GLENN AVENUE AT MCBRYDE AVENUE: PROPOSED ROADWAY
MODIFICATIONS
• Project Background
The Project is funded through the One Bay Area Grant Program (OBAG3) and is included in the approved Fiscal Year 2025–2026 budget. • The Project encompasses traffic calming improvements, bicycle facilities, ADA-compliant curb ramps, pavement rehabilitation, sidewalks, and updated striping and signage. The City of San Pablo reviewed the improvement plans and provided formal written support for the proposed modifications.
• Engineering evaluation of roadway geometry, sight distance, block spacing, and adjacent property impacts as the preferred design alternative.
COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE
• The event was held at Café McBryde in Richmond, CA on Saturday, November 8, 2025, between 9:30AM and 12:30PM.
An attendance goal of 40-
50 people, the project
team surpassed its target,
drawing an estimated 70
community members.
Participants were eager
to discuss the project, ask
questions, and share their
thoughts.
Questions
City of Richmond - BKF
McBryde Avenue Improvement Project
Community Open House Summary Memo
November 14, 2025
This memo summarizes outreach efforts and community input collected for the McBryde Avenue Improvement project by the City of Richmond and BKF Engineering.
Table of Contents
Community Open House .............................................................................................. 2 Format ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Event Materials .............................................................................................................. 3 Station Posterboards ............................................................................................................................. 3 Project Corridor Station (Table Map) ..................................................................................................... 3 Comment Cards .................................................................................................................................... 3 Key Performance Indicators ................................................................................................... 3 Outreach Materials ........................................................................................................ 4 Invitational Material ................................................................................................................. 4 Flyer ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 A-Frame Posters ................................................................................................................................... 4 Informational Materials ........................................................................................................... 5 Handout ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Website Content .................................................................................................................................... 5 Social Media .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Community Input ........................................................................................................... 6 Map Activity Feedback .......................................................................................................................... 6 Map Comments ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Comment Card Feedback ................................................................................................................... 10 Digital Comments ................................................................................................................................ 14 Next Steps .................................................................................................................... 18
2 COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE
As part of the community engagement process to guide McBryde Avenue Improvement design and development, the City of Richmond and its consultants hosted an open house event to inform the public about the project and gather feedback/priorities from residents, businesses, City officials, and the broader community.
The event was held at Café McBryde in Richmond, CA on Saturday, November 8, 2025, between 9:30AM and 12:30PM. With an attendance goal of 40-50 people, the project team surpassed its target, drawing an estimated 70 community members. Participants were eager to discuss the project, ask questions, and share their thoughts.
Format
The event utilized an open-format design, featuring project information and three interactive display stations and complimentary refreshments, including coffee/tea and morning pastries.
The event began with a brief project introduction made by City staff. Attendees were greeted at a welcome table containing project handouts, paper comment cards, and iPads for digital comment collection. Attendees were free to engage at three dedicated stations that facilitated participation and information exchange. The station topics were as follows:
• Project Corridor Map
• Glenn Avenue Closure
• Proposed Roundabout Improvements
Subject matter experts from the consulting team and City of Richmond staff were present throughout the room, with some assigned to specific stations to facilitate meaningful engagement and to provide technical information to the attendees in both English and Spanish.
3 EVENT MATERIALS
The following printed materials were developed for and displayed as part of the three dedicated open house stations.
Station Posterboards
Two 24x36-inch posterboards were developed and printed to support the table map, each highlighting a specific section of the project area and enlarged for clearer viewing of key design features. One illustrated the proposed roundabout improvements, and the other detailed the Glenn Avenue closure.
Project Corridor Station (Table Map)
A 10-foot map of the project corridor was printed and displayed on a large table to help orient attendees with the project area and facilitate discussion and garner feedback.
Comments were recorded directly on the map and through sticky-dot activity, in which attendees placed colored dots representing specific concerns or desired improvements on the areas of the map where they would like to see changes. Some written comments were also made directly on the map.
Comment Cards
Online and paper comment cards were available in both English and Spanish for attendees to fill out during the event. Thirty-two paper comment cards and four digital comments were collected. All comments submitted were in English.
Key Performance Indicators
The table below highlights key performance indicators collected for the Community Open House, capturing overall attendance and engagement during the event.
KPI #
Estimated attendees (based on sign-in sheet records and clicker counter)
70 Paper comment cards collected 32
Digital comments submitted 4
4 Emails received at [email protected] XX
OUTREACH MATERIALS
The following outreach collateral was developed to support the Community Open House and project.
Invitational Material
Flyer
To spread the word about the event, an 8.5 x 11-inch flyer was developed and promoted across multiple channels. The flyer was distributed door-to-door, posted on the City's website/select digital channels, shared through partner organizations, and made available in both English and Spanish.
Project Area Canvassing:
• Over October 23-24, the BKF team distributed 500 flyers (in both English & Spanish) to businesses, residents and community organizations throughout the 2-miles length of the project area.
Partner and Digital Channels:
• City staff shared the flyers with community partners including:
o North & East Neighborhood Council
o East Richmond Neighborhood Council
• City staff included the flyers in Richmond’s City Manager weekly report • BKF sent invitational emails with the flyers to City council members:
o Claudia Jimenez
o Soheila Bana
• Convey provided flyers to Café McBryde for posting
A-Frame Posters
To maximize visibility, the bilingual flyers were reproduced in a large format (24x36 inch) for A- frame posters. The two-sided A-Frame was strategically placed outside the event entrance to capture the attention of potential attendees.
5 Informational Materials
Handout
A project handout highlighting potential improvements was developed to provide additional project information and contact information for questions or comments. The handouts were available for attendees during the Community Open House. The handout was also translated into Spanish.
Website Content
A project page was set-up by Richmond staff on the City website:
https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4837/23039---McBryde-Safe-Routes-to-Park-OBAG The web page includes an updated project description as well as provides general information, project map, timeline, and community outreach information including the event flyer image.
Social Media
A suite of social media and email content was developed and deployed to promote the Community Open House. Content was distributed by the City of Richmond via its City Manager newsletter, project website, and social media channels. All social media graphics were translated into Spanish.
Example social media materials:
6 COMMUNITY INPUT
The following tables present a comprehensive overview of all community input received from attendees at the Community Open House, including the sticky dot map activity, paper comment cards, and the digital comment form.
Map Activity Feedback
Improvement Count Intersection
Repave Street (Green) 18 • McLaughlin St (2)
• Lassen St (2)
• Ventura St (2)
• Humboldt St (1)
• Amador St (1)
• Kern St (2)
• Sonoma Ave (4)
• Ralston Ave (2)
• Marin Ave (2)
Reduce Speed (Yellow) 16 • 37th St (1)
• San Pablo Ave (2)
• Lassen St (2)
• Ventura St (2)
• Humboldt St (3)
• Yuba St (1)
• Ralston Ave (1)
• Park Ave/Roundabout (2)
• Arlington Blvd (2)
Trash Collection (Red) 5 • San Pablo Ave (3)
• Ralston Ave (2)
New Curb Ramps (Blue) 7 • Amador St (2)
• Sonoma Ave (1)
• Park Ave/Roundabout (4)
7 Sidewalk Repair (Black) 3
• Lassen St (1)
• Ventura St (1)
• Amador St (1)
Parking (Pink) 1 • Marin Ave (1)
Map Comments
Comment Location (if applicable)
• Signal timing needs
improvement
• For pedestrians VERY
long wait time
San Pablo Ave
• Switch McLaughlin St
• Pedestrian walking
signs
Glenn Ave
8 • Potential Crosswalk
for visibility
Marin Ave
• Repave McBryde Ave (west of roundabout)
• Protected crosswalk
• Potential for no
parking
• Corner creates blind
spot
McBryde Ave (near roundabout)
9 • Think about cyclist
traffic crossing in this
area
Marin Ave (near roundabout)
• Re-evaluate existing
conditions
Park Ave (near roundabout)
10 • Consider this area for
redesign
McBryde Ave (from roundabout to Arlington)
• When people open car
doors? Major safety
issue!!
Section B
• Protection needed
(bollards or curbs) to
protect cyclists, or else
kids will not be safe riding
here
Section B
Comment Card Feedback
Comment/Feedback Topic(s)
I am so glad we are talking about improvements
I’m concerned about the quality of the streets, the unleveled gravel, the holes – for anyone that is disabled – the street must be leveled for the bikes, scooters, carts. Thank you
• Pavement quality
Please reach out to EBParks
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• Park coordination
11 Main Sewer line Needs to be replaced due to age. This was scheduled for replacement several years ago.
Replace old Laterals?
Water lines. Unknown
Traffic signal (Missing)
WB McBryde @ Amador RT side High Signal can not be seen at crosswalk.
Afternoon Blinding signal cannot be seen
Parking EB McBryde, Amador to Kern is congested.
Parking McBryde @ Kern (Store) NO red Zone.
Turning left from Kern to McBryde there are blind spots if cars are parked on the corner of McBryde.
Very few bikes ever seen on McBryde
• Parking
• Sewer lines
• Traffic signals
• Turn lanes
• Bikes
McBryde before Amador Roundabout Humboldt Street • Intersections Thank you for your attention to McBryde. My feedback on necessary improvements:
Trash Collection McBryde and San Pablo
Speed Reduction throughout
Repave Road
Protected Bike lane
Greater speed enforcement
Repainted crosswalks at San Pablo
More trees and greenery
More crosswalks and safety features (e.g. lights)
Please consider extending beyond 37th (to 23rd)
• Trash collection
• Speed
• Repave road
• Bike lanes
• Crosswalks
• Trees/greenery
More crosswalks needed to avoid Jaywalking. Currently Jaywalking is not illegal and is increasing
• Crosswalks
Concerned about reduction of lanes from 4 to 2. McBryde drivers tend to speed + I think you’re left hand turn lanes proposed will become unsafe passing lanes causing accidents. Roundabout proposed is great Idea
If planting more trees on McBryde, keep them trimmed, the trees on McBryde between McLaughlin St and San Pablo Ave are only trimmed when the branches are hitting the drivers windshields.
Leaves from the trees plug up the curb drains
• Lane reduction
• Trees/greenery
I am very appreciative of the roundabout at Park & McBryde • Crosswalks
12 From Amador to Park, we should add more planted strips and reduce the width of the paved road however possible. This will make the road crossing safer, make the neighborhood more welcoming, and increase the real estate value
One specific suggestion is to move the driving lanes just west of the roundabout inwards and use the extra space to create plantings on either side of the street.
• Vehicle lanes
Need to put something in the intersection of Ralston and McBryde to impede the guys that do car spinning “doughnuts” and also make sure that require cars not to park on the street on the day the sweeper clean the streets
• Unsafe driving
deterrents
• Enforcement
We are very excited about a roundabout at the Park ave circle- McBryde ave intersection (we are bicyclist and are excited about our safety improved)
For east of I-80 (at lease) we’d like the bike lanes to have hard protections as much as possible and there to be more greenery + less pavement. Making the road thin will decrease crossing distances and make them safer, especially in front of the market at the park entrance Can we get a lighted crosswalk across McBryde at Yuba
A “Welcome to Richmond” sign about at McLaughlin + McBryde • Bike safety
• Trees/greenery
• Crosswalks
• Signage
Going west from McBryde through San Pablo Ave intersection, suggest only one turn left lane and one straight lane, the merge on McBryde east of San Pablo Ave is a bottleneck problem with two lanes moving forward
• Turn lanes
Add protected bike lanes wherever possible • Bike lanes Parking on the sidewalk (code enforcement) • Enforcement Please start the project at the park – the most critical part of the plan • Park inclusion Please make sure you hold string for a roundabout @ the top of McBryde with as many ped Crossings as possible.
Would love to see an AC transit line stop @Alvarado Park to make the connection to del Norte Bart + Berkeley sometime. Thanks for your work on this.
• Crosswalks
• AC Transit/Park
connection
Liz Bittner [email protected] 510-898-8127
Maybe bulb outs @ McLaughlin for peds
Island @ McLaughlin for peds crossing
Recommend directional curb ramps
Corners of cross streets should be marked for no parking for better visibility when turning from X street on McBryde
Use CA native plants for any landscaping (coast live oak trees, buckeye trees, shorter plants – ([dryer-->wetter] silver bush lupin, • Crosswalks
• Signage
• Trees/greenery
13 sage brush, monkey flower, pacific coast iris, juncus patens)). Consult calscape.org, Richmond’s Urban Forest advisory committee I like the roundabout @ the park entry way it’s currently very hard for pedestrians to access there safely
Limiting speed from vehicles dogging I-80 traffic to cut across to Arlington. Because [illegible] to 1 lane @ way and bring in bike lanes • Crosswalks
• Speed reduction
• Bike lanes
If combining 2 lanes into one will create more traffic, then that is not an improvement
What about divers that do “donuts?” that happens on McLaughlin + McBryde
This corridor is very busy – how can making it one lane help that?? • Lane reduction
• Unsafe driving
Bulb outs
Add a bulb out on the corners to increase visibility + eliminate parking in the “red zones”
Currently people park in the red zone because there is no enforcement
• Crosswalks
• Parking
• Enforcement
Cars coming down Arlington (from the south) can’t see the “stop” sign on McBryde; they have a “yield” sign. So I can be stopped then a car coming from Arlington doesn’t know that they have the ROW to go; they wait; I wait; etc, ripe for a collision!
• Signage
Please add a dashed green bike lane around the perimeter of the McBryde/Park Ave roundabout.
Dashed green bike lane, to show that bikers also belong in roundabout. (currently no clear path for a bike on upper McBryde turning left)
This path currently not clear
• Bike lanes
Strongly opposed to reducing lanes on McBryde
[[email protected]]
• Lane reduction
I would like to see McBryde Ave beautified such as with a median strip from San Pablo Ave to Humboldt w/ trees. It’s a major entrance to the city and should have a gold, welcoming appeal
I would not like to have traffic lanes reduced because McBryde is a thoroughfare, and those of us that live on the cross street would have trouble crossing or turning onto McBryde
[Lanita Pace, 1026 Ventura St, [email protected]]
• Trees/greenery
• Lane reduction
Amador and McBryde stagger traffic like s. park at [illegible text] by the casino
2 lanes both directions on McBryde at Amador, one straight one left turn
Bicycles Need insurance to compensate autos when an accident is bikes fault
• Traffic
• Turn lanes
14 We would like to see if possible, more greening in the streetscape. I sit on the urban forest advisory committee, and we are advocating for native plants and pollinator gardens
Please could you consider decreasing the concrete dividers and plant them with short native plants and/or California wildflowers? Vegetation instead of concrete would help support our pollinators, decrease the heat island effect, filter groundwater, and increase the beauty of our community
Thanks so much, Anita Pereire
• Trees/greenery
More tree – native trees
Bike boxes @ traffic signals - Amador + San Pablo
Crosswalk is needed where park intersects with McBryde
Bike boxes at Amador + @ San Pablo Ave
Need safe pedestrian Crossing across McBryde @ Sonoma to Glenn (S->N)
[Marcy Green Hut - [email protected]]
• Trees/greenery
• Bikes
• Crosswalks
Will there be a left-turn light on McBryde @ Amador East-bound to alleviate backups on McBryde?
• Turn lanes/lights
McBryde needs pavement repair from Amador to Park Ave.
and Planting or trees in the median along McBryde would help beautify the wide street.
There is poor visibility at the intersection between cars on upper McBryde and Park ave, any restriping/roundabout should take that into consideration
• Repave road
• Trees/greenery
• Visibility
Speed on McBryde in the morning is outrageous and dangerous! Anything that can be done to mitigate speeding cars that ignore pedestrians in crosswalks on side streets including Yuba, Sonoma, Ralston, Arlington needs to be implemented now and forever Also plant native trees!!!
• Speed
• Crosswalks
• Trees/greenery
Digital Comments
Comment/Feedback Topic(s)
Glad this meeting is happening, thank you
Can the high visibility crosswalk at Ralston be raised? Or is this a conflict for fire route? Can curbs be painted red and eliminate street parking on the inside turn of McBryde as it turns into Arlington? The sidewalk is very narrow and dark there. It needs lights, widening and the neighbor’s property and soil is spilling onto the sidewalk. I walk and bike this route often including early morning when it’s dark. With cars parked there cycling up the steep grade is dangerous as traffic • Crosswalks
• Parking
• Lights
• Bikes
15 cannot see cyclists. Early morning people are in their cars there.
Thank you for reducing the lanes!!
Thank you for this opportunity to see and comment on the plans.
Looks good. Please meet the street trees as part of the project. • Trees/greenery
More trees between Yuba St. and Alvarado Park. Speed humps on Yuba St.
• Trees/greenery
We need 2 lanes west bound McBryde at San Pablo Ave, 1st lane left turn lane as it is today, 2nd lane only going straight or turning right onto San Pablo Ave going north.
We need a left turn lane to accommodate one vehicle on west bound McBryde for the driveway at the apartment complex on the south side of McBryde east of Humboldt, that left turn lane should continuing to Humboldt so that we do not block the single lane of west bound McBryde east of Humboldt.
(minus the above mentioned west bound left turn lane) we need 2 lanes the length of the overpass of east bound McBryde at Amador, the same distance for west bound McBryde at Amador. The 1st lane for left turn north & south onto Amador to prevent back up of other traffic stuck in a single lane in each direction waiting for a safe left turn from oncoming traffic, the second lane for straight ahead or right turning vehicles.
We need a staggered traffic light system to allow left turning vehicles safe passage in all four directions at McBryde & Amador. If all vehicles can travel the intersection in the same direction, west bound McBryde turning north or south on Amador & continuing west on McBryde the traffic will flow smoother. The same example will be smoother for east bound McBryde, and both directions of Amador.
Having green left & right arrows, & a standard round green light for traffic going straight ahead in all four directions will make the flow smoother. The timing for the lights will depend on the flow of traffic & the time of day.
Caltrans needs a much bigger sign of "No Turn on Red" at the offramp hoping to stop people who claim "They didn't see the sign". I believe the only enforcement is if someone has a traffic accident because they didn't stop or stopped and then turned on the red light.
Bicyclists need to be required to have insurance for accidents they cause by not obeying traffic laws. If a vehicle collides with a pedestrian or a bicyclist, they are responsible for having insurance, why not bicyclists who do not stop, who travel on the wrong side of the street, or who break other rules of the road that make it unsafe for all.
• Traffic Congestion
• Safety
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this project.
While I am supportive of this project, as currently designed, it falls short of making the street safe for cyclists of all ages and abilities.
At today's workshop, I was told that Class I (separated) bikeways were never seriously contemplated because of the need to maintain • Bicycle Safety
16 existing on-street parking. These two things are not mutually exclusive.
We can have both on-street parking and a physically protected bike lane. I have seen this in many cities around the US.
The proposed design is old-fashioned and is NOT consistent with the latest best practices in Complete Streets.
A painted bike lane does nothing to protect cyclists from fast- moving traffic. As a result, few parents will allow their children to ride here, and it will fail to attract less experienced bikers. Proper bikeways physically separate bike riders from cars, either via grade differences (curbs) or barriers (bollards, jersey barriers). I am not talking about flexible plastic posts that do nothing to physically protect cyclists.
Richmond has an incredible opportunity here, and it would be such a shame to waste it. What we build today will last at least 30 years. I encourage city staff to work with the planners and engineers to come up with a design that encourages walking and cycling for everyone.
Improved Intersection- This does NOT address the issue of the WB stop light a McBryde and Amador. The stop light is very hard to see if you are in the WB RT lane at cross walk. In the late afternoon the Sun light is blinding.
I have requested a street level light on the far corner of the intersection. Your traffic engineer gave me a BS story it was a CALTRANS issue.
When are you going to paint the corner curbs RED at Kern & McBryde? When are you going to have the parking codes enforced at Kern & McBryde. There is a Left turn safety issue NB Kern to WB McBryde. Cars parked at the corner created a blind spot.
They’re very few Bikes on McBryde and nothing to justify the expense.
What will you do about parking EB Amador to Yuba on McBryde? There is not enough parking now in the evening.
Why do you want more trees? The city does not maintain most of the trees around the city now.
I look forward to talking to one of your agents. I would hope the person lives in this area and has driven the McBryde area at different times of the day.
• Street Lights
• Parking
• Landscape
where McBryde/Arlington intersect with park ave, hopefully before I die in that intersection while leaving park peering over my shoulder at the traffic barreling down Arlington. McBryde Alternatively, if someone else dies doing that can you please put up a stop sign then? • Safety
I stopped by the public open house for the McBryde Improvement Plan yesterday (11/8) and would also like to provide a written comment about the proposed plan here. My concerns are specifically focused on the intersection at Park Avenue and McBryde and how the proposed plan accommodates pedestrian traffic. I believe more needs • Safety
• Crosswalks
• Traffic Speed
17 to be done to ensure safe crossing for pedestrians. For context, this intersection sits at the entrance to a busy park + playground and has to accommodate pedestrian traffic including children. This is also a dominantly residential area.
I personally walk and run through this area multiple times a week. Park Avenue only has sidewalks on its southeast side, funneling all foot traffic to that side of the intersection. People then need to cross McBryde where it bends eastward so that I can continue on the McBryde sidewalk towards the southwest in the direction of San Pablo Avenue.
The current intersection organization is not safe for pedestrians as we cannot see the vehicular traffic that travels downhill on McBryde at the same time as seeing traffic coming around the slip lane traveling uphill. In order to cross, I have to walk part way up the hill, cross without a crosswalk, and then turn back down the hill to continue on McBryde toward San Pablo Ave. The other side of the Park Avenue and McBryde intersection has a sidewalk that is actively blocked by vehicles that use the sidewalk for parking, making that side impassable. Even if passable, I still have to cross McBryde on a bend across multiple lanes of traffic.
The proposed plan as shown yesterday during the public meeting makes this intersection even more dangerous for pedestrians. The primary problem is that the proposed roundabout does not include crosswalks in the design. A hand drawn crosswalk was drawn on top of the map yesterday, but the location was not at the intersection itself, but in that uphill portion that I mentioned earlier. Placing a crosswalk on the hill both places a large burden on pedestrians that now need to walk up the hill to turn, but also puts them in danger- cars will not expect to have to yield immediately after exiting the roundabout traveling uphill. A secondary problem is that the new roundabout design removes the stop signs that are currently used on part of McBryde entering Park and from Park entering McBryde. This has the overall effect of speeding up vehicular traffic, making the area more dangerous for walkers.
Given the hand drawn crosswalk on the map shown yesterday, it is clear that pedestrian access and safety was not considered in the initial design. To reiterate, this intersection is next to a major park and playground and can have heavy foot traffic including many young children as it is a popular spot for birthday parties.
My recommendation for improvement:
• Reorganize the intersection to fully utilize stop signs, even though this reduces flow
• for cars. Stop signs already are present for part of the traffic moving through the intersection. Include ADA
18 compliant curb cuts and crosswalks across Park
Avenue and McBryde Avenue.
• Remove the slip-lane-like turn for cars making the right from McBryde to continue uphill
• on McBryde. Instead, make the turn sharper so that
vehicular traffic has to employ their brake as they make the turn.
• If using a roundabout is a must, include the crosswalks directly into the roundabout.
• Not 100 ft outside of the roundabout where vehicular traffic is less likely to expect a crossing. This could be modeled similar to the scale of the traffic circle located at Barrett and Key Blvd. An added benefit of this scale of traffic circle is that it
• forces traffic to slow along the turn while also being passable by emergency vehicles.
While I am disappointed with the proposed design, I am hopeful that those working on the design will improve it to keep those walking in the community safe, even if it is at the expense of the brake pedal of drivers.
I was not able to make it to the open house on Saturday. I live near McBryde and often cross at Yuba, Ralston, or near the park entrance.
Can you describe what is being proposed as far as pedestrian safety for crossing McBryde at these locations? Traffic can be pretty fast along this road. If pedestrians could trigger a flashing light, that might help. The rumble strips do nothing.
• Pedestrian safety
NEXT STEPS
The City of Richmond and its engineering consultant, BKF, will evaluate the feedback collected during the Community Open House and incorporate it into the project’s ongoing design and analysis. While no additional community events are planned at this time, the City will keep the public informed and may consider future events as needed.