 Hit-And-Run driver gets 2-year sentence for hitting, killing cyclist
MARTINEZ, Calif. -- A 55-year-old El Sobrante man was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for striking a Martinez cyclist with his vehicle in 2008 and then leaving him to die on the side of the road.
Harold Brown was driving on McEwen Road near state Highway 4 on the evening of Nov. 24, 2008, when he crossed over the double yellow lines into the opposite lane and struck 49-year-old Mark Pendleton head on, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Brown then fled the scene and hid his vehicle to avoid being caught, Pendleton's family members said.
An off-duty fire captain from Crockett found Pendleton shortly after he was hit and called for medical assistance, but Pendleton died at the scene, the CHP said.
Brown was not arrested until June 2, 2009, when investigators finally got a phone call that led them to a friend of Brown's, who told them he was the driver who had hit Pendleton, investigators said.
The East Bay Bicycle Coalition put up a "ghost bike" at the site to remind people that Pendleton's killer was still out there. After the bike was stolen twice, Denise Pendleton and her sons camped out at the site overnight to see if the person stealing the bike was the driver who killed Pendleton.
Full story on KTVU here
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12/12/2012 From the City Manager's report - San Francisco Bay Trail Connection, Castro Street to Point Molate Community Meeting
The City of Richmond’s Engineering Services Department hosted a successful community meeting on the evening of December 1st to inform community members about the planned San Francisco Bay Trail Connection from Castro Street to Point Molate, and to gather public input on trail alternatives. The meeting was attended by approximately 45 people, including City Councilmember Tom Butt, District Representative Nathan Rapp from the Office of State Senator Loni Hancock, and representatives from the Association of Bay Area Governments’ (ABAG) Bay Trail, Richmond Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (RBPAC), Trails for Richmond Action Committee (TRAC), and Chevron. A presentation on the selection process for the recommended trail alternative was given by Questa Engineering Corporation of Richmond. The recommended trail alternative received broad support from members of the community, in addition to representatives from ABAG, RBPAC, and TRAC, with many in attendance posing excellent questions and commentary. The presentation slides can be found online at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=8055.
Staff is planning to present the Draft Architecture and Engineering Report on the planned trail to the Richmond Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the city’s Design Review Board. The Final Architectural and Engineering Report will be presented to the City Council during the early part of 2012. Upon city approval, the project will move into the environmental review and final design phase through the Caltrans approval process. Staff will pursue federal and state funding sources to cover an anticipated cost of $15 to $20 million.
The planned trail connection will provide safe, convenient, and inviting access for bicyclists and pedestrians to the Point San Pablo Peninsula and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge by closing a gap in the Bay Trail from Castro Street in Point Richmond to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Toll Plaza. The project would correct an access deficiency in the state transportation system, and facilitate zero-emissions commuting to and from the Point San Pablo Peninsula, and eventually across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The project would also enhance water-oriented recreational opportunities for residents and visitors by providing bicycle and pedestrian access to the bay shoreline along the Point San Pablo Peninsula. The project would complement land use development throughout the Point San Pablo Peninsula by providing low-cost commute alternatives, and by connecting the peninsula with City of Richmond greenways, parks, and shoreline developments. |
 12/02/2011 Tom Butt e-forum "Caltrans Should Help With Bay Trail Connection" and reporter Hannah Dreier "Richmond moving ahead with missing link of Bay Trail
"
Click here
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11/06/2011 Richmond approves plan for future of bicycles (text) By Hannah Dreier
City Looks to Expand Bike Use (scanned)
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| August 19, 2011 Victim's family finds solace in driver's prison sentence |
 11/3/2011 Richmond Confidential City Council adopts master bicycle, pedestrian plans . |
| 7/14/2011 East Bay News Group, Bicyclist Dies in Crash at Pt. Pinole Click here to read |
 6/2/2011 Julia Landau: As bikes get repaired, Richmond rolls out fixes for city
City and county health workers joined with community activists and organizers around this theme: Richmond’s mission begins with something as simple as more bicycles. |
| 05/21/2011 Chris Treadway: Richmond observes Ride of Silence for killed, injured bicyclists BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
On the same day the ballyhooed Amgen Tour of California race got rolling before thousands of spectators in Livermore, a much smaller and quieter bicycling event headed out of Civic Center Plaza in Richmond.
In fact, quiet was the whole point of the local ride on Wednesday.
The group ride in Richmond was part of the International Ride of Silence in remembrance of cyclists killed or injured while riding.
A group of riders that included members of the city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee and Craig Murray of the city Redevelopment Agency tied on arm bands (black for those killed, red for those injured) before they set out from the plaza for their first stop on San Pablo Avenue at the start of the Richmond Greenway.
The greenway is a designated cycling and walking route that led the riders to Carlson Boulevard, where they were joined by more riders, including Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, who spoke about recent bicycling deaths in Richmond.
Those included Laura Casey, struck in an unsolved 2008 vehicle hit-and-run near where the mayor was speaking and Dan Weinstein, struck and killed in 2006 on a designated bicycle route on the shoulder of Interstate 580 near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge tollbooth.
More numerous and less publicized are riders who have been injured.
Bill Pinkham, a participant in the Richmond ride, described how he was "doomed" and thrown off his bike as he passed an inattentive Advertisement motorist on Carlson Boulevard in an incident 10 years ago that left him with four broken ribs. Two months after that incident Pinkham, who is a board member of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and the Contra Costa Bike Committee, was struck by a car whose driver admitted he had been drinking.
The riders continued along the greenway to their ultimate destination at the farmers market in Point Richmond.
While it is a day of remembrance, the day is also important to "raise awareness about bikes" and the importance of motorists and cyclists alike sharing the road, said Murray, a development project manager for the Redevelopment Agency who described himself as a "fair weather" bicyclist.
Pinkham said the East Bay Bicycle Coalition offers free bicycling safety workshops, with details available under the "Safety" link at ebbc.org.
This was the first time Richmond has participated in the 8-year-old Ride of Silence and organizers plan to be back next year with a larger turnout.
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| May 30, 2010 The New York Times: Bicycle Chic Gains Speed Daring young women, in their stylish attire, are turning heads as they roll by. |
 May 20, 2010 Bicyclist dies in collision with AC Transit bus by Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
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 5/14/2010
Richmond Seeks Community Input on Bicycle and Pedestrian
Plans |
4/29/2010
Two pedestrians killed by train in Richmond |
 |
1/19/2010 Richmond City Council unanimously adopts a key Bike Plan resolution!
I-10. ADOPT a resolution accepting $100,000 in Transportation Development Act
Article 3 funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the
purpose of preparing a comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan, and APPROVE a
contract with Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants to prepare said Bicycle
Master Plan in an amount not to exceed $75,290 - Planning and Building
Services Department (Richard Mitchell 620-6706). |
 Winter 2010, Safe Pedestrians and a Walkable America VOL. 49
Interesting info about peds and bikes. The first line says that pedestrians represent 11% of all traffic fatalities -- in California it's 20%! Read more |
 The upbeat 2010 New Year Report for the San Francisco Bay Trail in Richmond prepared by TRAC, the Trails for Richmond Action Committee.
See the Richmond Bay Trail Calendar on TRAC's award-winning website. Get out and enjoy the San Francisco Bay Trail in Richmond during 2010! |
| c01/11/2010 by
Chris Treadway Our Neighbors: 2010 will
be big year for Bay Trail in Richmond Click
for a PDF of the article |
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01/05/2010 by Roman Gokhman
Woman on bicycle critically injured in Richmond hit-and-run
RICHMOND — A bicyclist was seriously injured after a presumed hit-and-run this evening, Richmond police said.
The collision occurred sometime before 7:45 p.m. on San Pablo Avenue between Robert Miller and Hilltop drives, Contra Costa Fire District dispatchers said.
The 52-year-old female bicyclist was traveling north in the southbound shoulder on San Pablo Avenue when she was likely clipped by the side-view mirror of a passing car, police Lt. Mike Gormley said.
Pieces of a mirror were found at the collision site. However, the victim told officers she was not sure whether she was struck by a vehicle, Gormley said.
That stretch of road has no nearby homes or businesses and is not lit at night, he said.
A helicopter landed at Hilltop Mall and took the bicyclist to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Read |
Ferry, network of bike paths and trails plotted for Richmond's future
By Katherine Tam PDF Scan Read Article Online |
| 10/18/2009 Patrol Officers Ride around Richmond by Karl Fischer PDF scan of the article
|
 08/21/09 Tom
Butt E-forum
Commentary Richmond businesses have 120 days to enroll in a compulsory program which provides financial incentive for to commute via public transportation, vanpool, or bicycle. Read |
| 9/11/2009 Ferry, network of bike paths and trails plotted for Richmond's future By Katherine Tam See a scan of the article or read it online
|
 May
26, 2009 Policy Statement The Built
Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical
Activity in Children Read |
 5/23/2009
MTC Approves Sweeping 25 Year Regional Plan... Read |
| 5/14/2009 CompletetheStreets.org Hawaii
Complete Streets Bill Becomes Law |
| 5/14/2009: AARP
BulletinAmerica’s Streets
Aren’t Ready for Aging Population - Planning
Complete Streets Read
the article |
4/28/2009
Richmond City Council proclaims May, 2009 as
a month to recognize the benefits
of bicycling and to recognize bicycling promotional activities
such as the Team
Bike Challenge and May 14, 2009, as Bike-to-Work Day Click
for archived agenda |
| 3/26/2009: West
County Times Bay Trail advocates sue state,
Chevron over public access at refinery by Katherine Tam Read
the full article |
 3/18/2009:Bay
Trail Backers Sue State, Chevron Over Richmond Wharf Read |
| 3/13/09:Richmond
Community Redevelopment Agency acknowledges RBPAC
in their newsletter |
| 02/18/2009
Chevron, Richmond strike $28 million deal for refinery
utility taxes by Katherine Tam West County Times click for PDF file |
| 02/18/09:Tom
Butt E-forum
Commentary Chevron Spins Agreement with
City of Richmond on Utility User Tax Read
more |
| 02/17/09:Tom
Butt E-forum
Commentary Chevron to Pay City of Richmond
$28 Million to Settle Utility Tax Underpayment Read
more |
 2/5/09
BCDC Richmond San Rafael Bridge Bike/Ped/ADA Access; For
meeting results go to bikesyes.org For
a pdf of the item click
here 2/5/09 BCDC Agenda
|
 2/2/09 No
Bay Trail money in State Lease to Chevron
1/29/09 "Chevron
Bay Trail access - Dead... I feel numb with grief." -Robert
Raburn, East Bay Bicycle Coalition Read
more
1/29/09 Richmond with support from a broad
coalition is seeking as mitigation that Chevron help
fund construction to close the Bay Trail gap between
Point Richmond and Point Molate. The deadly Bay Trail gap
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| 1/20/09 Application
withdrawn for a Kohl’s Dep't Store at Pt. Isabel |
12/30/2008 One driver surrenders in double hit-run that killed
Richmond cyclist by
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer |
1/10/09 Greenway
News Flash: Our city purchased the old Adachi property,
saving it from development and reserving it for the
Richmond Greenway. It's
on the
purple strip on the right side of the Greenway
map. |
 12/29/2008 Richmond
police still seek witnesses in fatal hit-and-run crash -
By Karl Fischer West County Times Bicyclist dies
after being knocked off ride by one car and hit by another,
police say. View
Full Story |
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"Carlson
Boulevard is a route that should have bike lanes according
to the Contra Costa Bicycle Pedestrian Plan. Instead, Laura
Casey lost her life." -Robert Raburn, Executive
Director, EBBC
12/28/2008 Richmond woman killed in double
hit-and-run by Karl Fischer West County Times
"A Richmond woman was killed Saturday evening after
being knocked off her bike by one car and then dragged
down the street by another. Both drivers fled the scene.
Laura Casey, 49, was riding her bike southbound on Carlson
Boulevard, just north of Ohio Avenue, around 6 p.m. when
she was rear-ended by a white, four-door sedan, said Richmond
police Officer Ramon Middleton. She fell off the bike,
into the left-hand southbound lane, where witnesses said
she screamed for help for about 30 seconds.
A second southbound car then hit Casey, dragging her 25
feet. Police did not have a description of that vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Middleton at 510-621-1583.
Staff writer Matt Krupnick contributed to this story." |
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GREAT
NEWS: On
Nov. 18, 2008, the Richmond City Council moved
us one step closer to a city-wide bike plan by
passing the following resolution:
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10/9/2008 TAX-FREE
$$ for bike commuters |
10/2/2008 Folding
Bikes |
 The
final draft of the Richmond General Plan transportation
(i.e."Circulation") element is nearing completion
(still!) with scant attention to bicyclists. Demand that
a Richmond Comprehensive Bicycle Pedestrian Plan be prepared
for inclusion in the general plan! E-mail
our local lawmakers!! |
 |
Click
here for the7/28/2008 Update to the Contra Costa
Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan - Issues & Options
Report. Click
here to review maps of existing and planned west
county ("WCCTAC") bicycle facilities Note,
this map doesn't include the Richmond Greenway and maybe
isn't quite up to snuff from the RBPAC perspective. Anyway-
take it for what it is. Click
here to view the 98 million $$ plans for the I-80
/ San Pablo Dam Road Interchange Improvements Project |
| 4/15/08: Marin
Independent Journa Editorial: Bicycle access
on bridge makes sense Read
the article |
New
Racks Installed in Central Richmond 1/26/08