Berkeley Rallies For Car-Free Telegraph Avenue

BERKELEY, CA — An organized student group on Saturday led a rally in support of banning cars on part of one of the Bay Area’s most famous streets.

Telegraph for People held the rally Saturday at Sproul Plaza.

Some tweeted photos of the event, which was attended by around 100 supporters who played music and wrote “No Cars” on the pavement in chalk, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

“Our vision is a car-free Telegraph with a vibrant public realm, more space and safety for pedestrians and cyclists, faster buses, and revitalized small businesses,” the group said on its website.

UC Berkeley students Sam Greenberg and Brandon James Yung co-founded Telegraph for People, which believes the city's most famous street – originally built around a streetcar line – was never intended to become the endless sea of vehicle traffic it has become.

And they’re fighting for a vision of Telegraph Avenue they believe to be consistent with the community's stated commitment to sustainability.

"Telegraph for People a is a student-led coalition that aims to turn Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue into a street for people," the group said on its website.

"Our vision is a car-free Telegraph Avenue that puts pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and small businesses first, with a uniting goal of fighting climate change."

The city of Berkeley plans to make Telegraph more pedestrian friendly but it doesn't go nearly far enough.

The city's Berkeley Southside Complete Streets Project calls for the creation of bus-only lanes and prioritizing "alternative transportation and transit over single-occupant vehicles on Transit Routes," but Telegraph for People believes the plans are inadequate.

The groups cite examples in other major college towns where streets adjacent to campuses went car-free in Boulder, Colorado, Madison, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Vermont.

"You know how students get to campus? They walk Telegraph," Greenberg told the website StreetBlogSF.

"And the sidewalks are so inadequate; it's almost embarrassing how much space is given to cars."

The group appears to have the backing of at least one city lawmaker.

"There may be no better neighborhood than Telegraph and Southside to demonstrate what a green, walkable district can look like," Councilmember Rigel Robinson told The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley's student newspaper earlier this year.

"The advocacy from students and residents on this project is critical to maintain momentum and help the city dream big."