Trust for Public Land, City of Richmond Announce Opening of First Phase of Richmond Wellness Trail

Trust for Public Land and the City of Richmond are proud to announce that construction of Phase 1 of the Richmond Wellness Trail has officially been completed. The first of two phases of trail construction turned 1.1 miles of asphalt covered streets into a multi-use green corridor with a two-way bicycle trail, sidewalk improvements, and climate-appropriate trees and rain gardens.

The entire Richmond Wellness Trail will be a safe and inviting, bike and pedestrian route that will connect Downtown Richmond, the Iron Triangle, and the natural and historic features of the waterfront and the National Park Service’s Rosie the Riveter visitor center. Once complete, the trail will encourage nearly 18,000 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of the trail to be active and experience all the benefits connecting to nature can bring.

“We know the importance of having safe ways to access parks and nature and the Wellness Trail will provide this access, with a focus on improving park equity and community health in Richmond,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, California State Director and Vice President-Pacific Region for Trust for Public Land. “With 85 new trees planted to improve water quality and mitigate flooding, the trail not only provides alternative transportation options to reduce car traffic, it represents how green infrastructure can be used to advance equity by investing in community wellness.”

Phase 1 runs from the Richmond BART to Cutting Boulevard down 16th Street and Marina Way South, connecting transit riders to Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Trust for Public Land is managing the project in partnership with the City of Richmond. Ghilotti Bros., Inc. is the General Contractor, PlaceWorks is the landscape architect and prime design consultant, and Mack5 is the construction manager. Completion would not have been possible if not for the community partners for phase 1 including Groundwork Richmond, The Watershed Project, Rich City Rides, and the National Parks Service.

In 2016, the Urban Fellow for the National Parks Service, Kieron Slaughter, led a community engagement process to envision a four-mile trail in Richmond that would build health and wellness into Richmond residents’ daily lives.

In 2018, Trust for Public Land was awarded a $3.1 million grant from the California Natural Resources Agency to fund Phase 1 of the project. The project is primarily being funded through this grant and additional funding from the City of Richmond, MUFG Union Bank, TPL California Advisory Board, Kaiser Permanente and the Hellman Foundation.

The project has three critical greening elements: non-motorized transportation, water, and trees.

The project includes rain gardens that will filter and clean runoff from big storms. The project has also been used as a tool for environmental education.

“The Richmond Wellness Trail is a great example of the multiple benefits of bringing nature back to the city: filtering polluted stormwater, reducing flooding, providing habitat for native bees and butterflies, creating safe and enjoyable spaces for people to spend time outdoors, and providing outdoor learning opportunities for youth,” said Anne Bremirez, Program Director for The Watershed Project. “We are grateful to be part of this important step toward improving Richmond’s climate resilience and watershed health.”

By building a bike lane and improving sidewalks from Richmond BART down 16th Street and Marina Way South to Cutting Boulevard, this project promotes equitable transportation with space for people to walk and bike safely, not just drive cars. Rich City Rides has been leading Sunday Care Rides around the City for many years to create a culture of biking in Richmond, and the shop has been used as a community center for outreach for the project.

Groundwork Richmond, a local community group, has also planted 85 trees as part of phase 1 of the trail.

TPL and the City of Richmond are currently seeking funding for Phase 2, which would complete the trail all the way down to the shoreline.

For additional information on the project or to schedule a tour of the completed section, please contact: Rebecca Bullis, rebecca.bullis@tpl.org, 908-329-0321.

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About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 3 million acres of public land, created more than 5,000 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $84 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected more than 9 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

About our partners:

The City of Richmond is a diverse urban community in the San Francisco Bay Area that is working to achieve residents’ goals of a more healthy, equitable, accessible city. www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3252/Richmond-Wellness-Trail-Plan

CA Natural Resources Agency manages the natural and cultural resources of the state for current and future generations and works to expand equitable access to parks, open space, nature and cultural amenities to realize a “California for All”. www.resources.ca.gov/

Groundwork Richmond is a Richmond-based nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting communities with their local environments and focuses on supporting the next generation of environmental leaders. www.groundworkrichmond.org

The Watershed Project is a Richmond-based nonprofit that builds environmental resiliency and equity and promotes environmental stewardship of local watersheds by connecting people with urban nature through education, community outreach, green infrastructure and restoration projects. www.thewatershedproject.org/

Rich City Rides is a Richmond-based nonprofit and bike shop deeply committed to using bicycles as the catalyst for improving community health, economic stability, sustainability as well as an antidote to displacement. www.richcityrides.org.