Advocates and Officials Celebrate San Pablo Ave. Complete Streets Project in El Cerrito
For pics and more details on the protected lanes on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito, check out Streetsblog’s sneak peek at this project.
“We’re not just cutting a ribbon, we’re transforming a community,” said El Cerrito Mayor Gabe Quinto at an event to mark the completion of the El Cerrito Del Norte Transit-Oriented Development Complete Streets Project. “The vision and goal is for everyone who walks or rolls to feel safe.”
The mayor and other officials made their remarks in a pedestrian walkway through the Mayfair housing development, part of a new mixed-use, high-density 225-unit apartment complex built next to the BART station. The new protected bike lanes go past the front. “Things now feel a whole lot safer,” said Rebecca Saltzman, Mayor Pro Tem, former BART director, and a co-Executive Director of Bike East Bay. “This is a demonstration of what a street can look like.”
More from the city of El Cerrito:
The successful completion of the project reflects year of collaboration among the City of El Cerrito and its federal, state, regional, and local funding partners. Approximately $12.8 million in grant funding, complemented by local investments, helped bring this transformative project to life.
The project also includes new and enhanced crosswalks, bus boarding islands, and gardens around the station.
For bike advocates, the 1.5 miles of protected lanes on San Pablo Avenue, a busy state highway, has larger implications for the entire 22-mile corridor. “This isn’t about a mile or so of safe street, but the bigger picture,” said Bike East Bay’s Robert Prinz.
One advocate explained how, unlike with the nearby Ohlone Greenway, this kind of protected lane on a busy shopping corridor helps people use bikes for errands and general transportation as opposed to recreational riding. However, both kinds of safe bike routes are needed.
“El Cerrito is taking giant steps to be a modern, inclusive, future-thinking city,” said advocate Mary Ann Jawili. “It’s just a few blocks, but now it’s built.”
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