Latest News

July 26, 2026

By Soren Hemmila

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.

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July 14, 2026

by Richmond Standard staff

Pogo Park’s Annual Summer Carnival will return to Richmond on Friday, July 17, offering an afternoon of rides, games and activities at Elm Playlot.

The fourth annual event will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. at Elm Playlot, 720 Elm Ave. Admission is free, but tickets are required to participate in carnival rides and activities. Unlimited ride wristbands will be available for presale for $10 at Elm Playlot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through July 16.

The carnival will feature a choo-choo train, mechanical bull, dunk tank, photo booth, pony rides, carnival games and other attractions.

Pogo Park is a Richmond nonprofit that develops and operates neighborhood parks in the Iron Triangle. The organization’s first major project was the transformation of Elm Playlot, where it hired and trained residents from the surrounding neighborhood to help design, build and maintain the park. That approach remains a central part of Pogo Park’s work, with neighborhood residents continuing to help operate and care for the site.

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June 30, 2026

Richmond, CA — June 30, 2026 — The City of Richmond has been awarded $700,000 from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as part of their Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant to advance the Richmond Greenway Gap Closure Project. The grant will fund the next phase of planning and conceptual design for a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over 23rd Street, Carlson Boulevard and adjacent railroad tracks, closing a critical gap in the Richmond Greenway and improving safe access for people walking and bicycling on the trail.

Currently, the Richmond Greenway, which extends between South 2nd Street and San Pablo Avenue, has a gap in the middle of it at 23rd Street and Carlson Boulevard, requiring trail users to navigate an unclear and potentially hazardous route beneath an overpass and along busy City streets to continue their journey. The proposed Richmond Greenway bridge will provide a safe, direct, and beautiful crossing over 23rd Street, the BART tracks, the railroad corridor, and Carlson Boulevard-allowing users to travel seamlessly along the Richmond Greenway without leaving the trail.

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June 3, 2026

$14 million in U.S. Bank Foundation grants are being delivered to nonprofits like Pogo Park

Twenty years ago, the city parks in the Iron Triangle neighborhood of Richmond, California, were uninviting and scarcely used. Today, those parks are getting local residents outside to meet their neighbors, play and soak up the beauty of green space, thanks to the nonprofit Pogo Park organization.

Pogo Park is one of 400 nonprofits that recently received a  grant from the U.S. Bank Foundation. Launched 10 years ago to bring together philanthropy and employee volunteerism, the U.S. Bank Community Possible program supports organizations across the country creating opportunities for economic development in their communities. In its first round of grants this year, the U.S. Bank Foundation distributed more than $14 million.

Starting as a grassroots effort, led by Executive Director Toody Maher, Pogo Park is helping transform parks in the Iron Triangle into vibrant places for kids and families to enjoy sports, art, nature classes, picnics and more. At the same time, the organization provides workforce development opportunities for the people who build and maintain the parks. The support from the U.S. Bank Foundation will help Pogo Park expand its programming and continue enhancing the parks, such as with a new community center expected to open later this year.

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May 5, 2026

By Kleigh Carroll

About 10,000 Richmonders live in the Iron Triangle in the shadow of the Chevron refinery, where their flatlands neighborhood is vulnerable to poor air quality, summer power outages and flooding from sea level rise.

Now there will be a place they can find safety and resources during such emergencies: Pogo Park’s Harbour Hall, a new Community Resiliency Center (CRC), is expected to have a soft opening this summer, with other finishing touches due to be completed later.

Harbour Hall, at Harbour-8 Park between Harbour Way and Eighth Street, will primarily be a programming and recreational space, but it was designed and outfitted to double as a place of refuge during crises such as earthquakes, fires, flooding, power outages and extreme weather.

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July 21, 2025

By Sierra Lopez

RICHMOND — Parks have the power to heal. That’s the belief inspiring a local nonprofit dedicated to breathing new life into Richmond’s historically underserved Iron Triangle neighborhood.

Named for the three lines of train tracks that form it, the Iron Triangle is a one-square-mile section of Richmond that has undergone some major changes over the decades thanks in large part to the work of Pogo Park, a nonprofit led by founder and Executive Director Toody Maher.

Their vision is big but their approach is simple: transform a neighborhood by bringing the community into the design and development process, strengthening the feeling of ownership and care for the park, Maher said.

“People want to take care of it because they feel like it’s theirs and it’s their responsibility,” Maher said.

Through the Pogo Park approach, community pride is sparked and trickles out to other parts of the neighborhood where residents begin their own planting and beautification projects, Maher said.

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July 15, 2025

Pogo Park is set to transform the Elm Playlot into a vibrant hub of family fun this Friday, July 18, for its 3rd Annual Summer Carnival. Running from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 720 Elm Ave., the event promises an array of attractions including the Solcar Choo-Choo Train, a mechanical bull, a dunk tank, a 360-degree photo booth, and classic carnival treats like snowcones and lemonade. Additional entertainment includes live music, face painting, and games suitable for all ages. While park admission is free, tickets are required for rides and activities.

Founded in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, Pogo Park is a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing public spaces into safe, engaging environments for children and families. The Elm Playlot, also known as Pogo Park #1, was the organization’s inaugural project, transforming a neglected lot into a dynamic community space.

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July 1, 2025

By Kathy Chouteau

Pogo Park aims to complete its $28 million Harbour-8 Project this October, after the Richmond City Council recently voted to provide $3 million to cover cost overruns.

Now, the Iron Triangle-based nonprofit is looking to raise the final $3 million needed to complete the project, which includes Harbour Hall —a community center that doubles as Contra Costa County’s first Community Resiliency Center (CRC) — a surrounding playground with a volcanic zipline, Oak trees donated by Apple Inc. and much more. The 3,500 square foot Harbour Hall will be equipped with back-up power, water, food, communication and support during emergencies.

“The impact that we’re going to be having [is] in one of the most underserved neighborhoods inRichmond,” Maher told Richmond City Council at a recent meeting.

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Drop by, take a sneak peak, and see what we’re asking the City of Richmond to help us complete.

DATE: Friday – May 16, 2025
TIME: 1pm – 6pm (drop by any time)
LOCATION: Harbour Hall – 909 Ohio Ave, Richmond 94801