Streetsblog San Francisco

BART riders will no longer be squeezed alongside Muni tracks to get into Balboa Park Station. A new walkway connecting travelers to Ocean Avenue on the north side was unveiled Friday as one project in a host of efforts aimed at improving access to the busiest BART and Muni transit hub outside of the city’s downtown area, though it may be just a baby step in the eyes of some advocates.

“For nearly four decades, we did not have a proper entrance to Ocean Avenue from the station for folks going to City College, or to the Ocean Avenue shopping district, or to Balboa Park,” said BART Director Tom Radulovich. “Now we have a fully-accessible, direct entrance, which is great. I’m happy it’s there.”

The walkway is a welcome improvement to commuters using the station to and from Ocean Avenue who previously had no choice but to squeeze through a narrow passage alongside trains or circumnavigate the station to get inside.

“When the trains are actually running and they go past you, it’s a little dangerous,” said Jocelyn, a BART rider who lives in the neighborhood. “Now it’s a lot easier and safer, I feel.”

Erika, Jocelyn’s friend, said she regularly uses the station to visit her from Berkeley. “I think it’s great if you come home late, because it’s all lit up,” said Erika. “I feel a little bit safer up here where people can see me.”

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A proposal to reconfigure the Phelan Bus Loop as part of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan received a major boost today with the announcement that the Federal Transit Administration has awarded the SFMTA more than $6.8 million for the project.

In a statement, the FTA said the project "paves the way for landscaped open space, new retail space, and new affordable housing, all next to public transportation, and within walking distance of both a major transit hub and San Francisco City College, one of the nation’s largest educational institutions."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also issued a statement praising the project and the federal funding. "Today's announcement highlights San Francisco's continued leadership in the realm of livable communities and transit-oriented development. It will increase public transportation options, while reducing congestion and our dependence on foreign oil."

John Katz, the project manager for the SFMTA, said it will probably take several months before the funding is in hand, but the reconfiguration would be the first major public project under the Balboa plan, and under a best case scenario, would be on target to begin construction a year from now.

"It's great news for the community in San Francisco. This is a project that has been worked on, at least in concept, for the last 7 or 8 years and it looks like it's going to become a reality now," said Katz. "This project is really a catalyst for a lot of long-needed community improvements." 

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The MTA Board will vote tomorrow on whether to sell a bus turnaround near Balboa Park station to make room for an 80-unit affordable housing and retail mixed-use development and new open space. The Balboa Park Station Area Plan, which was completed earlier this year and aims to promote transit-oriented development and improved pedestrians conditions in the neighborhood, identified the Phelan Bus Loop at Ocean Avenue between Lee and Harold Avenues as a prime spot for redevelopment.

With the MTA's authorization, the city would sell the property to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency for $4.35 million, its appraised market value. The money would go towards construction of a new bus loop on a lot adjacent to the current loop, and the MTA would get $1,647,000 of that money up front for design and development of the new turnaround. The new loop would circle the firehouse at the northwest corner of Ocean and Phelan Avenues, immediately to the east of the current loop.

According to a memo of understanding (MOU) between the MTA, the city, the Mayor's Office of Housing, and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the total cost of relocating the loop is estimated at about $9 million, leaving a multimillion-dollar gap that the MTA will need to make up through other sources, which can't include the agency's operating funds. If the MTA can't secure funding within 42 months, the deal will be voided. Muni would then return the funds, keep the current loop and pay for the new loop design costs itself. MTA spokesperson Judson True said he's confident the agency will secure the funds in time, and said the agency has already identified likely local, state, and federal funding sources.

If the MTA succeeds in finding a funding source to make up the gap, Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and Mercy Housing California, both non-profit housing developers, will then construct new affordable housing on the site, and a new public plaza would be built on leftover space, all of which is called for in the Planning Department's Balboa Park Station Area Plan.

"This is a great example of transit-oriented development and we're pleased to be working with our city partners on this project," said True. "Having the land that actually fronts Ocean Avenue go for housing and retail makes sense."

In addition to supporting transit-oriented development, Muni will get an upgraded turnaround out of the deal, according to the MOU. That would include an operator restroom, upgraded boarding islands, and wide sidewalks, among other improvements, without impacting Muni service.

BART held a groundbreaking ceremony today for a project that will bring a new entrance and accessible walkway to Balboa Park station. The Westside Entrance and Walkway project is intended to improve access to the station for the approximately 5,000 daily riders approaching from Ocean Avenue west of Interstate 280, including students from San Francisco City College and Lick-Wilmerding High School. The station is the busiest non-downtown stop in the BART system, with 13,000 daily riders.

In addition to the new entrance and ADA compliant walkway, the $5.17 million renovation will include new ticket vending machines, upgraded lighting for the walkway, security cameras, and a 1,500 square foot plaza at the new entrance. Federal stimulus funds provided $2 million to the project.

The station and surrounding neighborhood have been the subject of extensive study and planning by the city and BART in recent years, and improving the station's integration with Muni service and the neighborhood is a major priority for residents.

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