Owned by BART Disabled access Yes Platforms in use 1 | Tracks 2 Ridership 13,131 exits/day | |
 | ||
Connections AC Transit: Routes 1, 6, 7, 12, 18, 25, 49, 51B, 52, 65, 67, 88 (local); 800, 851 (All Nighter); F, FS* (Transbay)Bear Transit: C, H, P, R, RFS* - Route operates weekdays only Opened January 29, 1973 (44 years ago) Address Berkeley, CA 94704, United States Parking spaces There's no parking at Downtown Berkeley Station. The closest station parking is at North Berkeley or Ashby stations. Bike lockers Valet bike parking facility Similar North Berkeley station, Ashby station, 19th Street Oakland station, MacArthur station, 12th Street Oakland City Cent | ||
Bart downtown berkeley station california bay area rapid transit
Downtown Berkeley is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station located in Berkeley, California, United States, one of three stations in Berkeley along with Ashby and North Berkeley. It is the second-busiest BART station in the East Bay and the sixth overall, with 13,748 exits each weekday, first being 12th St. Oakland City Center, with 14,403 weekday exits.
Contents
- Bart downtown berkeley station california bay area rapid transit
- Location
- History
- Station layout
- Amenities
- Relation with other stations and ridership figures
- References
Bart downtown berkeley station california bay area rapid transit
Location
Located at the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, Downtown Berkeley station is situated near the center of the City of Berkeley. It is the primary station for those travelling to and from the University of California, Berkeley, which is one block to the east. As a result, it is also used by patrons of events taking place at the University, such as concerts or lectures, and especially football games and other athletic events, including those sponsored by the MyBART service.
Because this station is underground, there is poor cell service unless underneath the center of the station. Cell boosters have not been rolled out in the Berkeley Subway creating a dead zone from Ashby to north Berkeley.
History
Downtown Berkeley opened on January 29, 1973, as part of an extension from MacArthur to Richmond, with service southward to Fremont until the opening of the Transbay Tube and subsequent service to San Francisco later that year. The station was designed by Maher & Martens of San Francisco in collaboration with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Tudor Construction, and Bechtel.
In the mid-1990s, BART changed the name of the station from simply "Berkeley" to "Downtown Berkeley" in an effort to minimize confusion between this station and North Berkeley. The station is still often referred to as Berkeley in train announcements. The station has been the site of many BART Alert protests in response to occurrences on the political scene.
A station and plaza renovation project began construction on August 29, 2016. The project scope includes new lighting, landscaping, drainage, paving, and bus shelters in the overground plaza of the station. The main rotunda entrance will be replaced by a glass entrance structure similar to those found in downtown Oakland. The $11.2 million project is funded primarily by BART, with additional funding from the City of Berkeley, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and Alameda County. Work is expected to conclude in winter 2017. A further project to renovate the underground station interior is in the planning stages.
Station layout
Like most underground BART stations, Downtown Berkeley has two levels: a mezzanine containing the faregates and an island platform with two tracks. Access to the station is provided by five street-level entrances on Shattuck Avenue, with two at Addison Street and Allston Way each and one at the southwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street. The escalators at the latter are topped by an icositetragonal rotunda that covers passengers entering and leaving the station from inclement weather.
Amenities
There is also a valet bike parking facility outside the station at street level and is operated by Alameda Bicycle. It used to be placed at the top of an unused stairway from the mezzanine level to the platform below. The stairs were built so that an additional entrance could be opened if needed in the future, and had never been used by passengers.
Entrance windows feature artwork of the UCB Botanical Garden.
Relation with other stations and ridership figures
Below is data for average weekday entries and exits between the Ashby BART and other BART stations as of January 2017. The transit time and one-way trip cost is based on BART's fares and schedules booklet, last updated in February 2016, and valid as of January 2017. A few notes for interpretation: