Friends of Hopkins Street is a community non-profit organization formed in reaction to the City of Berkeley’s vote to approve a two-way cycle track on Hopkins Street.
While many of us had participated from the beginning in public meetings about the corridor, we did not feel heard. To amplify our voices, we formed Friends of Hopkins Street. We count among our many members the young, the old, drivers, hard core cyclists, plain old bikers, pedestrians, people from the hills, people from the flats, apartment dwellers, home owners, renters, and the disability community.
For some residents, particularly those fronting the proposed project, the issues are personal and threatening. For many, safety is a paramount issue. For others, it’s a neighborhood concern. The twin commercial districts on Hopkins and on Gilman near the BART tracks are community and regional treasures, but they are fragile in a shifting economy and need strong advocates.
To those ends, we would like to find less disruptive alternatives to the cycle track approach on Hopkins in order to provide an enduring community and safety not just for all cyclists, but for all stakeholders. What brought us together is a feeling the City plan is wrong, unbalanced, and/or not the right way to achieve its own stated objectives. What will keep us together is knowing that our concerns have been taken seriously and that we can come together for the good of the entire community. Our aim is to make certain our Hopkins neighborhood continues to accommodate everyone.