required, and who are helpful to others.
We asked members of our association to vote for what they like and do not like for our street. Here are the results.
If you are a Richmond Street neighbor and would you like to be included in our survey,
we would like to hear from you!
What We Would Like to See in Our Street
Rehabilitation of the pavement of both street and sidewalks.
Better lane dividers and better markings on existing sharrows.
Raised intersections at Portola Drive, Donal and Gladys Avenues, where the school crossings are located.
Raised pedestrian crosswalks on two additional unprotected intersections, such as Manila, providing they are level and wide enough for wheelchairs and do not impede fire engines.
High visibility crosswalk markings. Yellow zebra stripes for unprotected crosswalks. White zebra stripes for crosswalks protected by a stop sign or a traffic light.
One flashing speed beacon on either side of Richmond Street. If the beacon is installed on the sidewalk in front of a residence, the residence owner(s) have to approve.
In-crosswalk beacon, only at unprotected school crossings. If the beacon is installed on the sidewalk in front of a residence, the residence owner(s) have to approve.
Trees on the right-of-way or verge, the strip of land between the road and a sidewalk, but only where home owners approve. Trees should be the right size and suitable for growing on the street verge. It is preferred that the City of El Cerrito establishes a designated maintenance fund to maintain all verge trees.
Parking on both sides of the street, including designated parking spaces reserved for individuals with disabilities.
Accommodations for disabled persons living on Richmond Street. The City must plan those accommodations in such a way that they will be available if any resident needs arrangements.
Additional improvements as stipulated by the grant. *
Additional street lighting. **
More police enforcement of traffic rules, monitoring all traffic participants—bicyclists as well as motorists.
What We Definitely Do Not Want
Chicanes. They are too dangerous; see our page on safety.
Bulb-outs or sidewalk extensions. They are ugly blobs of concrete that form a bottleneck in the street. They obstruct traffic, especially during emergencies and evacuations. They are dangerous for bicyclists and rarely benefit pedestrians.
Tree Islands. Tree Islands among parked cars may look endearing, but they obstruct visibility, egress and ingress of driveways, and parking ability.
Bike lanes in lieu of parking. See our pages on safety and discrimination.
Because Richmond Street is an emergency evacuation route, additional stop signs and conventional speed bumps cannot be installed.
* The grant reads: “Richmond Street Complete Streets Improvements – This project component will improve Richmond Street to provide safe and accessible pedestrian connections between El Cerrito’s walkable residential neighborhoods to both the del Norte and Plaza BART Stations and the City’s San Pablo Avenue PDA (recognized as such regionally, across the 9-County San Francisco Bay Area). The improvements will provide safe access for all modes of travel by rehabilitating the pavement; and installing enhanced traffic signing, green pavement markings and signs to enhance the existing shared-lane bike facility (which complements the low-stress Ohlone Greenway, just 1-3 blocks West); and implementing safety upgrades at the Elm/Key/Hill Streets traffic signal. Upgrades to the vehicle signal loop detection to enhance bike detection at the four signalized intersections within the project component limits are proposed as part of the separate countywide CCTA Smart Signals project.”
** About street lights. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, cannot be seen by one-third of humanity. Millions of city lamps brighten our cities every night, but only part of their light is used to actually illuminate streets or sidewalks—the rest is lost and emitted above the horizon, brightening the night sky and contributing to what is known as light pollution. However, as the artificial glow from towns and cities increases every year, the consequences of this urban phenomenon go beyond just preventing us from seeing stars. Other harmful effects include: causing a hazardous glare that can reduce safety, excessive energy consumption, waste of money and resources, disruption of ecosystems’ natural day and night cycles, suppression of melatonin production and several negative repercussions on public health. Choosing the right lamps is crucial to reduce light pollution.
To minimize light pollution from a design perspective, one choses warmer colors, dims the light and shields it. Low-temperature LEDs shine light in softer, yellower or redder tones, and can be dimmed by 25% without any loss of visibility. Street lights in a city can be often automatically reduced in brightness—or even entirely turned off around midnight—by using smart lighting systems that adjust illumination levels to conserve energy and minimize light pollution during low-traffic hours.
In addition, it is important for all light fixtures to be fully shielded so that no light escapes above the horizon. In this way, light is directed downwards instead of upwards—ideally with a narrow angle that further restricts the glow above the city.
Safety is the primary objective of street lighting. It directly affects the response time of motorists and bicyclists, and it provides environmental awareness for pedestrians. Good street lighting ensures that roads are adequately illuminated while minimizing light pollution.