CITY OF ALBANY Community Newsletter
Serving Our Community The City of Albany is committed to serving our community. Our service approach focuses on maintaining and improving the public places, services, and infrastructure that make Albany a great place to live, work, and visit. Through careful planning, thoughtful stewardship, and dedication, we continue to build a safe, vibrant, and connected community. This Community Newsletter is intended to deliver a summary of what we’ve accomplished recently, and the variety of impactful projects underway to serve our community. In addition, we have made major accomplishments in alignment with the City Council’s Strategic Plan Goals – prioritizing the reduction of greenhouse gas emission pollution and adapting to climate change, promoting housing, community connectivity, economic sustainability, and furthering public health and safety for our community.
Investing in Albany's Infrastructure Albany’s infrastructure consists of both the above-ground visible items such as streets, sidewalks, pathways and lighting. In addition, while typically out of sight, the below-ground infrastructure is just as important, including our sewer and storm drain systems.
• Construction is progressing on the Brighton Avenue Sewer Project, with completion anticipated in mid-winter. The project will replace undersized sewer mains, upgrade sewer laterals and manholes, and install cleanouts to improve system reliability and protect water quality.
• This year, approximately 4,500 square feet of sidewalk have been repaired or replaced. These repairs/ replacements help make the sidewalks throughout the city safer for all users to enjoy when out and about.
• Phase 2 of the Marin Avenue Pavement Project is expected to be completed this fall with improvements to pavement, sidewalks, storm-drains, pedestrian crossings, traffic signals, lighting and bicycle safety.
• We conducted a comprehensive streetlighting evaluation in 2024 that has helped identify improvements to streetlights citywide. This year, 68 streetlights have been improved, with 91 additional improvements underway.
• Looking ahead, we are coordinating with the City of El Cerrito on bicycle path connections along Adams Street and Carlson Boulevard, supported by a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant. The main goal of this work is to create a safer, more accessible bike route across cities.
A Snapshot of the Infrastructure the City of Albany Maintains 30 miles
50 miles
ROADS
SIDEWALKS
900
47 miles
12 miles
STREET AND PEDESTRIAN LIGHTS
SEWER MAINS/ LATERALS
STORM DRAINS AND CULVERTS
AlbanyCA.gov | 1
CITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Taking Care of Our Parks Another important part of city infrastructure includes our public parks. This network of parks includes a variety of neighborhood parks, multi-use parks, and open spaces. We recently completed a Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan to identify improvements needed to further enhance each of the City’s public parks. A grant award has helped provide the funding to implement this plan and improve several of our parks (Parks, Environment, and Water Bond Act of 2018, California’s Proposition 68 grant program).
Memorial Park New pathway lighting was installed near the playgrounds to improve visibility and safety. Dog Park improvements include new irrigation and drainage, a sidewalk along Carmel Avenue, a new entrance with a holding area, a designated small dog area, a bottle filling station, benches, trees and other amenities.
Ocean View Park The courts were resurfaced to include four new permanent pickleball courts with new nets and posts, windscreens, light fixtures, and additional seating.
Peggy Thomsen Pierce Street Park Access improvements are underway, including a new asphalt path, entry stairs with handrails, and two shade sail structures over the play equipment.
Jewel’s Terrace Park & Dartmouth Tot Lot Improvements are in the planning stages including additional shade at the park picnic area and new, comfortable seating at the tot lot. In addition to all the park improvements, we are also working daily to keep our parks clean and enjoyable. This includes litter collection, landscaping, graffiti removal, repairs and several other responsibilities as needed. We also remain actively involved in the transition of the Golden Gate Fields property and working in close partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District as the lead agency and prospective owner of the park. As with any evolving public space, listening and ensuring we hear the interests of our community will be vital to shaping the future of this park. We envision that ongoing conversations will be facilitated regularly as we move forward together with East Bay Regional Park District and the City of Berkeley.
2 | AlbanyCA.gov
Urban Forest There are about 6,000 publicly owned trees along streets, in parks, and in other public spaces. We recently developed a Street Tree Management Plan that serves to guide decisions about the care and maintenance of Albany’s trees while supporting a healthy, safe, and sustainable urban forest. Albany’s urban forest is an important part of the City’s infrastructure. Street trees provide shade, improve air quality, reduce stormwater runoff, store carbon to help minimize the impacts of climate change, and support wildlife. To help further enhance our urban forest, we’ve planted 135 trees and created 45 new tree basins in 2026, prioritizing climate-adapted species and the right tree for the right place to support public health, wildlife, and community well-being.
6,000
135
45
TREES CITYWIDE
TREES PLANTED IN 2026
TREE BASINS CREATED IN 2026
Albany Hill Protecting the long-term health and resilience of Albany Hill is an ongoing focus. We recently developed the Albany Hill Forest Management and Habitat Restoration Plan, to help outline a phased approach for the thoughtful management of compromised Bluegum Eucalyptus trees on Albany Hill. The work prioritizes decreasing wildfire risk and the protection and restoration of resilient habitats for monarchs, native plants, and other wildlife. In partnership with the City of El Cerrito and with grant funding from the State Coastal Conservancy, Albany is also advancing wildfire resilience efforts that include habitat restoration, strategic tree removal, urban wood milling and reuse, community engagement, and workforce development. As part of this work, four community workshops are being offered in 2026 and 2027 to learn about wildfire preparedness, climate change, stewardship of natural areas, and beneficial uses for urban wood.
CITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Preparing Together for Emergencies As first responders and disaster service workers, City of Albany staff continue to prioritize emergency preparedness through ongoing training, coordination, and community participation to help ensure the safety and preparedness of our community as a whole. This includes training in how city staff prepare and respond to a variety of potential emergencies including natural disasters. This work also involves working in collaboration with our community to help train and gain further resiliency together.
Emergency Operations Plan We recently updated our Emergency Operations Plan. This plan is important as it establishes a framework for coordinating the City’s response and addressing the immediate needs of the community in the event of an emergency as quickly and effectively as possible.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) The Fire Department also coordinates with Albany CERT to train dozens of residents each year in disaster response, equipping neighbors with practical skills to help one another during an emergency.
Block Captain Program
East Bay Regional Fire Training Facility
Led by our Fire Department, this volunteer program helps residents prepare their neighborhoods by understanding where to go, what to do, and how to support one another during an emergency. We are very proud to share that we currently have more than 100 residents serving as Block Captains.
In partnership with the Berkeley Fire Department, the Albany Fire Department secured federal funding thanks to Congresswoman Lateefah Simon to support construction of a regional training facility. The facility will provide emergency responders throughout the East Bay with the opportunity to train collaboratively and maintain critical skills.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Building a Safer, More Connected Albany The Albany Police Department works to keep the community safe through responsive emergency services, neighborhood engagement, and ongoing public outreach. We respond to approximately 350 calls each month, and this year upgraded our 911 system to ensure it remains fast, responsive, and ready when residents need it most. We work to build relationships with our community beyond emergency response through a range of programs: • Coffee with a Cop: Community members can meet with officers, ask questions, share concerns, and build connections in a casual setting. • Halloween Safety: Our officers are out and about on Halloween to distribute glow sticks to trick-or-treaters, helping children stay visible after dark while creating opportunities for officers to connect with families.
• National Night Out: This annual event brings residents and officers together through neighborhood block parties to promote crime prevention, neighborhood involvement, and a chance to get to know one another to further community connectivity. • Child Safety Seat Inspections: Our officers assist parents and caregivers with properly installing and using child safety seats. This is a great way to help out with one of the many to-do’s of becoming new parents, and we are proud to be able to support our community by providing this service. • Area Coordinator Program: We developed this program to help provide additional resources and focus citywide. Through this program, we assign officers to specific neighborhoods as points of contact for residents and to help address any unique or ongoing local public-safety concerns in the particular neighborhood.
AlbanyCA.gov | 3
CITY OF ALBANY City Hall 1000 San Pablo Ave. Albany, CA 94706
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BERKELEY, CA PERMIT #8467 ECRWSS
CARRIER PRESORT POSTAL CUSTOMER Albany, CA 94706
From maintaining our parks to improving our streets and preparing for emergencies, this work reflects a shared commitment to building a safe, resilient, and welcoming Albany. We are grateful to our community for your involvement, volunteerism, and support for community connectivity to help shape the future of our community. To learn more about what we do as a City and the programs featured in this newsletter, visit AlbanyCA.gov.
Stay Connected Get the latest information on City of Albany news, programs, and events.
(Subscribe to the weekly e-newsletter here)
Linkedin.com/company/ City-Of-Albany-California
@AlbanyCalifornia
CityHall@AlbanyCA.gov
Facebook.com/CityofAlbanyCA
510-528-5710
AlbanyCA.gov/Connect