Come visit AS&R at our information table then enjoy a great stroll up Solano!
Albany Strollers & Rollers will be providing Free Bicycle Valet Parking at two locations this year: 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.
Have a truck or van? We also need someone to pick up & return extra bicycle valet racks that we’re renting!
AS&R’s volunteers parked about 250 bikes at two lots at the Solano Stroll! Please give us a hand this year!
All volunteers who work at least a 4-hr shift or pick up & return rental racks will get free lunch provided by supporting local restaurants Bua Luang or Tay Tah Café, plus a coupon from one of those restaurants!!
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.
AS&R Volunteer Lynn Eve Komaromi takes a well-earned Pad Thai break – thanks, Bua Luang!
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.
The monthly Transportation 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.
Register and get Zoom link on the City website here.
The agenda will be posted on the City website here.
Come on down!
Come join the fun!
courtesy: Peggy McQuaid
Want to test your cycling, running and swimming skills in a low-key setting, while helping AHS sports teams in the process?
Come on down to Memorial Park for on September 27th for the Albany Community Triathlon!
The Albany Community Triathlon emphasizes fitness and fun with a 400m swim, 10k cycle and 3k run.
Registration is available at www.albanytri.com.
Registrants will get a t-shirt and other swag while supplies last!
All proceeds will go to the Albany High School Athletic Department to benefit all teams. In addition to the fund raising, this event focuses on fitness and fun. If you have always wanted to participate in a triathlon, but felt intimidated at the prospect, this is the one for you.
I took part in the RELAY last year – I did the cycling portion, and found friends for the swim and the run! It was fun rooting for my teammate during the swim, riding my bike, then rooting for my other teammate while she ran!
Again for 2015 – YOUTH AND STUDENT DISCOUNTS!
There is still a FAMILY & FRIENDS HEAT!
Parents, kids, spouses: When you register, you can indicate your desire to be in the same wave as one or more family members or friends. Then you can compete together & keep an eye on each other during the race (but not assist each other, per triathlon rules).
POST-RACE FESTIVITIES – Stick around after the race to recover with some healthy food, finisher awards, raffle prizes, massages, and schmoozing with fellow participants, volunteers, sponsors, and race organizers.
Feel great when you cross that Finish Line!
photo credit Amy Smolens
Thank you to the Albany Community Triathlon for purchasing 2 brand new racks for Albany Strollers & Rollers’ use all year when we provide Bicycle Valet Parking! AS&R is excited to again be sponsoring the Albany Tri – supplying bike racks for the transition area and swag for the goodie bags. Other sponsors include the Albany Community Foundation, Albany Lions Club, Blue Heron Bikes, REI, Albany Ford- Subaru and TranSports.
So come on down and participate in the fun!
For more information about the Albany Triathlon and to register, please see the web site, www.albanytri.com. This is a great community event and really fun to watch even if you don’t want to participate!
Come on down, have fun and support Albany High School sports!!
If you’ve read about Ciclovías and Open Streets events all over the world, here’s one right in your 
backyard.
On Sunday, October 18th from 11am-4pm, Shattuck Avenue between Rose and Haste will be closed to motor vehicles so you can bike, skate, wheelchair, scooter and walk to your heart’s content!
There will be plenty of activities for your and your family to enjoy, or just wander along the street with no worries about cars, grab a bite at an outdoor table and hang out!
For more information, go to www.sundaystreetsberkeley.org .
Hope to see you there!
The monthly Transportation 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.
Register and get Zoom link on the City website here.
The agenda will be posted on the City website here.
Come on down!
Give your input to improve the Greenway by El Cerrito BART stations!
Come help our neighbor to the North, El Cerrito, shape its (and your) bicycle and pedestrian future!
The primary goals of this project are to:
*Improve bicycle and pedestrian routes to transit, commercial nodes and housing
*Bring new vibrancy to the areas around the BART stations
*Increase safety and accessibility for BART riders and Greenway users
*Improve the integration of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART Stations with the surrounding community.
Here are some of the 96 BikeLink lockers at nearby El Cerrito Plaza BART
On Tuesday November 10 the City of El Cerrito will host a community meeting to review the preferred plan for the Ohlone Greenway at the El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza BART station areas. This is the last of several outreach efforts to engage the public in the process of re-designing the Ohlone Greenway at two key areas in the City. At the meeting, community members will have a chance to voice their opinion on the preferred plan to create gateway elements and outdoor gathering spaces around the Greenway and BART stations, improve the mixed-use bicycle and pedestrian path and intersection crossings, and other enhancements.For more info, go here.
The Albany Police Department is currently in the process of developing a strategic plan that will detail the department’s goals and priorities over the next three to five years.
Participation and input from the Albany community is a vital component of our strategic planning process and we want to hear from you. We have scheduled two community meetings and would like to ask that you check your availability and please plan to attend one of these work sessions.
In the course of 90 minutes we will:
· Present the structure of the department and how it operates
· Identify community member issues and priorities for the next 3 -5 years
Albany Police Strategic Planning Community Workshop Dates:
· Tuesday, Dec 1st 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Ocean View School Library
· Saturday, Dec 12th 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Albany Senior Center
Please RSVP to policeplan@albanyca.org so that we can ensure there are enough chairs and handouts for everyone. You may also direct any questions about the work sessions to this email.
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important part of the Albany Police Department’s Strategic Planning Process—we look forward to seeing you in December!
To receive electronic notification of upcoming Albany Police Strategic Planning Community Work Sessions or to receive periodic updates about the police department’s strategic plan process, please go to www.albanyca.org and sign-up for the City of Albany’s E-Notification system and get information and updates going on Around Your Block.
Got a gripe, question or idea that would make cycling or walking better? Hungry or thirsty?
Take care of ALL of those needs in one place!
Join us for our happy hour at Grazzy Burgers/Albany Taproom – yes, they have plenty of bike parking! This is our every other month (even-numbered months) informal get-together to talk about all things bike and ped in Albany. It’s a good chance 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.
Everyone is welcome.
Note that this will usually take place right before a Traffic and Safety Commission meeting, and will also be a good chance to talk about anything coming up on their agenda.
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.
The agenda will be posted on the City website here.
Come on down!
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:
Do you or your family ride on the Ohlone Greenway? Now’s the time to give input to improve it!
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.
