Council Approves Protected Bike Lanes on Hopkins After Marathon Debate

Berkeley's City Council ended a decade-long transportation fight Tuesday night, voting 7-2 to direct staff to build Class IV protected bikeways on Hopkins Street — then stayed past midnight to do it, drawing more than 100 public speakers who split sharply over parking, safety, and the city's climate commitments.

• Protected bike lanes advance on Hopkins Street after 6+ hours of debate, two failed substitutes, and a 7-2 final vote
• Hotel workers urge Council to back their union drive — and get a unanimous resolution of support ahead of Friday's vote at the Graduate by Hilton
• Single-family inclusionary housing fees increase as Council lowers the floor-area deduction from 5,000 to 2,500 sq ft
• RENAISSANCE initiative targets downtown blight, directing staff to develop enforcement tools for 17 stalled housing projects and vacant storefronts
• Berkeley joins legal challenge to EPA's rollback of vehicle greenhouse gas standards under the Clean Air Act

The basics: Hopkins Street, a roughly seven-block corridor connecting the Ohlone Greenway to the Alameda, has been the most contested piece of transportation infrastructure in Berkeley for years. The street is home to Monterey Market, King Pool, Evangel Bible Church, and multiple schools — and has logged three pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and 46 crashes over 15 years. The road badly needs repaving.