The Grant Was Awarded for East-West Bike Lanes — Not Richmond Street

The most important fact in this entire discussion is also the simplest.

The grant that El Cerrito received did not fund Richmond Street bike lanes.

A concerned El Cerrito citizen reviewed the actual Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Round 8 grant agreement associated with the El Cerrito Plaza Transit-Oriented Development project. The grant specifically funded east-west bicycle improvements, including facilities on Central Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, San Diego Street, and Belmont Avenue.

Richmond Street was not included in the approved bicycle scope.

That is not a matter of interpretation. It is a matter of reading the grant agreement.

Yet during a July 15, 2025 City Council presentation, City staff discussed Richmond Street bike lanes as though they were the anticipated outcome of the project. Residents listening to the presentation could reasonably conclude that the proposed removal of parking on Richmond Street was part of the funded plan.

It was not.

The City had secured funding for east-west bicycle improvements. The City had not secured funding for Richmond Street bike lanes.

That distinction is critical because it changes the entire timeline.

If Richmond Street was not part of the funded project, why was the City presenting it as the expected outcome?

If funding had not been secured, what commitment had already been made?

And if the grant did not authorize Richmond Street bike lanes, why were residents who raised questions often treated as though they were misunderstanding the project?

These questions became even more important when subsequent documents revealed that the City later sought to amend the grant agreement itself. In May 2026, Public Works Director Yvetteh Ortiz requested permission from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to remove previously approved bicycle improvements and substitute the Richmond Street bike lane configuration instead.

In other words, the City first presented Richmond Street as the likely outcome and only later sought approval to redirect grant funding toward that outcome.

For many residents, that sequence of events is exactly what raises concerns about transparency and public trust.