The gap in the Richmond Greenway path and the bridge meant to close it

The Richmond Greenway runs nearly three miles from South 2nd Street to San Pablo Avenue, a paved ribbon of trail laid over an old rail corridor. Most of it is easy riding. Then you hit the middle, and the trail just gives up.

There's a fix in the works. Richmond just landed $700,000 from Caltrans to start closing that gap, money that only pays for planning and design work up to the 30 percent mark. Getting a bridge actually built will take another $30 million to $40 million on top of that, money the city does not have yet. So for now, the gap is still there, and so is the detour.

If you start at the San Pablo Avenue end, where the Richmond Greenway meets the Ohlone Greenway coming down from El Cerrito, the first stretch runs past encampments tucked along the fence line and then behind Target, hugging the BART tracks the whole way. The tracks are fenced off and topped with razor wire, so there is nowhere to go but forward. On the other side, the trail backs right up against the yards of the houses that line the Greenway. There are not a lot of privacy fences, and you see everything: sheds, dog runs, laundry lines.

The weeds are high this time of year, and blackberry brambles crowd the path in long, tangled ropes. You might catch someone out picking berries, working a bush with a plastic bag in one hand, not paying any attention to the bikes rolling past. Keep going, and you pass behind Nicholl Park, glimpsing the ballfields through the fence.

Then, near 23rd Street, the trail ends. No signage, no detour arrow. The Greenway simply stops at Carlson Boulevard.

From there you're on your own. Carlson runs north under the BART overpass, loud with train noise overhead, before the road splits into 23rd Street and Carlson. Take the 23rd Street fork, then turn left on Bissell Avenue, then left again onto the southbound leg of 23rd under the train tracks, then right on Ohio Avenue to pick the Greenway back up. On paper it's a short detour. In practice it's a bike lane with no divider, the green paint largely worn away, mixing you in with traffic that likes to fly down this stretch of 23rd well past 40 mph.

There's a shorter way, in theory. You could stay on Carlson and loop around by Greater Richmond Interfaith Program center onto southbound 23rd Street directly. But that stretch of Carlson runs one way, the wrong way, so unless you want to ride against traffic, you're stuck taking the long way around through Bissell.

It's worth the trouble. Dirt World, a BMX course built on what used to be a trash-strewn lot, sits right at the edge of the gap. Get through it and onto the lower section of the Greenway, and you pass Unity Park, with its murals, orchards and playground equipment, and community gardens. The trail opens up Point Richmond, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the ferry terminal, all without battling traffic. Head the other direction, north past San Pablo Avenue onto the Ohlone Greenway, and the same trail carries you into El Cerrito, Albany and Berkeley.

Bike riders flying again at Richmond’s Dirt World Bike Park

Richmond’s long-awaited BMX park, designed to become a community hub for cycling enthusiasts, remains unofficially open as the city works on final touches. While construction continues, eager riders have already taken down fences to use the park’s facilities, which include a BMX racetrack, dirt jumps, and a

Grandview IndependentSoren Hemmila

Carlson is also where the city's separate Carlson Crosstown Project is supposed to land. The project would install bike lanes, curb ramps and paving on Carlson between 22nd Street and Tehama Avenue, with special attention to improving the connection to the Greenway itself, including a planned bike-only crossing. Phase one, covering Broadway to Tehama, is still unfinished, and the city has said it is pursuing grants to close the funding gap. 

This detour, roughly four blocks of city streets standing in for a bike trail, is not a new problem. The western half of the Greenway, from South 2nd Street to 23rd Street, opened in 2007. The eastern half, paralleling BART from Carlson Boulevard to San Pablo Avenue, followed in 2010.  

The current push to close the gap dates to a Caltrans-funded gap study, followed by an 18-month community design process with Pogo Park, CivicWell and Donald MacDonald Architects that produced the osprey-shaped concept unveiled at a "Bridge Week" event in December 2022. Late last month, Caltrans awarded Richmond $700,000 to move that concept into its next phase: design work for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over 23rd Street, Carlson Boulevard and the railroad tracks. The bridge would rise 180 feet at its tallest point.

Architect Donald MacDonald said his goal was "to create a safe crossing that could only exist in Richmond, a bridge that rises like the bird that inspired it, giving the city a landmark that reflects its aspirations, serves as a branding element for the community, and establishes a signature identity found nowhere else in the world."

"What stands before us is more than a bridge; it's a gateway to transformation, bringing beauty, access, and opportunity to the heart of Richmond," said Sherwin Harris, President of the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council.

"The Greenway bridge reflects years of community vision and collaboration, and we are proud to be part of a project that will improve safety, connectivity, and quality of life for Richmond residents," said Toody Maher, Executive Director of Pogo Park.

"This grant brings Richmond one significant step closer to making this bridge a reality," Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl said. "The residents of Richmond deserve a safe and accessible way to move through their own neighborhood, and we are committed to seeing this project through."

Until then, riders just have to know the detour, or figure it out the hard way.

YOU GET MORE WITH A PAID SUBSCRIPTION

Your subscription enables Grandview Independent to deliver more:

• More time devoted to in-depth reporting
• Longer, more comprehensive stories
• Greater coverage of what matters to our community

Quality journalism costs money. Subscriptions allow us to keep reporting the stories that matter, without paywalls getting in the way of critical community information.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE - Starting at just $10/month

FOLLOW US FOR BREAKING NEWS:
• Twitter: @GrandviewIndy
• Instagram: @GrandviewIndependent
• Facebook: @Grandview Independent

Copyright © 2026 Grandview Independent, all rights reserved.