The San Pablo Avenue corridor: It's got what you need!

 

By Steve Price

San Pablo Avenue is designated State Route 123. That conjures up heading out on the highway looking for adventure, or the allure of distant big-box stores. But if locals slowed down, they would find a wealth of useful and desirable destinations within minutes of their front doors, all on San Pablo Avenue or immediately adjacent to the avenue.

If your car magically disappeared, could you survive without it just on the retail and services available on the corridor? Easily! The richness of San Pablo Avenue is a nearby blessing with all its useful destinations: groceries, drug stores, hair salons, gyms, restaurants, coffee shops, hardware, building supply, post offices, a bookstore, a movie theater, clothing stores, tax advice, car rental, pub and taverns, and of course AC Transit. (Just check out the current list of El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce members, which doesn’t even include all the businesses in town.) If locals get on board, El Cerrito could showcase the possibilities of low-carbon, multimodal shopping where walking, bicycling, and transit shines.

El Cerrito is only 3.67 square miles (compare that to Richmond at 30 square miles). In El Cerrito it's hard to get farther than 3 miles apart between any two places. Even if you drive, going a mile to a store is much less polluting than going to that store two or three cities away. But if we’re going to fight climate change by creating a walkable community, reserve the car for those special long-distance trips. That will reduce the number of cars driving and thus make running errands safer for nonmotorists while reducing congestion.


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