Officials cut the ribbon Monday afternoon, marking the completion of a slew of bike improvements around the North Berkeley BART station. From a BART release:
Key upgrades at North Berkeley BART Station include:
- The widening of the Ohlone Greenway between the Acton Street/Virginia Street intersection and Virginia Gardens.
- A new speed table (a raised section of road designed to slow down vehicles) and raised crosswalk in front of the station entrance.
- New two-way cycle tracks along the BART access roads.
- New bike lockers for larger cargo bikes.
- Installation of an ADA-compliant ramp linking Sacramento Street to the station elevator.
- Public space enhancements including new bollards, storm water management features, landscaping, and pedestrian-scale lighting.
"The North Berkeley access improvements are just the beginning,” said Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii. “With more than 700 homes approved at North Berkeley BART and a similar number planned at Ashby, we’re showing that Berkeley can build more housing while making it easier for everyone to move safely and sustainably through our community."
Mayor Ishii is referring to a project by North Berkeley Housing Partners, which will construct the homes and new public open space over the station and subway tracks, a childcare center, and 6,500 square feet in retail space. Work on the development is expected to begin next year.
With all that construction replacing the surface-level parking lot, more people are going to have to bike to the station. Of course, North Berkeley has long been a good place for bike/BART commuting. Now it has over 200 bike lockers and ample racks.
The improvements inside and around the station are a great compliment to the Ohlone Greenway Trail, which follows an old rail alignment and helps make safe connections between the station and the surrounding areas.
If Streetsblog has one criticism of the treatments, it's a familiar one: the over-dependence on paint and plastic and rubber curbs that might deter but won't physically stop an errant driver. As if to illustrate the point, while doing the survey, a driver with her face in a cell phone drove the length of the station and started to turn right despite a red arrow before suddenly noticing and slamming on the brakes. It's the kind of thing that happens every day with distracted motorists, who get the message that they can get away with it—until someone gets unlucky enough to be in their path.
The plastic treatments around the station should be replaced with Jersey Barriers and planters so distracted drivers hit concrete instead of people. More photos of some of the treatments below:
