With the input of Albany residents, the “Complete Streets process” of this past week has been identifying ways that the streets could be changed to better accommodate alternative modes of travel, including walking, bicycling, and public transit, while still effectively serving drivers. Its result will be a set of plans that the City can use for future project ideas and grant applications.
This Wednesday evening the consultants will present their plan concepts, the results of the work by members of the community. Come on down and have a peek at the future!
More information
Join Wheels of Justice Cyclery in Albany to learn about this summer’s AIDS/LifeCycle ride, a fully supported, 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Representatives from the event will be on hand to show a video and explain how make the most of your time on the road, whether you’re a trepid beginner or seasoned expert. They’ll answer any questions and offer the chance to sign up or receive more information.
If you’re not planning on signing up for the ride, please stop by and chat, meet the staff of our shop, and pick our brain about bikes!
Google Maps insists that we’re in Berkeley, but we are in Albany – trust us!
Tonight’s Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting will include the first look at the newest proposal for the University Village Mixed-Use Project, including a Sprouts Farmers Market as anchor tenant and a two-way cycle track for excellent bicycle access.
More details about the project are here.
Discussion of and recommendations for the San Pablo Complete Streets project is also on the agenda.
Look here for the full meeting agenda.
Please come to the meeting to ask questions or speak, or send a message to the Commission care of cityhall@albanyca.org celebrating and supporting the proposed the cycle track.
The family that rides together thrives together!
Safe road bicycling takes a lot more than balance, a helmet and a good attitude. Join the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s League Certified safety instructors for a day of fun games, safety drills, skills building, and a neighborhood ride. This workshop is for kids able to ride a bike and who are ready to ride on the roadways with their parents. Parents and kids must attend together and should bring their own bikes. Each child receives a free red blinky light for participating!
It’s free, and it will help you and your family ride the roads of Albany and beyond more safely and confidently.
Register at https://www.ebbc.org/index.php?q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=425
From the Albany Patch website:
A public hearing and workshop will be held Wednesday for the latest version of the UC Berkeley proposal for a Sprouts Farmers Market, senior housing complex and other retail next to University Village in Albany.
The hearing and workshop will take place at the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting at City Hall. The meeting, which includes other items on the agenda as well, begins at 6:30 p.m.
The revised plans – attached to the planning commission agenda– appear largely similar to those presented to the planning commission in June for the Sprouts grocery store and in July for the senior housing. The proposals also include two smaller retail buildings whose tenants have not been identified.
The development is a UC proposal for 6.3 acres of its property located in two parcels, on both sides of Monroe Street, between San Pablo and the University Village student family housing complex.
The lot on the north side of Monroe would contain the Sprouts market and a smaller retail building. The lot on the south side of Monroe would contain 175 units of senior housing in a four-story building and another retail complex.
Notes from Preston Jordan:
The plans for the UC project keep getting better with regard to cycling. Some time ago AS&R expressed concern about people cycling between University Village and Sprouts along Monroe given the proposed perpendicular car parking on the street. The latest circulation plan for the project designates the sidewalk along the north side of Monroe for walking and cycling. This will let people cycle in front of the parked cars instead of behind them where they are more likely to be hit. The circulation plan is on the last page of these plans.
For the first time, the plans also show the proposed HAWK signal for the biking and walking crossing of San Pablo at Dartmouth in writing. This is shown on the seventh page of these plans.
The last remaining potentially large problem is the proposed design of the bus stop on San Pablo. It specifies the boarding and debarking area right on the cycle track, which is not pragmatic and could result in CalTrans not approving the cycle track. AS&R has made suggestions how to solve this numerous times. Please tell the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff that this problem must be solved by commenting at the meeting or emailing Jeff Bond, jbond@albanyca.org.
If you would like to attend the meeting, AS&R suggests you follow it remotely from the comfort of your usual place or on KALB Channel 33 on a Wednesday evening in order to save yourself time. You can compare the meeting’s progress against the agenda and head to City Hall shortly before this item comes up (which will be a bit after the end of public comment on the previous item).
Come on down to the meeting to show your support for the cycling and pedestrian amenities contained in this proposal and to voice your opinions!
Live on Kains or Adams?
Go to the YMCA?
Do you and your family want to AVOID bicycling on San Pablo Avenue?
Then you’ll be interested in this opportunity for public input on the Kains and Adams Bicycle Boulevards!
I’m sure many of you have ridden the Bicycle Boulevards in Berkeley and seen how more comfortable it is to ride Milvia instead of MLK or Shattuck, Russell instead of Ashby, and 9th instead of San Pablo.
If not, here is info on Berkeley’s Bicycle Boulevard system.
Now imagine if people could avoid San Pablo until a half-block from their destination by riding Kains and Adams
More information is below and a link to the site walk on June 24th is here.
Live on Kains or Adams?
Go to the YMCA?
Do you and your family want to AVOID bicycling on San Pablo Avenue?
Then you’ll be interested in this site walk focusing on the Kains and Adams Bicycle Boulevard projects.
Walk, talk, and find out about what’s possible to make these streets safer for bicyclists!
I’m sure many of you have ridden the Bicycle Boulevards in Berkeley and seen how more comfortable it is to ride Milvia instead of MLK or Shattuck, Russell instead of Ashby, and 9th instead of San Pablo.
If not, here is info on Berkeley’s Bicycle Boulevard system.
Now imagine if people could avoid San Pablo until a half-block from their destination by riding Kains and Adams!
This is the City page for this event.
More information is below and a link to the Community Meeting on June 15th is here.
The crucial Kains/Adams Bicycle Blvd project will be on the agenda of October’s Traffic & Safety Commission Meeting.
WOULD YOU RATHER BIKE ON THIS…..
OR THIS?? SPEAK UP TO MAKE THIS A REALITY IN ALBANY!
Considerable local opposition has arisen, and we are in danger of missing out on these facilities. If you and your family would use either of these Bicycle Boulevards because you want to AVOID bicycling on San Pablo Avenue, live on Kains or Adams, go to the YMCA, please act!
How? 1) Send a letter of support to Aleida Andrino-Chavez , requesting that she forwards it to the Traffic & Safety Commission, and cc or bcc me, Amy Smolens , so I can track support, which is important.
2) Attend this meeting and tell the Traffic & Safety Commission that you and your family need these Bicycle Boulevards as they decide from among the various traffic calming and Bicycle Boulevard options for our neighborhoods.
Engage with City staff, consultants, and your neighbors in community planning for improving pedestrian and bicyclist.
I’m sure many of you have ridden the Bicycle Boulevards in Berkeley and seen how more comfortable it is to ride Milvia instead of MLK or Shattuck, Russell instead of Ashby, and 9th instead of San Pablo.
If not, here is info on Berkeley’s Bicycle Boulevard system.
Now imagine if people could avoid San Pablo until a half-block from their destination by riding Kains and Adams!
This is the FINAL COMMUNITY MEETING before Traffic & Safety Commission makes its recommendations to City Council so your attendance is important!!
This was the consultants’ presentation at the meeting on October 4th.
The monthly Traffic & Safety Commission Meeting, the Fourth Thursday of every month, is a great place to make your ideas known, find out about the transportation issues and projects in Albany, and help improve things for cyclists and pedestrians in and around our town.
This is a map and chart of the regional bicycle route from Oakland to Richmond – Albany is the only gap in a 12+ mile North-South bike route.
Here is the meeting agenda. Kains/Adams is the second item on the agenda, and the first item is related – North Albany traffic calming, which included Kains Ave near El Cerrito Plaza.
Come on down – thanks!
Ride on down to Everest Kitchen to enjoy a special Happy Hour menu and chat about biking and walking – plenty of bike parking!
Come and talk about walking and cycling in Albany – specifically, the Kains/Adams Bikeways project, while eating delicious Nepali & Indian food! All are invited.
Sanjiv says “come on down! 15% discount for you!”
This special Happy Hour takes place right before tonight’s City Council Meeting so we can discuss what’s on the agenda – the Kains/Adams Bikeway projects and other items beforehand…while eating delicious dinner or snacks.
Everest Kitchen is a family owned restaurant and Sanjiv offers us 15% off their menu, including drinks, and yes, they have plenty of bike parking! It’s also an opportunity to ask about what the city is up to and what our stance on issues is, and to meet others who are interested in issues related to human-scale transit/active transit.
Have something you want to talk or ask about? Put it in the “comments” section below! Hope to see you there!
The crucial Kains/Adams Bicycle Blvd project is on the agenda of December 4th’s City Council Meeting so we need your support!
OR THIS?? SPEAK UP TO MAKE THIS A REALITY IN ALBANY!
WOULD YOU RATHER BIKE ON THIS…..
In October, Albany’s Traffic & Safety Commission passed a plan that included two-way bicycle boulevards with semi-closures, so there will be no additional motor vehicle traffic at all – just safe two-way passage by bicyclists wanting to avoid San Pablo Avenue.
This is Option 3, which the Traffic & Safety Commission chose, without moving any stop signs nor utilizing traffic circles.
There was some local opposition by residents who didn’t see any need for bicycle facilities in Albany but YOU and your neighbors showed up and wrote letters. Let’s make sure that happens at this meeting, too, so bicyclists can ride safely in our town! If you and your family would use either of these Bicycle Boulevards because you want to AVOID bicycling on San Pablo Avenue, live on Kains or Adams, go to the YMCA, please act!
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1) Send a letter of support to citycouncil@albanyca.org , requesting that your email is forwarded to all City Council members, and cc or bcc me, Amy Smolens , so I can track support, which is important. Even a brief “I support the Kains and Adams Bicycle Boulevards and my family and I would ride on them…”
“My family and I don’t feel safe riding on San Pablo so please approve the Kains and Adams Bicycle Boulevards.” Any additional detail about your support is beneficial, but just do what you can do!
2) Attend this meeting and tell City Council that you and your family need these Bicycle Boulevards that the Traffic & Safety Commission has recommended.
If you are going to go to one meeting this year, this should be it, because Kains/Adams is a central project for our bike network and it’s at risk due to local opposition. I will tell you that I have lived on Kains for 25 years and I and other neighbors support it.
You know what the Warriors say – “Strength in Numbers” so we need you to made your voice heard – thanks!
I’m sure many of you have ridden the Bicycle Boulevards in Berkeley and seen how more comfortable it is to ride Milvia instead of MLK or Shattuck, Russell instead of Ashby, and 9th instead of San Pablo.
If not, here is info on Berkeley’s Bicycle Boulevard system.
Now imagine if people could avoid San Pablo until a half-block from their destination by riding safely & comfortably on Kains and Adams!
Yes, we mind the gap!
Here are a map and chart of the REGIONAL BICYCLE ROUTE from Oakland to Richmond – Albany is the only gap in a 12+ mile North-South bike route. Yes, we “mind the gap!!”
This is the FINAL COMMUNITY MEETING before it becomes a reality, so your attendance is crucial!
