![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hopkins-timeline---oren-stiles.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAfter an eight-year debate including three approvals and recalls, the Berkeley City Council voted 7-2 to implement bike lanes on Hopkins Street on July 28, 2026, following a six-hour meeting with over 150 public comments.<\/p>\n
The approved plan, put forward by Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, would repave the potholed road, add protected bike lanes and safety measures for pedestrians, and, according to an estimate by the Public Works Department, remove roughly 145 parking spaces along Hopkins Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kesarwani said this plan would make Hopkins more accessible to cyclists. \u201cWe are hoping to connect this bike lane to the Ohlone Greenway, and that is intentional, so that we can bring more people to this area (Hopkins Street) safely,\u201d Kesarwani said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many supporters of the bike lanes point to a pedestrian death on Hopkins Street in 2017 and numerous severe injury crashes since as an incentive for safety. \u201cThose are incredibly important, tragic, preventable crashes and injuries and deaths,\u201d Ben Gerhardstein, a Berkeley High School parent and member of Walk Bike Berkeley, an organization that advocates for safe streets, said, \u201cThey are highly motivating for safe streets advocates and have been a top concern and a top reason for our continued advocacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make room for protected bike lanes, parking would be removed from both sides of the road between Monterey and Peralta Avenues,\u00a0 just under half a mile of the street. East of Monterey Avenue, where King Park and popular shops are located, parking would only be removed from one side of the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The removal of parking is one of the biggest points of disagreement surrounding the project. Councilmember and BHS computer science teacher Shoshana O\u2019Keefe voted against the bike lanes, citing concerns that the project would remove too much parking. \u201cI\u2019m really worried about the effect that\u2019s going to have on merchants and shops, and also people\u2019s ability to access the facilities in King Park,\u201d O\u2019 Keefe said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The community group Friends of Hopkins Street, several local business owners, and a legally blind senior resident, filed a lawsuit against the city in late August 2026, arguing the council\u2019s approval skipped required environmental and accessibility reviews. The plaintiffs allege the project violates the California Environmental Quality Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing it runs contrary to Measure FF (2024 parcel tax funding street repairs which explicitly excluded funding for bike lanes on Hopkins. A first hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cSave Hopkins,\u201d another group opposed to the project, argued online that the plan could make service vehicle stops more difficult and advocated for cyclists to use nearby Rose Street as an alternative bicycle route.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the July 28 meeting, residents and shop owners shared concerns, many about the loss of parking. \u201cI\u2019m not against bikes, but if that thing happens (parking is removed), I\u2019m going to be homeless,\u201d Mahmoud Hosseini, a flower vendor near Monterey Market, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Proponents dispute those concerns. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of data and studies that show that when a bike lane has been put in, and parking has been removed, businesses either fare the same or do better,\u201d Kesarwani said.<\/p>\n
Many BHS students are in support of the project, as they had unpleasant experiences riding along Hopkins Street. \u201cIt\u2019s not really safe. It\u2019s very busy. There\u2019s no space,\u201d Aldon Talbot, a BHS freshman who biked to King Middle School on Hopkins every day, said.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Talbot\u2019s mother was hit by a car on Ninth Street just south of Channing Way, while biking with Talbot. \u201cIt definitely made me realize how unsafe biking actually is,\u201d Talbot said, \u201cWe need a lot more of the protected bike lanes that they have right next to (BHS) on Milvia, because it just makes it that much safer.\u201d<\/p>\n
BHS sophomore Oscar Edmunds also spoke at the meeting about his experience biking in Berkeley. \u201cI\u2019ve been biking to school since sixth grade. There\u2019s many bike lanes in Berkeley, but a lot of them are next to parking,\u201d Edmunds said, \u201cSomeone can open the door, and you can get hit by the car door.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the city council approved the plan, questions remain about what the implementation will look like as the city moves on to the design and construction process of the project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After an eight-year debate including three approvals and recalls, the Berkeley City Council voted 7-2 to implement bike…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-461057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}