Photo courtesy of Bike East Bay

In April, Bike East Bay brought a vision for people-first transportation to life on Ninth Street in Berkeley, California. With a simple block party permit and a lot of community spirit, the organization transformed one city block between Dwight Way and Channing Way into a vibrant, educational, and safe space for walking, biking, and rolling. By temporarily redesigning the street, Bike East Bay showcased the power of tactical urbanism to create safer, greener, and more connected communities.

“We wanted to give some more attention to Ninth Street via this project to help inform opportunities via the county project and the city bike plan update, and to help attendees envision what was possible on the street and maybe bring back some of the positives from their experience with 'healthy streets' in 2020,” says Robert Prinz, advocacy director at Bike East Bay, “This part of Ninth Street was previously part of Berkeley's 'healthy streets’ network at the start of the pandemic, with barricades placed to discourage through car traffic and enable people to get out and recreate more in their own neighborhood. Ninth was a great spot for this, as it is wider than other streets in the area due to being a former rail corridor for electric trolleys back in the day.”

Key Street Design Features That Made an Impact

The Ninth Street pop-up featured four strategic traffic-calming tools that rebalanced the street for people:

• Diverters rerouted car traffic in both directions, prioritizing walking, biking, and rolling, and cutting down on cut-through traffic. 
• A two-way, parking-protected cycletrack created a safe and intuitive path for people biking, separated from moving traffic.
• Speed cushions slowed vehicle speeds on the shared segment to improve safety for all road users.

Each element helped community members visualize what permanent improvements could look like. 

A Community Celebration

This project wasn't just a test, but a celebration of what streets can be when they prioritize people. The event featured:

• Free bike repairs from a local mechanic
• Helmet decorating for kids
• Chalk art zones in expanded sidewalks
• A community potluck organized by neighborhood residents 

More than 400 people participated, thanks to the hard work of more than 50 volunteers who helped design, build, and staff the event. One of the most powerful moments of the day came when a participant shared their experience of being hit by a driver at the same intersection — a sobering reminder of why safer streets are so important. 

“We planned the event as a block party, and we connected early on with one of the neighbors as a local champion who was able to help with communications to get the word out and engage others to make it more than just a traffic safety demonstration project. More than anything, we wanted the event to be fun and inclusive,” says Prinz. “Just as important as the demonstration project were the chalk art stations, the kids' helmet decorating table, the free bike repairs, and other activities that helped to envision many more ways the street can be used when cars don’t dominate all the space.” 

Measuring Impact

Bike East Bay collected speed and traffic volume data on nearby Tenth Street to measure the event's impact. A follow-up control survey will analyze how the demonstration influenced driving patterns on surrounding streets. Participants also completed surveys during the day of the project, and notably, more than 60% of them lived on or near Ninth Street, demonstrating substantial local participation. Bike East Bay shared this data and community feedback with the City of Berkeley and the Alameda County Transportation Commission to inform plans for Ninth Street and San Pablo Avenue. This blend of qualitative and quantitative insight is a hallmark of successful tactical urbanism, bridging community input with data to shape infrastructure decisions.

Bringing Change to More Neighborhoods

Thanks to support from PeopleForBikes, the demonstration used durable, reusable materials that will soon be part of a new Traffic Calming Library — a free lending program launching this month. Community groups throughout the East Bay will be able to borrow signs, cones, and other materials to create their own people-centered street transformations.

Bike East Bay’s Ninth Street demonstration proves that change can start with a single block. When people get to see and feel what safer streets look like, they become champions for lasting change.