I’m sure you and your family use the Ohlone Greenway to roll or stroll, so here’s a chance to help keep it it nice for everyone!
Saturday is Friends of Albany Parks’ Ohlone Greenway Clean-up Day and they would like to invite anyone interested in helping us with some spring cleaning in the summer to stop by and give it a little TLC and beautification.
Friends of Albany Parks is a stewardship program aimed at getting residents and community members involved in light maintenance and beatification of some of the City’s shared spaces.
Lunch provided by Albany Community Foundation!!
Join Albany Staff, the City’s Urban Forester and your friends & neighbors as we continue to improve our local green spaces.
Projects include: Plant bed maintenance
Weeding
Litter Crew
“Tree Love”
Re-organizing landscape areas
And more…
WHAT DO YOU WANT DONE? DO IT!
Have you noticed that Albany is small and you often end up in El Cerrito and Berkeley? Here’s a good chance to give some input to our neighbor to the north!
Come help design five urban greening projects to improve the environmental sustainability, economic vitality and community cohesion of the City of El Cerrito! The Community Charrette is an interactive design workshop that allows you to meet with neighbors and other community members to envision the future of five pilot projects: 1) Fairmount Park, 2) Hillside Natural Area, 3) Former Portola Middle School Site, 4) Lower Fairmount Ave from Carlson Blvd to San Pablo Ave, and 5) Bay Trail (Blue Belt) to Wildcat Canyon (Green Belt) Connections. These sites have been selected from a larger list of Urban Greening opportunities for their strategic location, multiple community and environmental benefits, and pilot potential. With feedback gathered at the Charrette, the City’s Urban Greening consultants will prepare conceptual designs to be included in the Urban Greening Plan.
Like some of the things AS&R has been able to accomplish in Albany? Suggest them to the City of El Cerrito. Like what you see in EC? Suggest them here in Albany!
9:30 am Welcome and Plan Overview
10:30 am Breakout Design Sessions
12:00 pm Lunch
12:30 pm Report Back
1:25 pm Next Steps
1:30 pm Close
For more information, please visit the website at www.ElCerritoUrbanGreening.org
It’s time for the Albany Arts & Green Festival again!
Come out to Memorial Park for green lifestyle booths, art booths, local performers, food trucks, music and more! This family friendly event will include activities for kids.
As AS&R does every year, we will provide FREE bicycle valet parking, so you can enjoy the festival without worrying about your bike.
Come visit our booth to find out about what’s going on for cyclists and pedestrians here in Albany!
Local bike shop Blue Heron has again donated some fabulous prizes for our 2nd annual kids’ coloring contest so be sure to bring the kids down!!!
WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO PARK BIKES AND WORK AT OUR TABLE TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS! CAN YOU PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO HELP US FOR A FEW HOURS?
VOLUNTEERS WILL GET A DELICIOUS FREE LUNCH FROM COMMUNITY SPONSORS BUA LUANG OR TAY TAH plus A SPECIAL COUPON FROM BUA LUANG or TAY TAH!!
Please email Amy Smolens to help out!
For the 8th straight year, non-profit bike workshop Street Level Cycles will provide free or low-cost bike tuneups, so if you have an old bike that you want to get road-ready, come on down! Don’t forget, Bike to Work Day is on May 14th, so here’s a way to help make sure your ride is up and running well.
**At 2 pm SLC will be giving a Free “How to Fix a Flat Tire” Clinic so bring your bike and learn an important survival skill!
See you there!
Do you or your family ride, walk, roll, scoot or skate on the Ohlone Greenway? I’m sure you do, as the multi-use path on the Greenway is Albany’s Active Transportation Highway – over 1,000 trips per day on regular days when last counted several years ago!
The Parks & Rec Department is overseeing Greenway improvements so now’s the time to give input in order to have a better experience to stroll, roll or just hang out!
The information with the Project Plans and what was discussed at previous meetings is at this link:
A parcourse, wayfinding, art – all can have a positive effect on the experience, safety and atmosphere of strolling and rolling.
An orchard is proposed for the eastern edge of the Greenway. What a great idea… BUT if those trees are planted too close to the multi-use path, as was already done south of Dartmouth, they will drop debris on the path, encroach on the path itself and also invite more conflicts between people biking northbound & walking on the east dg path and people who are picking fruit.
Another point someone brought up was that some of the existing trees west of the path cast are planted directly between the overhead light and the path, casting shadows on the path and making the nighttime path experience more dangerous.
In short, as Albany’s Active Transportation Highway, the City must take care not to degrade this important function. If amenities to either side are to be added, it should be done with great care.
Please attend this meeting to give your input and improve the Ohlone Greenway for everyone – strollers, rollers, sitters, dog-walkers, and fruit-pickers!
Full P&R agenda is at http://www.albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=16&recordid=12040
6-1: Ohlone Greenway Design: Restoration Design Group will give a presentation.
Recommended Actions:
1. That the Commission recommend a preferred concept direction to move into the design into the next phase.
2. That the Commission approve the planting of fruit and nut trees by the California Rare Fruit Growers along the eastern strip of the Ohlone Greenway as described in the Memo.
3. That the Commission set a Special Meeting Date for the 4th week of February to review the 35% Plans for the Ohlone Greenway.
Do you or your family ride, walk, roll, scoot or skate on the Ohlone Greenway? I’m sure you do, as the multi-use path on the Greenway is Albany’s Active Transportation Highway – over 1,000 trips per day on regular days when last counted several years ago!
The City Council is considering Greenway improvements so now’s the time to give input in order to have a better experience to stroll, roll or just hang out!
The agenda for the meeting is at this link, item 9-2.
The Consultants’ “Preferred Master Plan” is here – (fyi, you can just open it up or download the 4.8MB pdf document.)
A parcourse, wayfinding, art – all can have a positive effect on the experience, safety and atmosphere of strolling and rolling.
An orchard is proposed for the eastern edge of the Greenway. What a great idea… BUT if those trees are planted too close to the multi-use path, as was already done south of Dartmouth, they will drop debris on the path, encroach on the path itself and also invite more conflicts between people biking northbound & walking on the east dg path and people who are picking fruit.
Another point someone brought up was that some of the existing trees west of the path cast are planted directly between the overhead light and the path, casting shadows on the path and making the nighttime path experience more dangerous.
In short, as Albany’s Active Transportation Highway, the City must take care not to degrade this important function. If amenities to either side are to be added, it should be done with great care.
Please attend this meeting to give your input and improve the Ohlone Greenway for everyone – strollers, rollers, sitters, dog-walkers, and fruit-pickers!
Do you or your family ride, walk, roll, scoot or skate on the Ohlone Greenway? I’m sure you do, as the multi-use path on the Greenway is Albany’s Active Transportation Highway – over 1,000 trips per day on regular days when last counted several years ago!
The Parks & Rec Department is overseeing Greenway improvements so now’s the time to give input in order to have a better experience to stroll, roll or just hang out!
The information with the Project Plans and what was discussed at previous meetings is at this link. However, the proposal will be updated based on feedback that they received at February 1, so people should come to see how it evolved!
At this meeting the consultants will have 35% designs for you to see and provide input. This is a crucial time in the planning process!
Preferred Concept plan that was presented to Council on February 1 included:
- Plaza area as presented in the 250K Focused amenities (Adventure play with climbing wall, fitness pod with 3 stations, both diagonal ramps, social path short cut to Solano
- Redwood Grove informal play area
- San Gabriel sculpture play
- Social paths
- 3 Creek paintings
- 3 fitness stations along Greenway with 2 pieces of equipment at each
- Dartmouth Circle improvements
- Orchards
- Public Art locations
A parcourse, wayfinding, art – all can have a positive effect on the experience, safety and atmosphere of strolling and rolling.
An orchard is proposed for the eastern edge of the Greenway. What a great idea… BUT if those trees are planted too close to the multi-use path, as was already done south of Dartmouth, they will drop debris on the path, encroach on the path itself and also invite more conflicts between people biking northbound & walking on the east dg path and people who are picking fruit.
Another point someone brought up was that some of the existing trees west of the path cast are planted directly between the overhead light and the path, casting shadows on the path and making the nighttime path experience more dangerous.
In short, as Albany’s Active Transportation Highway, the City must take care not to degrade this important function. If amenities to either side are to be added, it should be done with great care.
Please attend this meeting to give your input and improve the Ohlone Greenway for everyone – strollers, rollers, sitters, dog-walkers, and fruit-pickers!
**THE AGENDA AND 35% PLANS ARE HERE** (NOTE: 4.3 MB FILE)
It’s time for the Albany Arts & Green Festival again!
Come out to Memorial Park for green lifestyle booths, art booths, local performers, food trucks, music and more! This family friendly event will include lots of activities for kids.
As AS&R does every year, we will provide FREE bicycle valet parking, so you can enjoy the festival without worrying about your bike! This year the service organization BERKELEY LIONS CLUB has stepped up as a new sponsor of our Bicycle Valet Parking – thanks to BLC President Dave Nicely and the board for helping our organization!
Come visit our booth to find out about what’s going on for cyclists and pedestrians here in Albany!
Local bike shop BLUE HERON HAS AGAIN DONATED SOME FABULOUS PRIZES for our 3rd annual kids’ coloring contest so be sure to bring the kids down!!!
WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO PARK BIKES AND WORK AT OUR TABLE TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS! CAN YOU PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO HELP US FOR A FEW HOURS?
VOLUNTEERS WILL GET A DELICIOUS FREE LUNCH FROM COMMUNITY SPONSORS BUA LUANG OR TAY TAH plus A SPECIAL COUPON FROM TAY TAH!!
Please email Laura Emery or Amy Smolens to help out or fill out this simple form!
For the 9th straight year, non-profit bike workshop Street Level Cycles will provide free or low-cost bike tuneups, so if you have an old bike that you want to get road-ready, come on down! Don’t forget, Bike to Work Day is on May 12th, so here’s a way to help make sure your ride is up and running well.
More info about the Festival is here.
Albany Strollers & Rollers will again be providing Free Bicycle Valet Parking at two locations: 1800 Solano Ave (Wells Fargo) and 1245 Solano (the “Pumpkin Patch” near Masonic.)
We’ll also have an information table by our western lot near Masonic.
WE NEED YOU TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS!
If you’d like to help park bikes at either lot or volunteer at AS&R’s info table, please contact Amy Smolens.
All volunteers who work at least a 4-hr shift or pick up & return rental racks will get free lunch provided by a Solano Avenue restaurant, probably Tay Tah or Zaytoon. Whichever one is is, it’ll be delicious!!
Have Valet Parking experience? Mac McCurdy, BVP coordinator extraordinaire, is ready to pass on his trade secrets to train another coordinator. Would you like to be trained by pros like Mac and Sylvia Paull, to fill this important role and add to your LinkedIn bio? And YES, I have a special prize/perk in mind for the person who volunteers for this!
Since 1974 Solano Avenue and the cities of Albany and Berkeley have hosted the Solano Avenue Stroll, the East Bay’s largest street festival! The Solano Avenue Association and AS&R invite you to see what makes Solano Avenue a wonderful place. The Stroll features over five hundred vendors including 50 entertainers (there’s always great music!,) 50 food booths, 150 government and non-profit agencies, 150 juried hand-crafters, a 75 entry parade, state of the art mechanical rides and much more!
Come visit the unique and popular professional services, restaurants, and shops already here on Solano Avenue.
250,000 participants and event guests visit from all over the west coast.
This family event promotes the unique traits of Solano Avenue, helping independently-owned businesses, artists, and community organizations to thrive by exposure and fundraising.
Please see the press room to stay tuned-into what’s hot at this years event!
Brought to you by the Cities of Albany and Berkeley; and with the help of our generous sponsors, SAA members, and volunteer board of directors.
Come join Albany Strollers & Rollers at the Albany Arts & Green Festival. We could use some help doing bike valet parking. It’s fun and easy. Do you have a couple of hours to spare? Please contact Nick at nicky@mindspring.com or 510-525-3405 to volunteer and thanks!
http://www.albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=1214
The City of Albany’s Recreation Department is getting into the spirit of Bike Month with a Bike in Movie!
They will be showing ‘Cool Runnings,’ a film sure to spark your quest for the ultimate ride. Ride your bike on down to the Albany Community Center and join us for this fabulous Bike Month event! There will have plenty of space to park your bike in a protected area, complete with a massive bike rack.
The popcorn is free and will be flowing freely! This film is PG. Special thanks to 5 Little Monkeys for co-sponsoring this bike-tacular event.