Hey, did you know that El Cerrito’s right next to Albany? I’m sure you ride through and around El Cerrito quite a bit, so here’s your chance to have input on EC’s cycling and walking infrastructure.
The City is in the midst of two planning efforts, the Urban Greening Plan and the Active Transportation Plan (an update to the 2007 Circulation Plan for Bicyclists and Pedestrians.)  On Tuesday, July 23rd, at the City’s first of three community workshops, community members will review results of the Urban Greening needs assessment and opportunities inventory and will provide feedback on the proposed priority improvements for the bicycle and pedestrian network.  Information about the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and the Complete Streets Plan will also be available.
There will be information presented and input garnered on four different plans that are either being developed or updated.  There is a link to an informational flyer here about the event, which is the first of three community workshops (the other two are Saturday, October 19, 2013 and Saturday, March 8, 2014.)
Contact Ralph Boniello here if you want to speak to an active AS&R member in El Cerrito.
RSVP to Emily Alter at ealter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us

Come join the fun!
photo credit 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 October 5th for the Albany Community Triathlon!
The Albany Community Triathlon emphasizes fitness and fun with a 400m swim, 10k cycle and 3k run.

Come join the action and the fun!

Registration is available at www.albanytri.com.
Registrants will get a t-shirt, water bottle and a useful REI Coupon 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.
New for 2013 – take part in the FAMILY HEAT!
Parents, kids, spouses: When you register, you can indicate your desire to be in the same wave as one or more family members. Then you can compete together & keep an eye on each other during the race (but not assist each other, per triathlon rules).
Albany Strollers & Rollers is one of the sponsors of the Albany Community Triathlon – other sponsors include Albany Lions Club, the Albany Community Foundation, REI, Blue Heron Bikes, Albany Ford/Suburu and Transports.
AS&R is lending the bike racks we use for bicycle valet parking to the triathlon for the race transition area and we are also putting goodies in the swag bags of all participants and volunteers.
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!!

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!

I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months.  The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area.  The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
Two upcoming public meetings are scheduled to present key components of the Plan:

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets City Council Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Tuesday, November 5^th, 7pm
The City Council agenda and draft PowerPoint are available at www.el-cerrito.org/CouncilMeetings

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Wednesday, November 20^th, 7:30pm

An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15^th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.

To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings.  To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.

I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months.  The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area.  The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
This is the second of two recent public meetings to present key components of the Plan:

San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15^th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.

To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings.  To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.

The monthly Traffic & Safety Commission Meeting, the Fourth Thursday of every month (other than holiday times so check exact date,) 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!

The UC Village Mixed Use Project is on the agenda of tonight’s Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting.
This developers have created a top notch cycling and walking infrastructure to encourage safe walking and cycling to and from the development. The blocks are ringed with cycling paths as well as a path on Monroe down the center and a safer crossing of San Pablo Avenue. This infrastructure will be enjoyed by those using Sprouts and the retail at the development, the residents and visitors at the senior housing facility, those who live in UC Village and other Albany residents.
The full meeting agenda is here, as are links to supporting documents.

Join us for a happy hour at our new location 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 (other than holiday times, so be sure to check date here,) 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!