Love it or leave it. Pinole. Suburban city in the middle of the East Bay. Fairly safe area. Mostly white middle class people and people who enjoy living around white middle class people. For some reason quite a few Phillipino folks in the area, but mostly in Hercules. Not as open-minded as San Francisco. If you dress like a San Franciscan and you come to Pinole they can tell you spend your time in SF. Pinole is pretty much full of people doing their own thing who don't care what anyone else is doing. There are some gay people living here and there, but not too many of them are out of the closet. In the evening people go jogging, bicycle riding, walk their dogs and can be found washing their cars in their driveways. You can get a good deal on a house here. Good schools, although not as good as they used to be. Good place for kids to grow up. A lot of cool people. A few rednecks. Watch out for speeding tickets. Pinole is near Berkeley, and 25 miles from SF. Pinole is normally 5 degrees warmer than SF year-round. Maybe more than that in the summer. It's not nearly as hot as Martinez or Antioch. It never snows in Pinole. Hail once or twice a year, nothing major. In a nutshell it's ok if you like to live in the suburbs. However some Black people I know are afraid to go to Pinole because they are afraid of the cops. I don't know how realistic they are being, but I thought it should be mentioned. If you are a city girl like me then you don't want to live in SF. It has more of small town feeling to it. read more

Terrible customer service by city building official. Came in to pull simple over the counter building permit, but the permit technician was out for the day. The building official was at the counter helping a guy and asked where I drove from, after telling him I drove from Concord and would prefer not to have to come again because it's always a risk anytime you drive. He said he couldn't help me and I could not pull the permit, that I would need to drive back again tomorrow. Does the building official not know how to issue a permit?! Looks like time for some training at City of Pinole Building Dept. read more

Pinole City Hall - Public Services & Government Near Me - Pinole, California

I have a great friend from Pinole. Been there 5 times in the last 15 years. It's ok. I think they need to remove the word "city" from the name. Maybe "town" or "village". It's the kind of place where the number of SUV's with American flags is only outnumbered by the number of 20" rims. It's the kind of place that would be "a safe place to raise a family". It's the kind of place where lifelong Democrats find themselves developing Republican values in order to preserve their comfortable lifestyles. A lot of teens. A lot of strip malls. People seem to leave when they hit their twenties. read more

I grew up in Pinole, and not everyone sucks... I have made some cool friends and actually a large portion of my family lives here. And while it does suck that BARTs not nearby, from here to Del Norte is never too bad of a commute unless there's an accident. And as for the bus, there are things called transfers. I personally drive. And I haven't come across many cowboys in Pinole. It's mainly older folks and families. A couple weirdos here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary for a small town. One huge downside is there's nothing to do. A bowling alley, Target, and WAY too many fast food restaurants on which I unfortunately grew up on =( It's a decent town and the only people that make any less are the negative ones. read more

I was born in San Francisco. At the age of 11, my family moved to Pinole in 1969. They looked at houses in Walnut Creek, Clayton and the LaMorinda areas. They/we were attracted to the quasi ruralness of Pinole, the quaintness of the city, the rolling hills, the schools and the potential for the sense of community. We enjoyed all of that and more. We knew our neighbors and forged life-long friendships. As kids, we liked to wander, ride our bikes, hike, camp out, even shoot our slingshots & BB guns. There were ponds and streams inland and the bayfront areas were amazing places to explore.We had friends with horses and enjoyed riding those as well as motorcycles offroad. I lived there through highschool and left to go to college. My parents stayed there until 2002 when they were enticed to move up to Chico to be near my brother. After they moved away, they missed Pinole. I have fond and amazing memories of living & growing up in Pinole. I still visit from time to time. Pinole has grown considerably since then and has lost some of the small city charm. You can't ride motorcycles off road or shoot BB guns in most places there, but that's true for most areas. There are still many charming aspects to Pinole that can not be found in other cities. I see some negative comments here about Pinole and I feel it speaks to the mindset of the reviewers. Haters will hate. I like the comment by Cynthia B, " Love it or leave it"! read more

Negatives: Terrible bus system Too much fast food Empty Old Town (thanks a lot whoever chased First Street Cafe out) new empty business park on San Pablo Avenue recent political chagrin Positives: Great Senior Center Trader Joe's Peet's Close to the bay Pear Street Bistro Diversity Good Parking Affordable housing Pinole Historical Society Pinole Art Center Local Theater group nice library read more

As a city (strange...I thought it was a town, not a city), Pinole really isn't so bad. I drive through it regularly and have no problem with Pinole. However, the reason that I am reviewing it under the heading 'Pinole City of" is because for the past year, they have won my dubious award for Dumbest Stoplight in America. They have also won my Excellence in Incompetent Infrastructure award. This one takes the cake. There is a stoplight on the intersection of San Pablo Avenue and John St in Pinole that frequently and regularly turns red on it's own. Okay, a stoplight that turns red...what a concept, been known to happen, right? Well what royally pisses me off is that this light stops traffic, but thanks to a concrete median/island in the middle and a sidewalk on one side, there is no cross traffic at all. So what we have here is cars on one side going in the downhill direction sitting there at a red light with absolutely no possibility of cross traffic and not one pedestrian in sight to push a button. In the uphill direction, there is St. John Street to the right which runs into San Pablo as a "T", but a stoplight is totally unnecessary since unlike the side street a block down, there is never any traffic coming out of this street. The light takes really long to change too. To say that the stop sign that used to be there more than sufficed is a major understatement. There's no camera on it. Never in my life have I ever hated or wanted to want to run a red light so badly in my entire life. After sitting there needlessly for what feels like an eternity for no reason at all, I am always frustrated. It's only human nature to want to speed leaving that light and it really makes you want to run it even though I don't. I'm responsible, but always watch in horror as angry motorists (young and old of all backgrounds) blast recklessly down the road after waiting needlessly for the stupidest stoplight in America. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen that, I'd be a wealthy man! Not sure if this was their intent, but this stoplight doesn't slow motorists down, it angers them unnecessarily creating an even more dangerous situation for all. If you think having a needless stoplight slows traffic, you are dead wrong. City of Pinole...what the h#ll were you thinking? Major fail! read more

I have lived in PInole since 2007 and while I'm not enamored by its somewhat low brow insular bedroom community vibe, lousy schools, chronically broke city coffers, and the generally run down appearance of its parks and infrastructure, there is something endearing about this town that's made me proud to call it my home....[Please read on...the positive attributes are forthcoming]. For such a small, broke little town, it has a lot going for it as I've laid out in my Airbnb.com ad. (I rent my home out for a week each Summer). It was actually after posting my Airbnb ad that I realized all that Pinole has to offer and in addition to what I listed below, I didn't even mention its excellent dog park, public pool, great community theatre group and low crime rate. "Pinole resides in an excellent microclimate where the Summer fog, if it reaches here, burns off fairly early and the afternoons are warm and balmy with a mixture of clean cool sea breezes and dry valley heat. The area is excellent for cycling and hiking and is within walking distance to at least two playgrounds, and a short driving distance to Briones, WildCat and the renowned Tilden regional parks. Part of the SF Bay Ridge Trail dips into Pinole and its trailhead can be accessed by a short walk from the house. Our home is also conveniently located near a shopping center with a Trader Joes, Walgreens and Peets Coffee.." ... "For a small town, Pinole is graced with several excellent restaurants including Thai (http://www.thaispicepinole.net), Japanese (http://www.eathappysashimi.com), Indian (http://www.tandoorpinole.com), and American (http://tinacholtzclaw.vpweb.com), http://www.pinolecreekcafe.com, http://www.pearstreetbistro.com, and http://dineries.com/ca/pinole/the-original-red-onion/2870pinolevalleyrd" On my wish list of "Recommended areas of Improvement" my top three would be 1) Restoration f the Martinez Mansion to its former glory 2) for it to become the HQ of the Pinole Historical Society and 3) removal of the hideous RV park across the street from the Martinez Mansion. It would be great to see Pinole's waterfront opened up more and beautified. Hey..come check it out and see what everyone's talking about!! read more

It's a great city. I grew up here. Great people and the atmosphere is easy going. A good old American town. I love the flags display during federal holidays! read more

We are looking into a business in Pinole and decided to do a drive by and take a look. Conveniently, the city hall was open so we stopped by to see if we could ask some questions. We were immediately welcomed by a lady in the front. She was very kind and respectful and was able to answer a few questions. Even though I didn't have an appointment, she tried her best to help. She also said that I she would relay my info to the planner and he would call me back. And yes, I wasn't more than a mile away and he really called me back. Dan was more than helpful and answered many questions that I had. He was familiar with the property and even new the owners name !! I really got the feeling that they actually cared about the city and the people in it! Thank you !!! read more

Pinole is a small town in the East Bay, about 25 minutes away from San Francisco. There are a lot of small shops and restaurants in Old Town, and you also have bigger stores, such as Target, Petsmart, Ulta, etc. on the other side of town. It's a quiet place, nice for raising a family. If you want something to do on a Friday night, you can check out one of the bars (Pete's, Antlers, Green Lantern), go to the bowling alley, or if you don't mind driving, hitting up Berkeley or even San Francisco. I've grown up in this area (Pinole/Hercules) my whole life, and although it is a nice place, I'm looking for a new environment that isn't so quiet. read more

All I have to say about Pinole is this, You either love it or hate it ! If it's the latter then don't live there , don't move there, and don't visit there. I grew up in Pinole during the 1950, and at that time everybody in town knew one another. As a kid you couldn't do anything with out your parents knowing about it, hell they'd know before you got home. Although I loved grown up there and still have allot of friends and realitives living there It has grown to much for my taste . Back then it was like Mayberry RFD, (Andy Griffen Show) , slow, quite, and peaceful ! Summer time was great , we'd swim in the creek out in the valley, hunt dove & cotton tails about where the high school is now. Fish and swim in the bay (it was a hell allot cleaner then ) . Go to the matinee at the Rio theater in Rodeo for .25 cents and stay all day. That was then , now days it's different kids have allot more money. Things we did for entertainment back in the day wouldn't work today. So the bottom line is Pinole to me is still a good place to raise a family. It's small enough to where it's not a big city yet big enough to offer it's residents the convenance's with out having to put up with the big citiy life. I wouldn't recommend retireing there, but raiseing a family now days with both parents working it's a nice community for that. read more

I like Pinole. It's a quaint little suburb, a lovely break from the city (and yes, I am a bonafide city girl). Although I live and breath San Francisco, where I had been educated from Kindergarten through my 1st college degree, I still like to take in what Pinole has to offer. There is a lot to offer now that there is a Peet's, Jamba Juice and Trader Joe's. There are are a variety of businesses in the area aside from the typical franchises as well, mom and pop's included (BEAR CLAW!, Pear Street Bistro, Serenity Nails, BT Deli, etc). The farmer's market isn't so bad, and I think the only thing that Pinole needs is a fro-yo place =P Pinole is also right by the bay, with Pinole Shores being a great trail to walk to every morning (eventhough it's not something extremely beautiful, it offers a beautiful view of Mt. Tam and sunset). There are safe neighborhoods and a lot of families. The neighborhood my relatives live in is very close knit and the neighbors are ALWAYS greeting each other. Kids can play outside and one can even jog around the neighborhood at 11pm without a worry. Most of the households consist of families with kids. Despite the political issues that have risen the past few years, Pinole is a pretty nice place to live in. Sure, there may not be as many new housing developments as Hercules, but the houses aren't bad either and are way more affordable. It isn't busy, but isn't completely dead. One word to describe the city is "comfortable." Everyone I've encountered in this town has been friendly and welcoming... read more

This review is based on my experience with the city's youth center which is located 635 Tenant ave. It's in a plain white old fashioned building. I couldn't find any other review sites for the "Pinole Youth Center", so I'm going to write an honest review on this one. a couple of months ago, I decided to put my 7 year old child into this this "youth center" because I liked the how they go outside, they get a snack and they do homework. Unfortunately, a few few weeks into the program, I noticed my child wasn't getting her homework done. I asked why and she said that the recreational leaders really didn't want to help her, they were being lazy and just wanted to converse amongst themselves. She also said they were "rude", "yelled alot", and that the place wasn't a great atmosphere to be in. So one day in March, I decided to have a have a look and see what goes on at the youth center. Boy was it crazy. Kids running around. Kids cursing and yelling. Kids being disrespectful towards one another. Recreational staff yelling and being mean towards the staff. Homework time is an complete joke. I saw about maybe 3 or 4 kids do homework out of 50. The snacks they serve is nothing but junk. I saw one kids with 10 chicken nuggets and two caprisuns. Is the director of the program trying to have these kids fat ? Then on top of that the employees/recreational staff seemed tired, unhappy, and frustrated. It's really sad that employees are frustrated and that the kids aren't getting much accomplished. I used to hear rave reviews about this place but after seeing how it operates, I was completely disappointed and in shock. I told the manager that same day that I would be taking out my child out of the program. The youth Coordinator (I believe her name was Noel) begged me to have my child stay but I after reviewing this place, I had to get my child out. This program is out of control, disorganized and dysfunctional. I would have thought this was circus show. My child needs to be at an safe and positive environment and I didn't see that here. Maybe the Pinole Youth Center should just shut down. The kids pretty much do whatever they want to do and the employees don't even care to stop it. I will go to another youth center in a different city who cares about the kids well being, safety and education. Even if it means spending more. The Pinole Youth Center is a disgrace and is doing a disservice to the kids by remaining open. read more

Pinole is a nice spot along the Bay with its Bay Trail and wonderful climate. The drawback is the intense traffic coming and going from Hercules that fills the Bay side Historic Dist. streets and the local City Council is totally blind to its negative impact on the quality of life around the Hist. Dist. The City is in very poor financial situation and will probably have to declare BK as its tax base is not large enough to payoff the various redevelopment loans along with necessary retirement costs for city workers.. It sits between the western and eastern oil refineries but due to wind drifts get little or no effects from these operations. Its close to public transportation such as Bart and Berkeley is a short 10 to 15 minutes away. Housing cost are low compared to the rest of the Bay Area and given its access to the Bay and wonderful climate low cost housing ,its the best kept secret in the Bay Area. read more

Love living in Pinole. Thanks to Junior in Public Works who resolved an issue I had with a PGE utility box in my yard. He shoveled dirt and cleaned the track so that the lid was no longer tilted up and being a hazard. He didn't have to do that since it was a PGE box. I really appreciate it. read more

the youth center is full of unexperince youth leaders that are under staffed and are not trained.they have lost children and the manager rochelle daughter running around exposed.the coordinator noel is never there. The youth to staff ratio is non exsistant. I wouldnt leave my kid here. read more