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Richmond public‑works ramps up paving season and solar streetlight installs; crews warn against unauthorized parking cones
Summary
Public works told the RNCC crews are in full paving season, traffic crews are refreshing McDonald Avenue signage, and a $3 million allocation is rolling out for solar streetlights; staff warned they will remove cones that people place to reserve parking spots.
Public Works Streets Maintenance Superintendent Carlos Castro told the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council on April 13 that the city is "officially in paving season," with crews completing resurfacing work on several streets and a cape‑seal program scheduled for additional neighborhoods.
Castro summarized recent and upcoming paving work and said his crews are working behind utility contractors to finish streets where East Bay MUD completed partial paving. He said the department has refreshed more than 700 signs in the past year and is undertaking a corridor‑scale sign and pavement marking effort on McDonald Avenue. "If you drive on freshly laid asphalt, you are going to mess the job up and you are going to mess your car up," he cautioned, asking drivers to heed cones and detour signs.
The meeting also highlighted a city effort to install solar streetlights. Daniel Chan, interim public‑works director, said the council approved about $3 million to fund solar‑lighting installations at priority corridors; staff reported three completed sites from an initial list of 12 and described a continuing rollout. Chan said the solar approach reduces repeated utility‑replacement costs caused by copper theft and allows faster deployment once equipment arrives.
Castro raised a neighborhood enforcement and operations issue: crews are finding households and informal users placing cones to reserve on‑street parking. Castro said the city will begin removing unauthorized cones because they interfere with sweeping and public works operations. "If we notice cones out and they don't have anything to do with a construction site or a special event permit... we are going to start picking these cones up," he said.
What’s next: staff said they will continue a multi‑year program of sign replacements, pavement projects and solar‑lighting installations, and asked neighborhood councils to report ongoing problems (trees blocking sight lines, recurring encampments, illegal dumping) so crews can prioritize work.
