Want a fun bike park like Dirt World in Richmond? Support this project at an Albany Parks & Rec meeting and/or write a letter!
On September 13th, a course/park designer will pitch several plans for a proposed mountain bike/BMX bike park in Albany. Commissioners will benefit from input and feedback from the public, especially supporters like you, to help decide which plan, if any, to advance to the City Council. Proposed location is adjacent to Pierce St Park – just below it, to the west on Cleveland St. Early discussions described a MTB component around the perimeter space and a BMX component at the interior. The designer said he likes to design with different riding abilities in mind on the same course (very easy, medium, challenging) and to provide different price points for features, their materials, etc. He has designed and built Richmond’s new Dirt World and many other bike parks.
Here is the Design and Estimate Proposal.
Any input – in person or even in writing – you can provide (even just “looks great!” or “our family would use this!” will be helpful).
Separately, input is sought for what may be the final design review for the new and improved trails at Albany Hill Park. Here are the 90% Plans.
*New ADA trail at the top parallel to the ridge line
*Improvements to existing trails at the north
*Improved, re-landscaped access points to the park where Jackson and Madison dead-end
*Stairs plus a bulbout in the SE corner where Taft hits Hillside
The city has received the monarch roosting report it commissioned and is taking its results and recent community input to limit impacts to trees near monarch habitat. Some commissioners including myself (Bryan Marten) want to also use that information to move forward with choosing a select few trees to remove to improve views of the bay, bird habitat at the mud flats, etc. This involves the city approaching the large land owner at the SW corner of the hill which the city has said it will do.
This is the full agenda for the meeting.
BMX/MTB parks are great fun and recreation for kids, teens and adults!
PLEASE WRITE LETTERS OF SUPPORT to Albany Staff Liaison Chelle Putzer at cputzer@albanyca.org and request that she send your letter to all members of Albany’s Parks & Rec Commission. Thanks!
Wildcard Brewing has one of Albany’s newest Bike Bike Racks – come try it out and raise money for AS&R!
We’re excited to have brand new local business Wildcard Brewing partner with Albany Strollers & Rollers on “Pints With Purpose,” their community fundraiser in which they help out local non-profits.
Hoist a pint or flight with us and help fund Albany’s newest bike rack at one of its newest businesses!
In this Bike Month activity, $1 FROM EVERY PINT OR FLIGHT THAT YOU BUY ALL DAY WILL HELP AS&R FUND A BRAND NEW “BIKE BIKE RACK” FOR WILDCARD CUSTOMERS!
Since we’re anticipating lots of you riding over, we’ll have our Bicycle Valet Parking racks set up right out front for you and your families. Racks will be unattended (we’ll be inside) so please bring your bike locks.
Yes, Wildcard is family friendly (they have non-alcoholic beverages including craft root beer, New York seltzer and lemon flavored sparkling water, plus plenty of games) and you can bring or order food in to go with your beer!
They even welcome leashed dogs!
Feel free to bring lunch, dinner or snacks from your favorite restaurants on Solano or San Pablo Avenues, too!
Support those who support us – hope to see you there as Bike Month winds down!!
We’ll have two of these racks right out front for your parking convenience. Please bring your bike locks – they will be visible from inside, but unattended.
Photo courtesy Mark Altenberg
Thanks to one of Albany’s newest businesses for raising money for a new Bike Bike Rack right out front!
For the first time ever, the Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival will visit the East Bay! The festival is a celebration of travel and human-powered adventure on wheels, and it is the only event of its type in the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Adventure Cycling Association and Street Level Cycles.
From the frozen streams of the Himalayas to the sultry heat of Thailand, from a father and daughter sharing their first overnight outing to two Boomers finding love on an organized bike tour, there’s over a dozen films with something for everyone at this year’s festival. You don’t need to be a cyclist to enjoy these tales of adventure! Ciclismo Classico, the longtime pioneer in creative bicycle vacations, is proud to present this one-of-a-kind event.
Agenda for the Evening:
- 6:00pm: Doors Open
- 6:30pm: Introduction & Film Rolls
- 8:30pm: Film Ends
Raffle Information: Ciclismo is generously raffling a $2500 voucher which can be applied to a specific Italian bike trip that Ciclismo will designate. Each admission ticket includes one raffle ticket. However, additional raffle tickets can be bought at check-in. One winner will be chosen at the film screening intermission and must be present to win.
Grab a drink, sit back, relax & enjoy the films! Sports Basement to provide light drinks and snacks.
FESTIVAL MISSION STATEMENT
The Festival’s mission is to inspire attendees to explore by bicycle. Whether across the globe or a few towns away, nothing recharges and expands horizons like bicycle travel. The Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival is the ONLY film festival in the USA that focuses specifically on bicycle travel. The Festival commits itself to sharing a diverse array of journeys: adventure is for everyone
The Ohlone Greenway is one of the trails & paths connecting your home with your destinations
Albany Recreation & Community Services
continues its Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan update with the second of three workshops designed to gather community feedback. The first Albany Parks community workshop was intended to capture a high-level vision of what changes people would like to see in their park system. This next workshop is intended to focus at a site-specific scale on how those changes might look like. We will be joined on the webinar-style Zoom with the Albany Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Commission.
Are there enough bike racks at Albany’s parks & open space?
Significant is that this plan deals not only with parks per se, but also trails and paths like the Ohlone Greenway and the Codornices & Cerrito Creek Paths. Which connections do you and your family need to safely bike or walk where you’re going?
Are there sufficient bike racks and other facilities in our parks and open spaces?
REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP HERE
Please take the Albany parks community survey here and follow @albanyparksmp on Instagram for the latest updates. Stay in the loop through www.albanyparks.com. You can also receive Master Plan updates through “Albany Parks Master Plan” eNotifications.
The AHS Mountain Biking Team is leading the Bicycle Valet Parking at the Solano Stroll – will you lend a hand?
Free Bicycle Valet Parking will again be featured at the Solano Stroll, but with a new twist: the Albany High School Mountain Biking Team will be taking the lead for this important service, using Albany Strollers & Rollers’ specialized racks! The new location will be on Key Route Blvd just north of Solano Avenue – it’s near the Greenway so we’re expecting lots of drop-ins so it’s sure to be busy!!
As usual, AS&R will also have an information table near the lot where we (YOU!) will talk about and answer questions about active transportation stuff!
WE NEED YOU TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS!
Bikes, Bikes, Bikes!! 300 + of them coming to the Solano Stroll! Please help the AHS MTB Team park them all! Photo courtesy Nick Pilch
The AHS MTB team could use additional volunteers, so if you’d like to help park bikes (we have parked 300 bikes in the past!!) or volunteer at AS&R’s info table, please contact Amy Smolens .
This is a great gig for kids, too, as long as they are strong enough to roll a bike. If students need volunteer-hours, this is perfect!
VOLUNTEERS (the first 12 to commit) WHO WORK AT LEAST A 4-HR SHIFT AT EITHER LOCATION WILL GET FREE LUNCH PROVIDED BY SUPPORTING SOLANO AVENUE RESTAURANT !!
AS&R Super-Volunteer Lynn Eve Komaromi takes a well-earned lunch break – thanks, Bua Luang! Please join Lynn Eve and your AS&R neighbors in volunteering!
Some sponsoring businesses may also provide gifts or coupons for our volunteers, too – stay tuned!
Volunteer hours run from 9am-5:30pm so it’s easy to pick a shift that works for you! Please let Amy know if you would prefer to help with the Valet Parking, the Info Table or either one, and if you have time preferences or are flexible.
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 , AS&R and Check for Bikes 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 AS&R at our information table then enjoy a great stroll up Solano!
Or better yet, volunteer a few hours with your neighbors before strolling!
230,000 participants and event guests visit from all over the west coast so that’s where YOU come in – many of them ride their bikes, so we need people to help park them in our lots. Lots of them want to talk about cycling and walking around the area, and they want to talk to YOU!
AS&R’s supporting sponsor, Floor Dimensions has donated a long Red Carpet to lead passers-by to our information table and Bicycle Valet Parking lot!
See you soon!
