December 2, 2025
Department
DATE: December 2, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Community Development Director
Beatriz Guerrero Auna, Transformative Climate
Communities (TCC) Project Coordinator
Subject: Regional Measure 3 (RM3) Funding Allocation for Neighborhood Complete Streets and Richmond Wellness
Trail Phase II
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The City was awarded $10,000,000 in Regional Measure 3 (RM3) funding for the construction of Neighborhood
Complete Streets ($7,500,000) and Richmond Wellness
Trail Phase II ($2,500,000). No local match is required, and there is no impact to the General Fund.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
June 21, 2022
October 3, 2023
December 20, 2022
June 21, 2022
September 19, 2023
December 5, 2023
October 21, 2025
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City identified its Richmond Wellness Trail Phase II and Neighborhood Complete Streets projects as eligible
projects under Regional Measure 3 (RM3) that seeks to
fund projects that enhance connectivity to the shoreline and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. City staff are
seeking a resolution from the City Council requesting an allocation of Regional Measure 3 (RM3) funds from the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and
accepting and appropriating the funds in the amount of
$10,000,000 for the construction of Neighborhood
Complete Streets ($7,500,000) and Richmond Wellness
Trail Phase II ($2,500,000).
AGENDA
REPORT
December 2, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution to: (1) REQUEST an allocation for
Regional Measure 3 (RM3) funds from the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC) (2) ACCEPT and
APPROPRIATE $10,000,000 in Regional Measure 3 (RM3)
funding for construction of Neighborhood Complete Streets for $7,500,000, and Richmond Wellness Trail Phase II for
$2,500,000 – Community Development Department (Lina
Velasco/Beatriz Guerrero Auna 510-620-5450).
DISCUSSION:
On June 21, 2022, the City Council authorized an application for a Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Round 4 Implementation Grant for the Richmond Rising project. The City’s proposal included five Co-Applicants: Groundwork Richmond, GRID Alternatives, Rich City Rides, Trust for Public Land (TPL), and Urban Tilth. On October 27, 2022, Richmond’s application was awarded a $35 million TCC Round 4 Implementation Grant by the California Strategic Growth Council (Attachment 1).
Richmond’s project titled Richmond Rising: Healthy, Connected, and Climate Strong focuses on projects serving the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado neighborhoods.
The ten key projects included in the Richmond Rising project are:
1. Neighborhood Complete Streets: walking and biking improvements on Harbour Way, Ohio Avenue, and some AC Transit bus stops to connect to existing bike lanes connecting to the Richmond Greenway, San Francisco Bay Trail, and the Richmond- San Rafael Bridge bike lanes. Subproject Lead: City PW-Engineering
2. Richmond Wellness Trail, Phase 2: Walking and biking improvements to connect with Phase 1 connecting the Richmond BART and central neighborhoods with the waterfront and ferry terminal. Subproject Lead: TPL
3. E-Bike Lending Library: Long- and short-term e-bikes access for free to target neighborhood residents to improve carbon-free mobility options. Subproject Lead: Rich City Rides
4. Resilient Homes for Healthy Communities: Residential solar panel installations and home energy efficiency and health and safety upgrades at no cost to income-qualifying residents. Subproject Lead: GRID Alternatives
5. Basins of Relations: Residential greywater systems and rainwater capture systems at no cost to income-qualifying residents, installed by local youth who receive training in watershed stewardship and installation. Subproject Lead: Urban Tilth
6. Bosque del Barrio: Tree planting throughout the project area to create a healthy urban forest. Subproject Lead: Groundwork Richmond
December 2, 2025
7. ADA Accessible Garden: Edible and pollinator garden at Unity Park with specially designed planting beds so seniors and wheelchair users can comfortably participate in gardening and community activities. Subproject Lead: Urban Tilth
8. Orchard for ALL!: Creating a distributed orchard through fruit tree giveaways, with tree care and harvest support offered in exchange for a share of the harvest, which will be distributed at free farm stands and in veggie boxes. Subproject Lead: Urban Tilth
9. Veggie RX: Prescription veggie boxes in partnership with the local health clinic, to provide free fruits and vegetables as preventative care along with community health workers and programming to support change to a more sustainable diet. Subproject Lead: Urban Tilth
10. E-Bike Share: The project will bring 5 new bike share access points, 70 new Ebikes, and targeted outreach and engagement to the Project Area.
In addition, the Richmond Rising project includes three Transformative Plans outlining Community Engagement, Workforce Development, and Displacement Avoidance policies and programs. For more information on the projects visit:
https://richmondrisingca.org/
Regional Measure 3 (RM3)
Regional Measure 3 (RM3), approved by Bay Area voters in 2018, finances highway and transit improvements by increasing tolls on the region’s state-owned bridges. As part of the RM3 Expenditure Plan, funding was specifically set aside for transportation projects in the City of Richmond to improve access to the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge.
A portion of this allocation has been designated to support the construction of two of the TCC Richmond Rising projects, Neighborhood Complete Streets and Richmond Wellness Trail Phase II:
1. Neighborhood Complete Streets. The Neighborhood Complete Streets Project will support safe and comfortable pedestrian and bicycle connectivity from Richmond’s Iron Triangle Neighborhood to the Richmond Ferry Terminal. This project will also fund construction for traffic signal improvements and pedestrian scale lighting. The Neighborhood Complete Streets Project features improvements on Harbour Way South, Wright Ave, and Ohio Ave, also linking to other bikeways at the Richmond-San Rafel Bridge.
Harbour Way South: This street was identified in Richmond’s Local Road Safety Plan as part of the City’s multimodal High Injury Network. Harbour Way South is a north-south connection between the Iron Triangle and Downtown Richmond to the Richmond Ferry, serves several neighborhoods, connects to the Richmond Greenway which provides access to the Ohlone Greenway to the east and connects through Point Richmond to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the
December 2, 2025
west. At Pennsylvania Avenue, north of the project area, Harbour Way South connects to 13th Street. Neighborhood Complete Streets project have been planned to address the following improvements in this street:
Chanslor Avenue to Hoffman Boulevard:
o Lane reduction from four to two lanes and Class IV Bicycle Lanes o New traffic signal at Florida Avenue and Harbour Way South to facilitate safety for all modes of transportation near Nystrom Elementary School and Richmond College Prep
o New traffic signals at Cutting Boulevard and Maine Avenue intersections
Ohio Avenue and Chanslor Way intersections:
o Bus bulbs and bus stop enhancements for AC Transit Routes 70, 76, 675, and 681
o Tree planting
o Pedestrian scale lighting improvements
Wright Avenue: Wright Avenue is a low-volume, east-west street that connects Harbour Way South and Marina Way South (Richmond Wellness Trail) with a Class III bike route that is an existing segment of the S.F. Bay Trail. Sidewalks are incomplete with gaps on both sides of the street, sharrow markings are faded, and current pavement conditions make this route less comfortable for cyclists. Neighborhood Complete Streets project has been planned to address the following improvements in this section of Wright Avenue Street, including:
Constructing sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps on the south side of the street and completing any missing sidewalks on north side of the streets Full pavement reconstruction
Installation of storm drain facilities
Installation of thermoplastic markings
Wayfinding for Class III bicycle facility and Bay trail
Ohio Avenue: Ohio Avenue is an east-west street that features Class IV bike lanes and connects the Richmond Greenway and Harbour Way South to bicycle facilities on Garrard Boulevard, which bring cyclists through Point Richmond to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Existing bike lanes that cross the BNSF Railway are in poor condition and non-compliant with the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and BNSF requirements. Neighborhood Complete Streets project has been planned to address the following improvements in this street:
Construct CPUC and BNSF-compliant Class IV bicycle lanes over BNSF railroad crossing
Upgrade Class IV bike lanes from Harbour Way South to Garrard Boulevard
2. Richmond Wellness Trail. When completed will include a roadway reconfiguration or “road diet” on Marina Way South from the Richmond BART/Amtrak Station to the San Francisco Bay Trail. Richmond Wellness Trail
December 2, 2025
Phase II connects neighborhoods south of Cutting Boulevard to the Richmond Greenway, a key east-west bicycle route through the City of Richmond that provides access to the Ohlone Greenway Trail to the east and through the Point Richmond Neighborhood to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the west.
Richmond Wellness Trail Phase II includes the following improvements on Marina Way South:
Cutting Boulevard to Wright Avenue:
12’ two-way Class IV cycle track separated by travel lanes by a 6’ median and pop-up bicycle delineators
Road diet on Marina Way South from 4 to 2 lanes
Addition of planting strips and tree planting throughout
Wayfinding signs and improvements from Wright Avenue to Hall Avenue:
Road diet on Marina Way South from 4 to 2 lanes
8’ northbound and southbound Class IV bikeways separated by 4’ stripped buffers and popup bicycle delineators
Addition of planting strips and tree planting throughout Concrete bus islands/bulbs for AC Transit Route 74 stops Pedestrian, vehicle, and bicycle accessibility improvements to two railroad crossings
Wayfinding signs and improvements
Hall Avenue to Richmond Charter Academy Entrance (1450 Marina Way S.) Vehicle lane width decreases from 20’ to 11-12’ in (1 lane in each direction) 6’ northbound and southbound Class IV bikeways separated by 4’ stripped buffers and pop-up bicycle delineators
Wayfinding signs and improvements
Richmond Charter Academy Entrance (1450 Marina Way S.) to Bay Trail:
Class III Bike route with sharrow markings
Wayfinding signs and improvements
If RM3 funding is not accepted, other funding sources would need to be identified to address increased projects costs and to incorporate community priorities identified through recent outreach efforts. City staff therefore recommend that the City Council adopt the resolution to request allocation of RM3 funds, and, if awarded, accept and appropriate Regional Measure 3 (RM3) funding for construction of Neighborhood Complete Streets ($7,500,000) and Richmond Wellness Trail Phase II ($2,500,000) (Attachment 2 and 3).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – TCC Grant Award Letter Richmond
Attachment 2 – Resolution (RM3 Allocation)
Attachment 3 – Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) Resolution and RM3 Allocation Request and Initial Project Report Forms